A. I appreciate that you mentioned the October 7th attack. Because Israel has been fighting with Hamas for over 100 days now; the public sometimes forgets that they infiltrated Israel and attacked our citizens, killing over 1,200 people and kidnapping 240 people. We're very appreciative of the support and the strength we get from India and its people. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was very clear that terrorism must be stopped and Israel has the right to defend itself. I see it in the people and the places I go, the general understanding that we cannot acquiesce to terrorism.

2. While you say there has been a lot of support for Israel from India, in states like Tamil Nadu and Kerala, there were protests against Israel, citing genocide. Your thoughts?

A. India is a democracy like Israel and people have the right to voice their opinions. India is allowing it and it is fine to an extent. However, some extremist groups use words like genocide against Israel for their purpose and should be stopped. In one such protest, they called for the murder of our prime minister. So, at some point, there needs to be a line drawn. We did not ask for this war and we are doing what every other responsible government would do.

3. As a diplomat posted in the south, what are the challenges you faced due to these diverse opinions?

A. On a personal level, we would want to remain safe when the protests are too close to us. We want to not exacerbate a situation but I think the local authorities here are doing a good job. The protests can be allowed when they are democratic. But, it has to be stopped if they become too extreme, like calling for the murder of a politician of another country.

However, despite these challenges, there are so many good conventions and summits happening in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. We have been participating in such Israel-India joint ventures, except for times when there weren't flights or when people, who were supposed to come, were drafted into the army.

4. What about the visa status of Indians who returned home and are now unable to return to work?

A. We have a lot of Indians working in Israel, either in the tech sector or healthcare. The ties between both nations have been deep and growing and I see many Israeli and Indian firms working together. Even when the Indian government successfully evacuated Indians from Israel via Operation Ajay, many opted to stay back in Israel at their workplaces or with Israeli friends. Hopefully, as things calm down, we will see more Indians returning to work in Israel to join our workforce.

5. Will you start giving fresh visas to Indians who want to work in Israel?

A. Yes. Some schemes are already in place. We try to work on government-to-government agreements. This gives both countries the responsibility to ensure that things work smoothly.

6. What is your Gaza exit strategy? What is the end game?

A. Israel had three aims. First and foremost is to bring back the hostages. Hamas kidnapped 240 people. Over 110 have been released after Israel agreed to the terms of Hamas. We still have 132 people kidnapped and held hostage by Hamas, which include babies, teenage girls and women and around 10 people over the age of 75. They have been hostage for over 100 days and the Hamas wouldn't let the international community see them.

The second goal is to eliminate Hamas's capabilities to ever attack us again. On New Year's Eve, while the whole world was celebrating, Hamas fired rockets at Israeli towns and villages. Their intentions are clear. They made them clear on October 7th and every day since then. We would also like to eliminate their capabilities to control Gaza and abuse and misuse its population for their interest.

The final goal, naturally, is to bring back safety and security for the people within Israel.

7. "Our opposition to the ongoing slaughter of the people of Gaza has driven us as a country to approach the ICJ", South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has said. What do you have to say about South Africa’s genocide case against Israel?

A. He can call it whatever he wants. I think it's ludicrous, sad and borders on anti-semitism. How can he talk like this when we all know how it started? Hamas infiltrated Israel and we do not control Gaza. Israel left Gaza in 2005 and Hamas controlling the enclave since then. They broke the border and attacked our citizens. But, not a word was said about Hamas which has again embedded itself within civilian society.

We see terror tunnel exits and entrances under hospitals and mosques. We see weapon and missile factories under and next to hospitals and schools. They have taken the whole of Gaza. Instead of working for the people, they used them as part of a terrorist machine to eliminate Israel.

South Africa is misusing the International Court of Justice, the purpose of which is to judge atrocities like this. Hamas, which is not an ICJ member, does not abide by any international law and order. They don't care for human lives. They should be the ones on trial. Talking to Israel about this when we're protecting ourselves is ludicrous.

We're making sure humanitarian aid goes into Gaza. The South African lawyers were just putting forth allegations without any proof. They have nothing.

8. Back to the October 7 attacks. Israel is known to have one of the best armies and intelligence apparatus. So, where do you think the failures happened?

A. People who are versed in military, politics and infrastructure will deal with it. There will be investigations to make sure something like this doesn't happen again. It happened because something didn't work. But we'll figure it out later. Right now we're still dealing with the current situation. There are many many difficult questions which will have to be asked and answered.

9. Recently, the Israeli Supreme Court put the brakes on the 'reasonableness' doctrine and struck down a law passed by the parliament limiting the powers of the judiciary. Will this affect the overall political situation in Israel, especially the current government?

A. I cannot say about its impact on the ruling dispensation but the fact that our Supreme Court took up the matter even during war means, like in India, there are checks and balances. This reflects Israeli resilience and the strength of its democracy. Despite the war, our institutions, democracy and our government are working well.

10. But, do you feel the war has divided the bureaucracy, political establishments and civilians?

A. It's fine. This is what democracy is. We have a coalition government and have had similar coalition governments since 1948. We cannot agree on everything. Different groups are represented by their dissenting voices. Some are more liberal, some are more conservative. This is what it is. But we have lived together so far and we will keep living together.

11. What do you think is the future of the national Unity government? Is there a likelihood of it returning to power in the near future?

A. Right now, a few of the parties have shown great responsibility to work with the government at this time of war because we need to beat these terrorists. We need to finish this work. What will be after we will see. I'm hopeful as any country that our elected officials and our politicians will work for the benefit of society.

12. The US, Europe and the Arab governments are working out a plan for the rehabilitation of Gaza. What do you have to say about this?

A. The US is the world leader and sees the big picture. It looks at the balance of power. It cares for the people living in Gaza. Hamas has misused the humanitarian funding. The money and things did not go to the Gazans. The children were indoctrinated into Hamas's Charter instead of being given education. They build tunnels with the money for schools, hospitals and greenhouses. Sanitation, air, electricity, and storage of food things did not reach the people despite the efforts of international organisations and donor countries. Hopefully, after this work by the Americans and the Brits, we will figure out how to help these people, how to rebuild Gaza and make it better and smarter than it is now.

13. In the US, there has always been a bilateral consensus for Israel. Both the Democrats and the Republicans have always been for Israel. But now I see a rift. Anti-Israel protests are taking over Western campuses.

A. Maybe with the universities, we see a lot of anti-Semitism suddenly rearing its ugly head and people are saying horrible things. When we look a little deeper, we don't even understand what they're saying. If you don't define Israel on a map or explain who Hamas is, they have no idea. With different social media, we see it's very easy to get people riled up over a story or over a narrative that people are inventing whether they understand it or not.

Israel needs to deal with it. But, the world too should because of the way they can rile up people using social media messaging against Israel. They'll be able to do it again with a different regime and we see that many of these cries are death to Israel and death to America. It is a global issue. For the US government and the US politicians, Israel is the closest strongest and best ally. We've been like this for years.

14. The Global Investors Meet has just got over. How do you see Israel's investments and your business people coming to south India, particularly Karnataka and Tamil Nadu?

A. There are so many opportunities. You have had flooding here a few weeks ago. But then, during summer, there is water scarcity. The issue of water - Israel has been dealing with no water for thousands of years. We're mostly desert, so we have solutions that might be relevant for India too. Getting universities, businesses and high-tech companies to find solutions will help both of us. India is becoming a leader in electronics and electric vehicles. Israel has different technologies like fast charging batteries that make sense for Indian companies. We can do a lot more together, especially in chip production. We have so many things similar and it makes perfect sense for us to work together.

By Lakshmi Subramanian | The Week