As India’s Israel policy evolved over time, the US involvement in this bilateral relationship has been constant, albeit neither consistent nor direct. Breaking with traditional state-centric approaches, this article focuses on the key role played in shaping the nature of India–Israel ties by non-state and sub-state actors such as specific political personalities, for example Congressmen Emmanuel Celler in the 1940s and Stephen Solarz in the 1980s, as well as of pro-Israel interest groups based in the US, like the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the American Jewish Committee (AJC).

A quarter century after normalisation of relations, India and Israel have shown considerable maturity in handling bilateral relations and dexterity in managing their occasional differing worldviews. Relations have weathered political changes within India as well as periodic upheavals in West Asia and the stalemate in the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. Military-security cooperation played a pivotal role in carrying forward relations even when political contacts were minimal, as was the case during the decade-long United Progressive Alliance (UPA) rule.

P. V. Narasimha Rao took over as the ninth Prime Minister of India on June 21, 1991. Rao, a reluctant prime minister, presided over a period that witnessed the most defining events in modern history, both within India and across the world. He charted an unprecedented course for the Indian economy, bringing the country back from the edge of bankruptcy to a period of sustained economic growth that continues even today. The Soviet flag was lowered forever on Christmas day of 1991, bringing the Cold War to an anti-climactic end.

India’s defence and security ties with West Asia has not been a recent phenomena but dates back to more than a century. Indian cavalry soldiers scripted a brave saga of courage and sacrifice in what perhaps may be described as the last cavalry charge in history. This unique cavalry action on September 23, 1918 comprising the Jodhpur, Mysore and Hyderabad Lancers (as part of the 15th Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade) was tasked with capturing the port city of Haifa in present day Israel.