Articles: Indian, Israeli student groups work together

Israeli advocacy official says it's rare collaboration

Food, business ties and a shared appreciation for the fight against terror have brought Jewish and Indian students together in a unique coalition of student organizations.

At the Colony Ballroom Monday night, a melting pot of Jewish and Indian students gathered to celebrate the coalition with an event recognizing the alliance between the countries most dear to them: the United States, India and Israel.

Develop, Empower and Synergize India (DESI) and the Terrapin Israel Public Affairs Committee (TerPAC) created a bond last year when they began attending each other's events. DESI hosted a discussion about the conflict in Kashmir and TerPAC brought Israel's former ambassador to the United Nations, Dore Gold, to the campus.

Kashmir, a region north of India, is the location of a constant border dispute between India, Pakistan and China. Gold compared Kashmir to Israel because the Jewish nation also disputes its borders, conflicting with the Palestinian people. The majority of the fighting within both regions is through terrorist warfare.

"Obviously our agendas are different, one promoting India the other Israel, but by educating each other we gain a unique insight into our similarities as well as learn to sympathize with the plight of other countries," said Josh Brown, TerPAC's president. "I feel we've achieved something valuable."

In addition to India and Israel's similarities in national security, both were created when granted independence from the British and are now thriving nations outside of the Western world.

"The ties between student groups become a lot better when you organize something along that scale," said Kunal Kothari, DESI's president. "One of greatest things coming out of the events is the friendship and understanding of each other."

This university's India-Israel coalition is a rarity among universities nationwide, said Michelle Rojas, the East Coast representative for Stand With Us, an international Israel advocacy organization.

"There's been no national movement or anything like that, but it's great to hear [Maryland is] doing that ... This is the first time I've heard of other universities doing something like this," said Rojas, who is also the Israel advisor at Pace University's Hillel.

India and Israel have been friendly since the 1950s, soon after Israel's creation in 1948, and began formal diplomatic relations in 1992. Now they are key security and economic partners with $2 billion of non-military trade last year, according to Raminder Singh Jassal, the Indian ambassador to Israel from 2001 to 2004 and the keynote speaker at Monday's event.

"I don't think we should draw separations between larger or smaller countries; together we're all two billion people and together we can make a difference," Jassal said.

The event featured a panel discussing the various relations between the three democracies and a free dinner with traditional Indian and Israeli food.

"People sitting down, eating together like this is what's important," said Howard Mauck, a sophomore international relations major at American University who joined one of the speakers to the event. "That they're making that connection - that's what it's all about."

Contact reporter Ben Block at blockdbk@gmail.com.