India-Pakistan 1971 War: When Indira Gandhi Called And Golda Meir Answered
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Operation Sindoor: Israel's public support to India is no longer a diplomatic outlier. It's a continuation of a historical arc that began with Golda Meir's bold decision in 1971
India on Wednesday launched airstrikes against terror hideouts in Pakistan under the codename Operation Sindoor as a decisive and swift retaliation to the Pahalgam terror attack last month in which 26 tourists were brutally murdered.
Amid the global reactions to Operation Sindoor, one voice rang out with unmistakable clarity – Israel's ambassador to India, Reuven Azar, who tweeted in solidarity, 'Israel supports India's right for self defence. Terrorists should know there's no place to hide from their heinous crimes against the innocent."
Behind these words stood a 50-year-old legacy of friendship, first forged in the secrecy of another war, another time.
Israel's Help in 1971
It was July 1971, and the skies over East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) were dark with the smoke of genocide. The Pakistani army, acting under General Yahya Khan's brutal command, launched a campaign of terror against Bengali-speaking Muslims. As lakhs fled across the border into India, then-prime minister Indira Gandhi stood at a crossroads. International support was absent – then United States President Nixon backed Pakistan, and India faced isolation.
In that hour of need, Israel quietly extended a lifeline.
Despite not having formal diplomatic ties, Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir approved a clandestine operation to supply weapons and ammunition to India – equipment originally earmarked for Iran. Mortars, arms, and Israeli trainers were dispatched in utmost secrecy. Shlomo Jabludowicz, a key figure in Israeli defence manufacturing, facilitated the operation.
There was one condition: India must eventually recognise Israel. That wish wouldn't be fulfilled until 1992 under Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao, but the seed of friendship had been sown in 1971, against all odds.
The details, recorded by Indira Gandhi's aide PN Haksar, are preserved in the Nehru Memorial Museum today. He called it 'an amazing small success", but its strategic and symbolic impact was anything but small. That support helped both the Indian Army and Mukti Bahini push back the tide of oppression. On December 16, 1971, Pakistan surrendered, and Bangladesh was born.
India's foreign policy in those years was complex. Public support for Palestine, concerns over domestic Muslim sentiment, and dependency on Arab oil made relations with Israel diplomatically risky. Still, Golda Meir's gamble proved prophetic. Trust laid in silence grew stronger with time.
In the decades that followed, the quiet partnership evolved. By 1992, ties were formalised. Israel provided crucial support in the 1999 Kargil War, and in 2017, Prime Minister Narendra Modi became the first Indian leader to visit Israel, cementing a relationship based on shared intelligence, defence cooperation, and counterterrorism.
Israel's public support is no longer a diplomatic outlier. It's a continuation of a historical arc that began with Golda Meir's bold decision. From the clandestine corridors of 1971 to the open skies of 2025, India and Israel have walked a long road together.
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