Recently, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, in an interview with Fox News, pushed back against a claim by US Vice President JD Vance that America is Israel’s “only powerful ally… anywhere left in the entire world.” Netanyahu rejected Vance’s framing and pointed to India as one of Israel’s strongest supporters. Though, he carefully affirmed that he still respects US as the “greatest friend” Israel has had.
“A Small Country Called India” – Netanyahu
Netanyahu’s words about India were memorable for their informality. “We have some other friends, like a small country called India. You know it has 1.4 billion people, and boy, do we have tremendous support there,” he said. He added that he is “flooded by overwhelming support” on his Facebook page from Indian users.
Netanyahu added, that multiple world leaders privately seek Israel’s help on military and cyber matters despite public criticism of Israel. He said Israel ranks as the world’s second-largest cyber power, with technology strong enough that “the relations are not quite as they appear.”
The Vance Remark That Started It
The remark did not emerge from nowhere. Vance had said last month, during a White House briefing, that Trump was “the only head of state in the entire world who is sympathetic to the nation of Israel,” and that if he were in the Israeli cabinet, he “might not be attacking the only powerful ally” Israel has left. He later reiterated it in an interview with the New York Times. According to reports that Israeli officials were unhappy with the US-brokered Iran agreement and had criticised Trump. Vance also questioned Israel’s long-term strategy, asking what its “exact proposal” was for a country of nine million people that “can’t just kill your way out of solving every single national security problem.”
Strain, Not Rupture, With Washington
The exchange comes at a moment of visible strain, not rupture, between Washington and Jerusalem. Trump has said Netanyahu requested a White House meeting, likely to take place after the NATO summit, with Israeli officials suggesting it could happen as early as the following week, even as reported differences persist between the two leaders over Iran, Lebanon and broader regional security. That the two sides are still arranging to meet suggests the alliance remains intact, even if its public tone has grown testier.
Why India, and Why Now?
Netanyahu’s choice of India as his rebuttal was not arbitrary. New Delhi and Jerusalem share a relationship that has evolved from cautious distance to strategic partnership over seven decades. India recognised Israel in 1950 but, wary of its ties with the Arab world and its own large Muslim population’s sentiments, kept the relationship at arm’s length for over four decades. Israel did not even have a resident embassy in Delhi until 1992. Full diplomatic relations were finally established under P.V. Narasimha Rao’s government.
From Cold Distance to Strategic Partnership
The real transformation came later. Defence cooperation deepened steadily through the 1990s and 2000s, with Israel becoming one of India’s leading suppliers of missile defence systems, drones and surveillance technology. The symbolic high point arrived in 2017, when Narendra Modi became the first sitting Indian prime minister to visit Israel, followed by Netanyahu’s own visit to India in 2018. Since then, cooperation has expanded into agriculture, water technology, counter-terrorism and, increasingly, artificial intelligence, which is the very domain Netanyahu invoked in his Fox News remarks.
Trade between the two countries has grown sharply since 1992. It rose from a few million dollars to several billion annually. India has generally avoided harsh criticism of Israel’s military campaigns. Yet it still maintains long-standing support for Palestinian statehood.This acts as a balancing act New Delhi has sustained through successive governments.
Public Sentiment vs. Official Policy
Whether this history amounts to India “standing with Israel” in the way Netanyahu implied is a matter of interpretation. India’s official position has consistently stopped short of unconditional alignment. India continues to engage with Gulf states, Iran and Palestinian representatives.
This reflects India’s policy of strategic autonomy rather than bloc loyalty. Public sentiment on Indian social media, which Netanyahu cited, is not the same as government policy, and New Delhi has not issued its own statement endorsing his remarks.
A Footnote, Not the Headline
This incident clears that the India-Israel relationship has grown significant since 1992. Significant enough to be invoked in a high-stakes diplomatic spat. That spat involves Israel and its most powerful patron. As Netanyahu and Trump prepare for their anticipated Washington meeting, this aside about India may fade into the background. It could become a minor footnote in a larger negotiation. That negotiation will center on Iran and regional security.