A massive crowd of at least 5,000 will be waiting to hear an address by India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday evening at the Tel Aviv Fairgrounds.
The Embassy of India has organized buses to transport those of Indian ancestry from all over the country to the event, from cities as far north as Haifa, the capital – Jerusalem – and as far south as Ashdod and Be’er Sheva.
India’s leader, who arrives Tuesday for the first visit by a prime minister of his country to Israel, is acclaimed around the world in a manner somewhat akin to a rock star.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu noted during opening remarks to the cabinet on Monday that India is the largest democracy in the world.
“This is an historic first visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Israel in 70 years and it attests to the fact that our relations with India have become closer in recent years,” he said.
“Our governments and peoples are sharing in this effort to build a strong friendship between us,” he added. “This visit will deepen cooperation in a range of areas – security, agriculture, water, energy, almost every field in which Israel is engaged. I will accompany the Prime Minister at many events during his visit as befits the leader of the largest democracy in the world.”
There are approximately 31 million India-born nationals living abroad – some temporarily, some not. In the Jewish State, there are an estimated 80,000 to 85,000 non-resident Indians, or those whose ancestry dates back to India.
Modi has told media in interviews that he sees Indians abroad as individual bridges linking the countries in which they are living, to their country of birth. He strives to strengthen the connection with those in the “Diaspora” wherever he goes in the world, often speaking to rallies of thousands.