Israel warns citizens not to travel to India, citing terror threat

December 31, 2016

Jerusalem/ New Delhi: Israel's Counter- Terrorism Bureau has warned Israelis travelling to India to be on "alert", citing an immediate threat of attack against Western and tourist targets particularly in the south-west of the country.

goaIn a statement released by the Prime Minister's Office, the Counter-Terrorism Bureau singled out Western and tourist hot-spots as being at heightened risk.

"Israeli tourists travelling in India are asked to stay alert and to pay attention to local media reports and security agencies. Furthermore, families with relatives in India" are asked to update them about the travel warning and recommendation, the statement said yesterday.

"We ask to focus on events in the coming days related to the Christian New Year's holiday, placing particular emphasis on beach parties and clubs, where there is larger concentration of tourists," it said.

The south-west part of the country -- which covers popular holiday destinations like Goa, Pune, Mumbai and Cochin -- are particularly at risk, according to the advisory.

The warning is defined a "concrete basic threat," according to Israel's Channel 2 television.

Security sources in Tel Aviv said that the trance parties on new year's eve on the beaches of Goa are very popular among Israeli youngsters and other western tourists. Such gatherings can be easy targets of certain hostile Islamic groups.

Israel has in the past also issued such warning, especially for Goa, but this time security sources feel all such places frequented by large number of western tourists in south and west of India can be a target of terror attack.

The advisory coming out on Friday evening after the start of Jewish Sabbath has been noted by the local media as a bit "unusual" and by some also as sign of a "serious threat".

An Israeli Embassy spokesman in New Delhi confirmed the warning and said, "Israel has issued a travel advisory surrounding New Year's Eve celebrations events in south-west India, with specific regard to beach parties, clubs and highly-populated tourist sites. Israeli tourist are advised to avoid such events and other densely-populated areas."

In addition, it recommended avoiding markets, festivals and crowded shopping areas.

The bureau did not specify what prompted the warning, however, additional security arrangements have been made all around the world for New Year eve in view of the Berlin terror attack on a Christmas market last week that killed 12 people.

India remains a popular tourist destination for Israeli citizens and according to Jewish Post an estimated 20,000 former Israeli soldiers travel to India every year.

Israeli citizens and Jewish sites in India have been attacked in the past, the most infamous incident occurred during the 2008 Mumbai terror attack when members of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terror group targeted the local Chabad House, among other sites, in Mumbai.

In 2012, Tal Yehoshua Koren, the wife of an Israeli Defense Ministry representative, was moderately wounded in an explosion in her car near the Israeli embassy in New Delhi.

Comments

Naren kotian
 - 
Monday, 2 Jan 2017

Haha altaf bin laden . ..burnol beka ?

Althaf
 - 
Sunday, 1 Jan 2017

Naren kotian, Singapore

Modi ninna ammena

Naren kotian
 - 
Sunday, 1 Jan 2017

FYI...terrorism started in india when ghazni Mohammed invaded india .. Barbarism ,rapes and mass massacres which continued till aurangazeb ...after him tippesi started war on non Muslims ...it can be compared to present day ISIS .so no point in blaming our Jewish guys ...only madrasa dumki log can say terrorism started after 1992 and after diplomatic relation with Israel ...utter nonsense ....mossad trains sangh parivar Anthe ...hahaha ...sardarji jokes must be replaced with mullahs jokes ...long live Zionist regime and long live indo Israel relationship and long live sangh parivar ....

abdullah
 - 
Sunday, 1 Jan 2017

Isarael -RSS Team may planning to plot bombs in India. therefor they warning only their people same they did in World Trade Center attack.

Rashid
 - 
Saturday, 31 Dec 2016

terrorism increased in India after India started deplomatic relationship with isrel , Mossad is training sangh parivaar ... So called Zionist media created dummy org like Al Qaida , ISIS , globally to target muslims by the name of 'war on terrorism' ... same expanded strategy created in India also by dummy names like Indian Mujahideen, deccan mujahideen, bengal mujahideen...it may continue .... probably same dummies may target any isrelis to create media ruckus and to hunt innocent muslims...

Naren kotian
 - 
Saturday, 31 Dec 2016

Safety of our Israeli brothers and sisters are top priority. mossad might have got strong inputs otherwise they don't issue it ...muslim community backed terror elements might try to attack. RAW and IB must be extra vigilante.... Long live Jewish and nationalist Indian relationship ...long live Israel and long live netanyahu .. Hara hara modi ...jai jai modi

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Ram Puniyani
January 14,2020

In the beginning of January 2020 two very disturbing events were reported from Pakistan. One was the attack on Nankana Sahib, the holy shrine where Sant Guru Nanak was born. While one report said that the place has been desecrated, the other stated that it was a fight between two Muslim groups. Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan condemned the incident and the main accused Imran Chisti was arrested. The matter related to abduction and conversion of a Sikh girl Jagjit Kaur, daughter of Pathi (One who reads Holy Guru Granth Sahib in Gurudwara) of the Gurudwara. In another incident one Sikh youth Ravinder Singh, who was out on shopping for his marriage, was shot dead in Peshawar.

While these condemnable attacks took place on the Sikh minority in Pakistan, BJP was quick enough to jump to state that it is events like this which justify the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). Incidentally CAA is the Act which is discriminatory and relates to citizenship with Religion, which is not as per the norms of Indian constitution. There are constant debates and propaganda that population of Hindus has come down drastically in Pakistan and Bangla Desh. Amit Shah, the Home minister stated that in Pakistan the population of Hindus has come down from 23% at the time of partition to 3.7% at present. And in Bangla Desh it has come down from 22% to present 8%.

While not denying the fact that the religious minorities are getting a rough deal in both these countries, the figures which are presented are totally off the mark. These figures don’t take into consideration the painful migrations, which took place at the time of partition and formation of Bangla Desh later. Pakistan census figures tell a different tale. Their first census was held in 1951. As per this census the overall percentage of Non Muslim in Pakistan (East and West together) was 14.2%, of this in West Pakistan (Now Pakistan) it was 3.44 and in Eat Pakistan it was 23.2. In the census held in Pakistan 1998 it became 3.72%. As far as Bangla Desh is concerned the share of Non Muslims has gone down from 23.2 (1951) to 9.6% in 2011.

The largest minority of Pakistan is Ahmadis, (https://minorityrights.org/country/pakistan/) who are close to 4 Million and are not recognised as Muslims in Pakistan. In Bangla Desh the major migrations of Hindus from Bangla Desh took place in the backdrop of Pakistan army’s atrocities in the then East Pakistan.

As far as UN data on refugees in India it went up by 17% between 2016-2019 and largest numbers were from Tibet and Sri Lanka.  (https://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/migration/publication…)

The state of minorities is in a way the index of strength of democracy. Most South Asian Countries have not been able to sustain democratic values properly. In Pakistan, the Republic began with Jinnah’s classic speech where secularism was to be central credo of Pakistan. This 11th August speech was in a way what the state policy should be, as per which people of all faiths are free to practice their religion. Soon enough the logic of ‘Two Nation theory” and formation of Pakistan, a separate state for Muslim took over. Army stepped in and dictatorship was to reign there intermittently. Democratic elements were suppressed and the worst came when Zia Ul Haq Islamized the state in collusion with Maulanas. The army was already a strong presence in Pakistan. The popular formulation for Pakistan was that it is ruled by three A’s, Army, America and Allah (Mullah).

Bangla Desh had a different trajectory. Its very formation was a nail in the coffin of ‘two nation theory’; that religion can be the basis of a state. Bangla Desh did begin as a secular republic but communal forces and secular forces kept struggling for their dominance and in 1988 it also became Islamic republic. At another level Myanmar, in the grip of military dictatorship, with democratic elements trying to retain their presence is also seeing a hard battle. Democracy or not, the army and Sanghas (Buddhist Sang has) are strong, in Myanmar as well. The most visible result is persecution of Rohingya Muslims.

Similar phenomenon is dominating in Sri Lanka also where Budhhist Sanghas and army have strong say in the political affairs, irrespective of which Government is ruling. Muslim and Christian minorities are a big victim there, while Tamils (Hindus, Christians etc.) suffered the biggest damage as ethnic and religious minorities. India had the best prospect of democracy, pluralism and secularism flourishing here. The secular constitution, the outcome of India’s freedom struggle, the leadership of Gandhi and Nehru did ensure the rooting of democracy and secularism in a strong way.

India so far had best democratic credentials amongst all the south Asian countries. Despite that though the population of minorities rose mainly due to poverty and illiteracy, their overall marginalisation was order of the day, it went on worsening with the rise of communal forces, with communal forces resorting to identity issues, and indulging in propaganda against minorities.

While other South Asian countries should had followed India to focus more on infrastructure and political culture of liberalism, today India is following the footsteps of Pakistan. The retrograde march of India is most visible in the issues which have dominated the political space during last few years. Issues like Ram Temple, Ghar Wapasi, Love Jihad, Beef-Cow are now finding their peak in CAA.

India’s reversal towards a polity with religion’s identity dominating the political scene was nicely presented by the late Pakistani poetess Fahmida Riaz in her poem, Tum bhi Hum Jaise Nikle (You also turned out to be like us). While trying to resist communal forces has been an arduous task, it is becoming more difficult by the day. This phenomenon has been variously called, Fundamentalism, Communalism or religious nationalism among others. Surely it has nothing to do with the religion as practiced by the great Saint and Sufi traditions of India; it resorts mainly to political mobilization by using religion as a tool.

Comments

Ashi
 - 
Tuesday, 14 Jan 2020

If Malaysia implement similar NRC/CAA, India and China are the loser.

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News Network
April 7,2020

Bengaluru, Apr 7:  A group of Muslim philanthropists including a woman were allegedly assaulted by a group of people while they were distributing necessary food items to the needy at Dasarahalli of Amruthahalli Police Station limits in the city.

An FIR has also been registered in this regard and two people have been taken under police custody.

Twenty-three-year-old Syed Tabrez, son of Zarin Taj, secretary of Swaraj Abhiyan's local unit and his mother and friends were attacked by some unknown miscreants at Dasarahalli of Amruthahalli police station limits on Monday while they were distributing essential items to the needy amid the COVID-19 lockdown.

"The incident occurred on Monday. An FIR was filed by the woman stating that she was assaulted by some people. On receiving the information, our officers rushed to Ambedkar Hospital and spoke to one of the victims. As per the complaint, Vidyaranya Pura and Amruthahalli Police have secured two people.

The investigation is underway. It is not a case of communal hatred," said Dr Bheemashakar Guled, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), North-East Bengaluru.

Tabrez has suffered minor injuries on his right hand and right leg while others have also suffered minor injuries. They have been discharged from the hospital.

The incident occurred at around 6 pm yesterday when some people came on a motorcycle, carrying bats and started thrashing Tabrez along with others, as per the FIR. Later, the injured people went to Amrutahalli Police Station and filed a complaint there.

Later they went to the Bowring Hospital which was closed. Then, they went to Dr Ambedkar Hospital in KG Halli.

Syed's mother said the accused persons threatened us, saying that "Muslims are poisoning the rations. You people will not deliver the food here. Muslims will have to leave the slum and relocate themselves somewhere else."

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News Network
February 12,2020

Bengaluru, Feb 12: Hinting at the possibility of a consolidation of ex-Janata Parivar leaders, JD(S) supremo HD Deve Gowda said Tuesday his party was open to talk to any former Janata leaders, who are at present either in various factions of the Janata Dal or in Congress and BJP. The veteran leader also appreciated Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP's way of work.

At the party's National Executive Committee meeting held here, Gowda said that some ex-Janata Parivar leaders had reached out to him in this regard. His comments come at a time when JD(U) leader Mahima Patel recently rekindled the debate of a unified Janata Parivar.

However, Deve Gowda was clear that he was not interested in pursuing anyone who was happy with the party they were in. "It's a waste of time to pursue someone who has seen success within their party. I am not going to do that. I am willing to persuade only those who are not holding any office at present," he said. He added that he had already asked party leaders in Kerala to take the initiative and figure out ways to bring leaders together. As for other places, it would take him some time to reach out people, he added.

The party, which organised the National Executive Meet here on February 10 and 11, spoke of strategies to rejuvenate the party from the grassroots level. The party is also conducting a membership drive.

'Much to learn from AAP'

There is much to learn from Aam Aadmi Party, which registered a victory in Delhi elections on Tuesday, said Devegowda. "Kejriwal has showed that caste does not matter. There is lesson to be learnt from the work done by AAP," he said. Later in the day, Deve Gowda also wrote a letter to Arvind Kejriwal, congratulating him on his victory.

On the occasion, the party also came up with resolutions to urge the central government to release pending amount of GST it owed to state governments apart from focusing on development of labour, industries and agriculture; to demand the centre to rollback decision on CAA, NRC and NPR and to urge the centre to pass the women's reservation bill.

At the JD(S) National Executive Meet, even as news poured in about the victory of Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi elections, the JD(S) leaders celebrated Arvind Kejriwal's victory. Seeing it as an optimistic sign for regional parties across the country, the leaders distributed sweets to mark the hat trick win of Kejriwal.

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