Reuben Nissim, a Jewish native of Ahmedabad, India, gave two lectures at local U.C. schools last week discussing India’s growing relationship with Israel, and the importance of that relationship. Nissim is the American Jewish Committee’s program director for Indian–Jewish American relations.
His lectures at U.C. Berkeley and U.C. Santa Cruz attracted about 60 people each, with the audiences composed mainly of Indian, Jewish and Israeli students. One of the sponsors, StandWithUs, noted that the events were intended, in part, to start a conversation between Jewish/Israeli campus and community groups and their Indian and South Asian counterparts.
Nissim spoke mostly about the development of the Israel-India relationship through the years, and also on the Jewish diaspora in India. “There is no greater joy than developing strong leaders who see the importance of the relationship between these two countries,” Nissim said in a brief phone interview.
His talks and the interview occurred before the Feb. 13 attack on an Israeli Embassy car in New Delhi.