A forgotten India-Israel bond

About 100 years ago

Dear Reader,

Ideally, today we wanted to write to you about something else, but late last evening, some disturbing news emerged from Israel. Iran launched about 200 ballistic missiles at Israel that triggered nationwide air raid sirens and forced nearly 10 million people into bomb shelters for a while.

Thankfully, Israel’s advanced defence systems intercepted most of the missiles. But a few still got through, causing some minor damage and injuries. As things continue to develop, our thoughts are with those affected.

As we follow this news, we wanted to remind ourselves of how India’s ties to Israel go back far longer than most of us realise. Did you know that during World War I, Indian soldiers helped liberate an Israeli city?

About 106 years back, on 23 September 1918, Indian cavalry regiments—the Mysore and Jodhpur Lancers—led a bold charge to free the port city of Haifa from Ottoman control. With just spears and lances, 400 Indian soldiers took on 1,500 well-armed Ottoman, German, and Austrian troops. Against all odds, they secured a crucial victory.

This was one of the last great cavalry charges in history and a turning point in the war. We have this story in detail here for you - it is the city of Haifa we're talking about.

Raghu