Two years after their self-inflicted humiliation on social media, Hindutva (Hindu nationalist) users in India have once again expressed disappointment that Israel has not included them in their latest online propaganda campaigns, which feature supporters and messages of solidarity with the occupying state from around the world.
In May 2021, amid another onslaught on Gaza, sparked by tensions over approved plans for evicting Palestinian families from East Jerusalem, as well as the provocative storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque by Israeli police, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took to platform X (formerly known as Twitter) to express gratitude to world governments for standing with Israel and affirming its “right to self-defense against terrorist attacks.”
The post featured flag emojis from 25 countries, and notably, India was not among them. This omission triggered a flurry of posts from pro-Israel Indians, urging “sir” to “please mention India.” At the time, they were widely ridiculed and the “full support sir” expression has become something of an Internet meme due to their perceived cringe-worthy behaviour and the apparent one-sided dimension to the Hindutva-Zionist relationship.
These sentiments are largely attributed to their own biases, as well as their animosity towards their substantial Muslim minority population, the ongoing occupation of Muslim-majority Kashmir, and their mutual hostility with neighboring Pakistan, which does not recognise the state of Israel.
It seems as old habits die hard, as following the latest devastating Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip, the latest resistance operation Al-Aqsa Flood, and the remarkable outpouring of solidarity around the world for the Palestinian cause, Israel’s own propaganda machine has gone into overdrive.
Hindutva social media users tend to be more vocal and prominent than even Israelis themselves in the comments section of any pro-Israel social media posts. On 7 October, they were likely taken by surprise when the official Israel state account finally acknowledged them by posting a simple, “Thank you India,” with the Indian and Israeli flags displayed side by side. This response came in reaction to “India stands with Israel” trending on the platform.
Source : MEMO
