Israel is a small state, but it is a stable one with a strong army and economic and industrial development. It is a deeply divided nation internally and has socio-cultural diversity. Israel is governed by a 120-member parliament known as the Knesset. The parliamentary democracy is based on proportional representation of political parties with a 3.25 per cent electoral threshold, which usually produces coalition governments.

Israel is a good example of coalition politics and consensus building, something that is made to mean a weak and unstable government in India. Benjamin Netanyahu has mastered the art of winning. With his latest victory, he has secured a fifth term as prime minister. Mostly, Netanyahu creates his coalitions by forginh alliances with far-right and ultra-orthodox parties. His Likud party secured 36 out of 120 seats this time. Likud has never won a majority on its own since its inception in 1977, but has been in power through coalition governments.

Bibi has equalled the record of David Ben-Gurion - Israel’s first PM - of winning five elections and is almost certain to surpass the latter’s time in office by becoming Israel’s longest-serving PM. That’s an achievement, especially considering that Netanyahu was weighed down by the attorney general’s indictment announcement. It was an election in which the attorney-general, appointed by Netanyahu, published a 70-page dossier of evidence on the most intimate details of how the PM and his family allegedly conducted illegal dealings with tycoons. The indictment is certain and one can only wait to see if Netanyahu will complete his four-year term.

Netanyahu has been very successful in maneuvering foreign policy by helping Israel punch above its weight on the diplomatic front. First, he coaxed US president Donald Trump to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, and second, just before the election, gained Trump’s support for Israel’s sovereignty over Golan Heights, which was captured from Syria in 1967. More significant was Trump’s persistent attack on the Iran nuclear deal, which was signed by Barack Obama in 2015. Netanyahu had advocated for its annulment from day one and Trump fulfilled his wish in 2018. Now, Iran has to deal with a more hostile US and a plethora of sanctions. Due to US pressure, India has stopped buying oil from Iran.

At the same time, Netanyahu was able to work tactfully with Russian President Vladimir Putin to launch military operations in Syria whenever a threat arose against Israel’s strategic interests. Netanyahu is believed to be one of the most effective leaders when it comes to safeguarding Israel’s interests.

India and Israel celebrated the completion of 25 years of bilateral ties in 2017. In order to mark the milestone, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Israel that year. No other Indian PM had extended this kind of diplomatic gesture before. Israel had wanted full diplomatic relations since 1947, but Jawaharlal Nehru’s foreign policy had reservations - political and ideological - against befriending Israel.

It wasn’t until 1992 that India established full diplomatic relations. More than internal, external factors facilitated this about-turn. First, the end of the Cold War and the Soviet Union’s collapse created a new diplomatic matrix for India. As a result, Indian foreign policy revised itself and old Nehruvian reservations were found to be anachronistic in the post-Cold War world politics. Second, Israel was an excellent source of armaments and defence systems just when the Soviet Union’s weapons industry was crumbling. India’s poor military capabilities played a crucial role in forging ties with Israel. Israel supplied arms to India during the 1962 war with China; Nehru himself wrote to Ben-Gurion asking for help. During the Kargil conflict, Israel discreetly aided India with ordnance, unmanned aerial vehicles, laser-guided bombs and satellite imagery. Third, Israel was negotiating, for the first time, with Palestinian leaders such as Yasser Arafat on the basis of a two-state solution for conflict resolution. That political development - even though it didn’t lead to a Palestinian state - neutered some of India’s long-held reservations about dealing with Israel.

India’s diplomatic relations with Israel are now fully ‘normalised’ after Modi’s visit in 2017. India and Israel have come out of the closet with confidence and are collaborating on everything from defence to agriculture. Current enthusiasm towards Israel is largely driven by the defence sector, business groups and policy think tanks. One of the dominant arguments is that India can benefit a lot in areas such as defence, agriculture, trade and technology-driven development. Hence, India’s policy towards Israel should be guided not by old ideologies but by realpolitik.

Netanyahu has played a key role in consolidating Indo-Israeli relations with his realpolitik diplomacy. India has figured very prominently in his foreign policy. He and his Likud party have been strong advocates for closer ties with India. Ariel Sharon was the first PM from the Likud party to visit India in 2003 when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was in power. Following Modi’s trip to Israel, Netanyahu visited India last year. “There is a special relationship between the two countries, between the people and then between the leaders,” he said during the visit. “The partnership between India and Israel is a marriage made in heaven, but consecrated on earth.”

Netanyahu considers Modi as one of his best friends and applauds him as “a great leader”. He has found personal chemistry with Modi and both often greet each other on Twitter and social media enthusiastically. The Modi-Bibi bonhomie is certainly a crucial push to bilateral ties. Whenever they meet, their body language exudes warmth and understanding of the strategic partnership. For example, Netanyahu did not criticise India’s reservations against Trump’s endorsement of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Or the fact that Modi visited Ramallah in Palestine just after his much touted visit to Israel and expressed India’s solidarity with the Palestinian people.

Netanyahu takes full charge of foreign affairs, something very similar to Modi’s approach. Modi’s right-wing leanings, religious/conservative nationalism, neoliberal economic views and muscular approach against terrorism aligned him closely with Netanyahu. Netanyahu has tapped India’s rising influence in world politics as well as its various needs from defence to agriculture where Israel can do good business. India is a rewarding market for Israel. It is the largest buyer of Israeli arms and defence equipment.

Agriculture is another area where the countries have significant cooperation, but does not get the spotlight that a defence deal does. The Indo-Israel Agriculture Project was initiated in 2006 and under this project 23 agricultural centres of excellence have been set up in 17 states so far. They are assisting in transferring Israeli agricultural technologies and knowledge to Indian farmers. During his visit, Netanyahu said, “There are other areas (beyond defence) like water, agriculture, energy, health, transportation. There is a whole world that is erupting, exploding. The future belongs to those who innovate... Israel is an innovation nation. India has innovations. In Silicon Valley, there are two dialects you hear, Hindi and Hebrew and only a little English.”

Netanyahu has offered Israel’s full support to India in fighting terrorism. Much of the cooperation in counter-terrorism remains out of the public eye, yet one can assume a lot is happening as we got to know from Netanyahu when he boasted that Israel had helped prevent some 30 terrorist attacks in India. A good recent example is India’s use of Israeli-made Spice-2000 smart bombs during the air strike on JeM’s terror camps in Balakot, Pakistan.

On the global stage, there is a rise of alpha males such as Netanyahu in Israel, Trump in the US, Putin in Russia, Modi in India and Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Turkey. They share a common world view and are connected ideationally. Seemingly, they are brutal realpolitik men who claim to achieve the best for their respective states. Each of them reignited aggressive nationalism in order to succeed. They perpetuate the old-school thought of ‘might is right’ or ‘end justifies the means’ in their scheme of things. No doubt, Modi was prompt in congratulating Netanyahu last month with his quick greetings in Hebrew.

Khinvraj Jangid teaches at the Centre for Israel Studies, Jindal School of International Affairs, OP Jindal Global University, Sonepat. The views expressed here are personal.