‘Still waiting for 26/11 plotters to be brought to justice’ | India News – Times of India

In a first for any Knesset Speaker, Amir Ohana is in India for an official visit. In a conversation with TOI’s Sachin Parashar, Ohana called for stronger parliamentary cooperation between India and Israel and backed PM Netanyahu’s judicial overhaul that has led to mass protests. Excerpts from the interview:
Why has it taken 31 years for a Knesset Speaker to visit India? Tell us about the agenda of your visit.
n This is my first visit abroad after taking over as Speaker and India was chosen for many reasons. Strengthening of the relationship, thanks to PM Modi and PM Netanyahu, is significant. We see how India is progressing in many areas, including economically, and see it as a very important power. We were received very warmly by the President, Vice President and Lok Sabha Speaker with whom I signed an MoU. India and Isarael have both seen terror attacks and I believe there’s a lot we can do together on counter-terrorism like sharing knowledge and intelligence, also in training. I served for 12 years in IDF (Israel Defence Forces), including in security agency Shin Bet, during the second intifada, among the most challenging periods for us in terms of counterterrorism operations. There’s much to do also in areas like agriculture and water preservation. You will see in the following months visits by the Israel foreign minister, minister of economy and hopefully by PM Netanyahu by the end of the year.
You have spoken about the Mumbai attacks, in which Jews were also targeted, but the trial in Pakistan seems headed nowhere.
n It’s important to prevent terrorist attacks but it’s equally important to bring terrorists to justice. And I’m sorry to say the Mumbai attackers – those who sent them… who passed the orders – are still to be brought to justice. We are looking forward to seeing that.
What is the significance of the MoU signed during your visit?
n Our interest is to bring the Parliaments together. The two PMs are close, there are great people-to-people contacts but a strong relationship between the Parliaments was lacking. We are looking to address this through the MoU. We are looking specifically at cooperation between young parliamentarians below the age of 40. This is important as we see India as a rising and important power.
Seems Israel is in the throes of a political crisis. There are mass protests against PM Netanyahu’s proposed judicial overhaul. Why are these reforms important?
n For many many years we have been talking about reforming the judiciary, but it was always postponed. This led to a very limited democracy in the country. The system of appointment of judges is the main issue. No country follows the current system in Israel. The idea behind the reforms is to have a more democratic system. One which is more pluralistic and diverse. Unfortunately, many Israelis look at it as something that will threaten democracy when the fact is that after the reforms Israel will become more democratic. We hope to reach an agreement through the ongoing debate like in any democracy. We would like to have a consensus. If not, we will have to take decisions through a majority.
Any lesson for India where too there’s friction between the executive and judiciary? Also, what do you make of Rahul Gandhi‘s disqualification?
n We very much like the fact that India didn’t interfere in our internal affairs. So, we would also not like to do that. These are internal issues. Each country has to solve its own problems within the boundaries of democracy.