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Washington DC: America’s omnipotent Jewish community has forced Mahatma Gandhi’s grandson, Arun Gandhi, to resign from the institute he founded in the US 17 years ago to spread the message of the Father of India.
His resignation offer follows remarks the grandson made about the Jewish identity and the Holocaust in an online discussion on faith and religion on the website of The Washington Post.
“The Board of the M.K. Gandhi Institute for Non-violence has received Mr Arun Gandhi’s offer of resignation as president of our organization,” the institute said in a statement released through the University of Rochester in New York state, where it is housed since June last year.
“We are scheduling a board meeting with him upon his return from India (this) week,” the statement added.
India is unlikely to say or do anything in defence of Arun even though the huge controversy here revolves around Gandhi and his ideals of non-violence, officials here privately said.
New Delhi cannot afford to even tangentially annoy the American Jewish community because successive Indian governments have relied on this community for at least 15 years to bring Indo-US relations to its present health. The nuclear deal between India and the US would not have got to its present phase of implementation without the active involvement of the American Jewish community in its favour.
Arun’s offer to resign follows several days of grovelling apologies by him, by the moderators of the online discussion on the Post website and defensive statements by University of Rochester president Joel Seligman for having associated with the M.K. Gandhi Institute for Non-violence.
Hundreds of messages assailing Arun and The Washington Post were posted on the website, most of them clearly by Jews. The powerful American Jewish Committee’s executive director David A. Harris pre-empted any Indian reaction by hinting in a statement that India was being ungrateful for all that his organisation did for New Delhi .
“We are proud at the American Jewish Committee to have played a vital role in nurturing the India-Israel bilateral relationship, as well as strengthening the bonds between American Jews and Indian Americans,” Harris said.
Arun’s original remarks, which triggered the controversy, argued that “Jews today not only want the Germans to feel guilty but the whole world must regret what happened to the Jews. The world did feel sorry for the episode but when an individual or a nation refuses to forgive and move on the regret turns into anger.”
Recalling his visit to Tel Aviv in 2004, Arun said he spoke to members of the Israeli parliament and asked in Gandhian tones: “Would it not be better to befriend those who hate you? Can you not reach out and share your technological advancement with your neighbours and build a relationship?”
When a storm of protest erupted over these remarks, Arun apologised. “I do not believe and should not have implied that the policies of the Israeli government are reflective of the views of all Jewish people.”
Seligman issued a statement that the apology was inadequate and that he was “deeply disappointed by Arun Gandhi’s recent opinion piece... which seem(s) fundamentally inconsistent with the core values of the University of Rochester .”
The Post website’s moderators said: “We regret the initial posting, and we apologise for the episode”, begging readers for “a measure of forbearance and tolerance as the site endeavours to conduct a civil and illuminating conversation.”
Local newspapers demanded Arun’s resignation and asked the University of Rochester to sever ties with the M.K.Gandhi Institute for Non-violence. The AJC called Arun’s comments “reprehensible” and said “Mr Gandhi has fallen short in his subsequent apology.”
In addition to heading the Institute, Arun is a regular participant in “Renaissance Weekend” deliberations with former US President Bill Clinton and other Rhodes Scholars. (Telegraphindia)
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Comments (2 posted)
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Posted by mohammad allam, 26 January, 2008 15:25:06Mr Gandhi did not understand that unknowingly he stroked on the root of the Israeli march for global dominance in the name of Holocaust by getting the sympathy of the Europe and world,to justify the destruction of Palestine and militarization of Israel.
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Posted by Ghulam Muhammed, Mumbai, 25 January, 2008 13:41:02For the reference of your readers, may I copy the full text of Gandhi's comments and his supposed apology: The original posting and apology follow: Original Posting: Jewish Identity Can't Depend on Violence by Arun Gandhi Posted January 7, 2008 Jewish identity in the past has been locked into the holocaust experience -- a German burden that the Jews have not been able to shed. It is a very good example of a community can overplay a historic experience to the point that it begins to repulse friends. The holocaust was the result of the warped mind of an individual who was able to influence his followers into doing something dreadful. But, it seems to me the Jews today not only want the Germans to feel guilty but the whole world must regret what happened to the Jews. The world did feel sorry for the episode but when an individual or a nation refuses to forgive and move on the regret turns into anger. The Jewish identity in the future appears bleak. Any nation that remains anchored to the past is unable to move ahead and, especially a nation that believes its survival can only be ensured by weapons and bombs. In Tel Aviv in 2004 I had the opportunity to speak to some Members of Parliament and Peace activists all of whom argued that the wall and the military build-up was necessary to protect the nation and the people. In other words, I asked, you believe that you can create a snake pit -- with many deadly snakes in it -- and expect to live in the pit secure and alive? What do you mean? they countered. Well, with your superior weapons and armaments and your attitude towards your neighbors would it not be right to say that you are creating a snake pit? How can anyone live peacefully in such an atmosphere? Would it not be better to befriend those who hate you? Can you not reach out and share your technological advancement with your neigh bors and build a relationship? Apparently, in the modern world, so determined to live by the bomb, this is an alien concept. You don't befriend anyone, you dominate them. We have created a culture of violence (Israel and the Jews are the biggest players) and that Culture of Violence is eventually going to destroy humanity. Gandhi's so-called apology, posted January 10, 2008, at "On Faith" section of Washington Post/Newsweek interactive web site: My Apology for My Poorly Worded Post by Arun Gandhi "I am writing to correct some regrettable mis-impressions I have given in my comments on my blog this week. While I stand behind my criticisms of the use of violence by recent Israeli governments -- and I have criticized the governments of the U.S., India and China in much the same way -- I want to correct statements that I made with insufficient care, and that have inflicted unnecessary hurt and caused anger. I do not believe and should not have implied that the policies of the Israeli government are reflective of the views of all Jewish people. Indeed, many are as concerned as I am by the use of violence for state purposes, by Israel and many other governments. I do believe that when a people hold on to historic grievances too firmly it can lead to bitterness and the loss of support from those who would be friends. But as I have noted in previous writings, the suffering of the Jewish people, particularly in the Holocaust, was historic in its proportions. While we must strive for a future of peace that rejects violence, it is also important not to forget the past, lest we fail to learn from it. Having learned from it, we can then find the path to peace and rejection of violence through forgiveness."
