Fact Check: Modi says Israel is fatherland of Indians? No, clipped video shared out of context
A video circulating online claims to show Prime Minister Modi referring to Israel as the ‘fatherland of Indians’.
By - Rahul Adhikari
Claim:The video shows PM Modi saying that Israel is the fatherland of India.
Fact:Misleading. PM Modi made the statement while referencing Indian-origin Jewish people who migrated to Israel.
Hyderabad: A video featuring Prime Minister Narendra Modi has surfaced on social media in which he can be allegedly heard saying, “Israel is their fatherland and India their motherland.” Several users have shared the clip stating that it shows PM Modi describing ‘Israel as the fatherland of Indians’.
One user shared the video on X and wrote, “Israel is the Fatherland and India is the Motherland. So Zionist are father of India? #ModiInEpsteinFiles” (Archive)
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that the claim is misleading. PM Narendra Modi made the statement while referencing Indian-origin Jewish people who migrated to Israel.
What did PM Modi talk about in Israel?
We conducted a reverse image search on keyframes of the viral clip and found the original video on PM Narendra Modi’s official YouTube channel, published on February 25. The description stated that he addressed the Knesset (the Parliament) of Israel, highlighting the ties between Israel and the Jewish people. The text on the video’s thumbnail had the text, “Shared Civilisations The Story of Jews in India”.
PM Narendra Modi is on a two-day state visit to Israel from February 25 to further consolidate the India-Israel partnership.
We found that in the original speech, he was referring to India’s relationship with Israel dating back 2,000 years.
He said, “There was a moment from India to Israel too, when many Indian Jews migrated to Israel in the mid 20th century. Today, a vibrant Indian origin Jews community lives here. They have contributed to the building of modern Israel in laboratories and hospitals, in classrooms and on the battlefield. They hold firmly that Israel is their fatherland and India their motherland.”
The part where PM Modi says, “Israel is their fatherland and India their motherland,” was clipped from the original video and shared on social media without context. He did not call Israel the ‘fatherland of Indians’ but was referring to Indian-origin Jews who migrated to Israel.
Therefore, NewsMeter concluded that the claim is misleading.
