At a joint press statement with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Tel Aviv today, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu set aside the usual diplomatic tone for a moment of heartfelt honesty. What began as a formal address took an unexpected turn when he started speaking about the early days of his relationship with his wife, Sara. The room, filled with officials and media, seemed to shift as he moved from policy to a personal memory. He described a date that took place years ago in an Indian restaurant in Tel Aviv, a memory still vivid to him.
It was then that he shared the moment in his own words, saying, "I owe India a great personal debt. When I met Sara (his wife) for the first time, I think our first or second date was in an Indian restaurant in Tel Aviv. It was Reena Pushkarna. The food was unbelievable. Sara was introduced to it for the first time, so it was a great first date - not only with the food, the date was excellent too," the Israeli PM said.
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A Familiar Restaurant And A Fond Memory
According to an India Today report, even though Netanyahu did not name the restaurant during the press statement, it is widely known to be Tandoori Tel Aviv, owned by Indian Israeli restaurateur Reena Pushkarna. She has previously shared that the couple sat at Table Number Eight during that date and that Netanyahu has long been a fan of Indian cuisine. According to her, he even orders Indian food regularly, with butter chicken and kadhai chicken among his favourites.
This was not the first time he spoke about this moment. Netanyahu had recalled the same memory during Prime Minister Modi's 2017 visit, a sign of how deeply the experience has stayed with him.
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Modi's Visit And The Larger Setting
Prime Minister Modi is currently on a two day visit to Israel, with high level discussions focusing on defence cooperation, innovation partnerships, economic ties and regional developments. The two leaders also addressed ongoing strategic projects and areas of future collaboration during their joint statement today.
The personal anecdote arrived at the end of these discussions, lending a softer touch to an otherwise packed diplomatic schedule.