Open Letter to Priyanka Gandhi
From Bengaluru for Justice and Peace
Date: 12 August 2025
What is the Subject?
The citizens’ collective Bengaluru for Justice and Peace has written an open letter to Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi, urging the Indian National Congress to pass a resolution calling for a complete arms embargo on Israel. The group commended Gandhi’s condemnation of Israel’s killing of journalists in Gaza but criticised Congress leaders in Karnataka for fostering ties with Israeli officials and companies. The letter demands suspension of all Karnataka government collaborations with Israeli defence-linked entities and a halt to India’s arms exports to Israel.
Subject: Congress Must Take a Decisive Stand — Call for an Arms Embargo on Israel
Dear Ms. Priyanka Gandhi,
We, the members of Bengaluru for Justice and Peace, appreciate your recent, unequivocal condemnation of the targeted assassination of five Al Jazeera journalists in an Israeli airstrike near Gaza’s Al Shifa Hospital. Your description of this atrocity as a “heinous crime” — coupled with your acknowledgement that the Israeli state is committing genocide and deliberately starving civilians — is both necessary and courageous, particularly at a time when the Government of India has failed to recognise these crimes.
While your personal statements are commendable, we believe this is the moment to transform words into resolute political action. As the General Secretary of the Indian National Congress (INC), you are uniquely positioned to ensure your party adopts a principled, consistent, and unambiguous stand on this ongoing genocide.
Concerns Over Congress’s Engagement with Israel
Regrettably, evidence shows that some members of the INC have deepened ties with Israel even as its war crimes escalate. In Karnataka, where the INC governs, senior leaders — including Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar and Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao — attended the Haifa Memorial Lectures at IISc Bengaluru in September 2024, sharing a platform with Israeli officials and under the Israeli flag.
Over the past two years, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM Shivakumar have frequently publicised collaborations with the Israeli Consulate — from joint venture companies to agribusiness partnerships. This normalisation of ties, amidst a genocide, runs counter to the values of justice, solidarity, and human rights that the Congress Party professes to uphold.
As a Bengaluru-based collective, we have previously written to the INC regarding Karnataka’s facilitation of the India-Israel Business Summit. Just last week, we also drew MPs’ attention to nine Bengaluru-based companies supplying arms and components to Israel, including:
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Ace Inotec Manufacturing Pvt. Ltd.
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Alpha Design Technologies Pvt. Ltd.
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Alpha-Elsec Aerospace Systems
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Amphenol Interconnect India Pvt. Ltd.
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Amphetronix Offset Interconnect Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
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DCX Systems Ltd.
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Defsys Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
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Indo-MIM Pvt. Ltd.
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SASMOS HET Technologies Ltd. and Wave Mechanics Pvt. Ltd.
“Karnataka leaders pose with Israeli officials while Gaza bleeds. Priyanka Gandhi, it’s time for the Congress Party to choose justice over complicity. #StopGenocide”
The Moral Imperative: Halting India’s Arms Trade with Israel
True solidarity demands more than statements of outrage. It requires concrete measures to dismantle the networks enabling Israel’s war machine. The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation in Palestine has documented in detail how Israel’s occupation has become a live testing ground for arms manufacturers and tech firms — rendering those who supply weapons complicit in grave breaches of international law.
Our Call to Action
We urge you, as General Secretary of the INC, to press your party to:
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Pass a formal resolution demanding a complete arms embargo on Israel, including a ban on the export and transit of all weapons, weapon components, and dual-use items — whether directly or through intermediaries.
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Instruct the Karnataka State Government to review and suspend all government contracts, grants, and Production Linked Incentive schemes linked to Israeli defence companies, and to halt all exports of military equipment to Israel.
India’s historic commitment to the Palestinian cause demands that we stand firmly on the side of justice today. The Congress Party — with its legacy of anti-colonial struggle — must lead by example, rejecting complicity and championing peace.
We trust you will use your position to ensure the INC aligns its actions with its stated values, and that history will record your leadership at a critical juncture.
In solidarity,
Aishwarya – 9900047744
Rohini – 7406507140
On behalf of Bengaluru for Justice and Peace
Context & Background
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Trigger Event: On 12 August 2025, Priyanka Gandhi called the killing of five Al Jazeera journalists in Gaza a “heinous crime” and acknowledged Israel’s genocide.
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Concerns Raised: Karnataka Congress leaders, including CM Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM D.K. Shivakumar, have engaged in public collaborations with Israeli officials, even attending events hosted under the Israeli flag.
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Arms Trade: Nine Bengaluru-based companies have been identified as supplying arms or components to Israel.
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International Context: The UN Special Rapporteur has urged states and companies to end arms transfers to Israel, citing complicity in genocide and war crimes.
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Demands:
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INC must pass a resolution for a total arms embargo on Israel.
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Karnataka must suspend all contracts, grants, and incentives linked to Israeli defence firms.
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Key Quotes
From the Letter:
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“Your words of condemnation must now be matched with decisive political action.”
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“Karnataka’s active collaborations with Israeli officials and companies make a mockery of the party’s professed commitment to justice.”
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“For solidarity to mean anything, India must end all arms trade with Israel.”
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“History will record whether Congress chooses complicity or courage.”
Possible Public Quote from Bengaluru for Justice and Peace:
“We welcome Priyanka Gandhi’s acknowledgement of Israel’s crimes, but the Congress Party’s deeds must match its words. Karnataka cannot claim to stand for justice while hosting Israeli officials and facilitating arms trade.” — Aishwarya, Bengaluru for Justice and Peace
Q & A
Q: Why address Priyanka Gandhi specifically?
A: As General Secretary of the Congress Party and a vocal critic of Israel’s war crimes, she has the influence to ensure the party takes an unambiguous stand and enacts concrete measures.
Q: What is the main demand?
A: A complete arms embargo on Israel — halting the export and transit of weapons, components, and dual-use items — and suspension of Karnataka’s defence-related ties with Israeli companies.
Q: Why target Karnataka’s Congress government?
A: While in power, it has hosted Israeli officials, participated in pro-Israel events, and fostered business collaborations with companies linked to Israel’s arms industry.
Q: How does this connect to India’s historical stance on Palestine?
A: India has long supported Palestine’s right to self-determination. Continuing arms trade with Israel undermines that legacy and risks complicity in genocide.
#BanArmsToIsrael #CongressStandForJustice #PriyankaGandhi #StopGenocide #PalestineSolidarity
