I’m clueless as to why the Israeli arms dealer Rafael’s defense video isn’t inviting protest from the people of India – both in a patriotic sense as well as through a gender point of view. Instead, if we are to believe the spokesperson of Rafael Advanced Defense Systems (as quoted by Wired’s Noah Shachtman), the video is said to have been received with much acclaim in India. I am confused, because the video shows India as a dancing doll, singing Dinga Dinga Dee and begging the man (representing Israel) that “I need to feel safe and sheltered“. The man then sings out to her, “I promise to defend you, Fulfill your expectations“. Oh yeah, that masculine man promising to take care of the vulnerable girl begging him to take care of her. Am I the only one or has anyone else felt weird watching this video as an Indian? And it is all in the backdrop of Rafael missile mock-ups and the images of Goddess Durga and Hanuman.
Wired‘s Noah Shachtman writes:
Every element of the promotional film is just plain wrong. The sari-clad, “Indian” dancers look all too ashkenaz and zaftig. The unshaven, hawk-nosed, leather-clad leading man appears to be a refugee from You Don’t Mess With the Zohan. Then of course, there’s the implication that the Indian military is somehow like a helpless woman who “need(s) to feel safe and sheltered.”
And from Nonna Gorilovskaya of Women and Foreign Policy:
Oh yes, strong Israeli man! Where can I sign up? Then again, he also asserts that “we’ve been together for so long, trusting friends and partners,” suggesting a really bad case of amnesia. India and Israel did not establish full diplomatic relations until 1992.