Two Ancient Civilizations, One Grievous Wound: Hindu-Jewish Solidarity in the Face of Terror

The Hindu and Jewish peoples—two of the world’s oldest living civilizations—share more than just ancient wisdom and deep cultural traditions. They are among the very few faiths intimately rooted in a single ancestral homeland. For Jews, that homeland is Israel. For Hindus, it is India. These are not just nations—they are civilizational anchors, spiritual centers, and cultural crucibles that have shaped both peoples across millennia.

While many religions spread universally across geographies, Judaism and Hinduism remain tethered to a specific land. From the banks of the Ganga to the hills of Judea, from the hymns of the Rigveda to the psalms of David, their faiths have been shaped by their soil. And both peoples, for centuries, have fought to preserve this connection despite displacement, diaspora, and persecution.

A Homeland Reclaimed, A Civilization Revived

In the 20th century, both Jews and Hindus experienced civilizational resurgence. The Jewish people, after enduring centuries of exile and genocide, returned to their ancestral homeland with the founding of the State of Israel in 1948. Just a year earlier, India, long suppressed under colonial rule, regained independence and began the journey of reasserting its cultural and civilizational identity as a Hindu-majority nation.

For both, nationhood is more than political—it is existential. It represents survival. Revival. The right to live with dignity in one’s own land, in continuity with one’s heritage.

Tragedies that Shook the Soul: October 7 and April 22

But ancient identities often come under modern attack.

• October 7, 2023 marked the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust. In a horrific assault by Hamas, over 1,200 Israelis—many of them civilians, including children and festival goers—were brutally killed. The goal was not just terror. It was the erasure of a people’s right to exist in their land.
  
• April 22, 2025, felt hauntingly similar. Near Pahalgam, in the Baisaran valley of Kashmir, India terrorists from the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba opened fire on Hindu pilgrims and tourists. Twenty-six innocent lives were lost—24 Hindus, one Muslim, and one Nepali national. Dozens were injured. It was the deadliest civilian attack in India since the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

Both tragedies were rooted in the same ideology: an extremist belief that ancient civilizations like Israel and India have no right to exist as sovereign, culturally-rooted homelands. These attacks were not random—they were targeted acts of civilizational hatred.

From Witnesses to Bearers of Grief: A Personal Reflection

When the Jewish community in Indianapolis held a prayer vigil on October 9, 2023—just two days after the Hamas attacks—a few of us from the Hindu community quietly joined in solidarity. We listened. We prayed. We stood beside our Jewish friends. Many came up afterward to thank us—some with tears in their eyes. At the time, we were moved by their emotion, but didn’t fully grasp the depth of their gratitude.

Eighteen months later, on May 3, 2025, when we gathered in Carmel, Indiana, for a vigil honoring the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack, that moment came full circle. Every major Jewish organization in the region was there. Their leadership stood with us. So did members of their congregations. They embraced us, prayed with us, and grieved with us—not as outsiders, but as people who understood. People who had been there.

In that moment, the thread between our communities revealed itself not just as a shared history—but as a bond forged in pain, empathy, and presence.

Solidarity as Spiritual Kinship

Our communities may worship differently, speak different languages, and live on opposite sides of the globe—but we share something profound: the experience of being ancient peoples who have had to fight for survival in the modern world. We know what it means to be vilified for our identity. We know the heartbreak of seeing sacred spaces defiled and innocent lives lost simply for being who we are.

And we also share something else: resilience.

In the aftermath of each tragedy, our communities did not respond with hatred, but with prayer, dignity, and a call for justice. We lit candles. We sang psalms and bhajans. We affirmed that no act of violence would shake our civilizational resolve.

A Shared Future: Courage, Memory, and Moral Clarity

This emerging alliance between Hindus and Jews is not transactional—it is moral, historical, and deeply human. It is forged in the fires of grief but sustained by the light of mutual respect and understanding.

Let this be the beginning of deeper solidarity. Let us tell each other’s stories, mourn each other’s losses, and celebrate each other’s resilience. For when one ancient people is attacked, all who cherish truth and tradition must stand united.

In the shadow of terror, we have found kinship.

In shared suffering, we have found strength.

And in remembering, together—we heal.

( Top Photo: A vigil honoring the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack on May 3, in Carmel, Indiana. Every major Jewish organization in the region was represented there.)

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J.R. Sandadi is a long-time Carmel, Indiana resident. He migrated to the U.S. in the early 1990s and worked in the IT sector for 25 years before retiring from the corporate world. He volunteers his time with Hindu SwayamSevak Sangh (HSS, USA), and Sewa International USA. Sandadi is also involved with multiple interfaith initiatives across Indiana. He is a founding member of the Indiana Multi-faith Network.