Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote a handwritten message in Hindi on The Jerusalem Post’s special front page during an exclusive meeting with the newspaper at the King David Hotel on Thursday, declaring: “Humanity will remain supreme,” and “Democracy will remain eternal.”
Modi signed and dated the note February 26, 2026, after his first-ever address to the Knesset a day earlier, part of a two-day visit focused on deepening cooperation in defense, trade, and technology.
The meeting took place under heavy security. Modi told the Post he had heard the editor had been kept waiting and that security had caused trouble, and he apologized. The Post said the delays had been caused by strict Israeli security procedures outside the suite.
During the conversation, the Post asked Modi about the religious and philosophical parallels he highlighted in his Knesset speech. Modi replied: “Our nations and religions are a lot more similar than what people think.”
In the Knesset, Modi paired Tikkun Olam, which he described as “healing the world,” with Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, “the world is one family,” and said both ideas call on societies to act with “compassion and moral courage,” according to the official transcript released by India’s Ministry of External Affairs.
He also compared Judaism’s Halacha with Hindu philosophy’s dharma, arguing that “ethical life is lived through action, and faith is expressed through conduct.”
Modi thanked the Post for what he described as bringing both nations closer together.
The Post’s Wednesday front page, designed by Daniel Feigel, circulated widely online in Israel and India ahead of Modi’s arrival and was picked up by Indian outlets. Modi shared the cover on X/Twitter, where his account is listed among the platform’s most-followed, with about 106 million followers.
Based on public X view counters and reposts of near-identical versions of the image, the Post estimated that the cover’s total exposure on X reached roughly 2.6 million to 3.2 million impressions, with an upper-bound estimate of about 3.5 million as of Thursday evening India time.
Modi’s visit also produced new policy announcements. India and Israel agreed to boost defense cooperation, including joint development and technology transfer, and to push forward work toward a free-trade agreement. Israel also agreed to issue 50,000 additional work visas for Indian nationals.
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