An inter-faith delegation from Bahrain, which does not have diplomatic relations with Israel, is on a five day visit to the Jewish state, drawing angry reactions from the Palestinians.
Ten of the 24 members in the inter-faith delegation are Indians practising Hinduism, Sikhism and Budhhism, its leader Betsy Mathieson said.
The visit comes at an extremely volatile time when Palestinians and the Arab world have been protesting US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
"It is not a political visit and was planned much before this political development. We are here to pass on a message that we live peacefully in Bahrain. People of all faiths can co-exist there. We have not met any political leader during our stay in Israel," Chairman of the Hindu Temple in Bahrain Sushil Muljimal told PTI.
"Everybody we have met here during our stay has met us with warmth and we have seen nothing but respect in their eyes," he said.
Muljimal's family built a Hindu temple in Bahrain's capital Manama some 200 years ago and have been living in the Gulf country for almost 150-200 years.
"We'd planned this trip many months ago and all the relevant reservations were also made several weeks ago. We'll never let a political statement stop us. Politics and politicians can change at a heartbeat but our mission to spread coexistence doesn't change," Mathieson, who is from the 'This is Bahrain' non-governmental organisation (NGO), said.
She said that the delegation reflects the religious co- existence in Bahrain, citing the presence of Christians, Sunni Muslims, one Shiite, Hindu leaders, a Buddhist, a Sikh among others in the delegation.
Mathieson also stressed that the delegation is non- political and was coordinated between two NGOs - 'This is Bahrain' and Israel's 'Somin Wiesenthal Centre' (SWC).
"We have also planned an inter-faith event in Mumbai starting January 24 next year," she said.
Associate Dean of SWC Rabbi Abraham Cooper said that the visit was not "under the radar" and has been blessed by the Bahraini leadership.
The visit should be viewed as a follow-up trip of a pledge by Bahrain King Hamad bin Isa al Khalifa to him and SWC dean Marvin Hier who visited Manama in February to allow his subjects to travel to Israel freely, Cooper said.
"A delegation of Israeli business leaders is due to visit Bahrain next month in a follow up to the current visit to Jerusalem of a Bahraini inter-faith group," Copper was quoted as saying in a local media report.
"The Bahrainis have approved it. It will be a Wiesenthal Center delegation. The idea is to establish some direct contacts, which are not political, but the idea is to start normal contacts," he told The Jerusalem Post.
The delegation's visit, however, has not gone down well with the Palestinians who have been protesting US President Donald Trump's controversial announcement recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel last week.
"They either are totally clueless or being deliberately provocative. I think the lesser of these two evils is that they are clueless," PLO executive committee member Hanan Ashrawi told the Post.
"This whole lovey-dovey approach of we're here to show tolerance. Then go home and show tolerance at home. Bahrain certainly can't boast of a lot of tolerance domestically," Ashrawi said as he condemned the visit.
The Palestinian leader sharply criticised Bahrain's poor human rights record in its treatment of the Shi'ite majority.
"They've chosen a very inappropriate time to spread their message of tolerance. This is a time the whole world is centered on the future of Jerusalem after the American move to recognise it as Israel's capital", Qais Abdul Kareem, a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, reacted.
"This was politically wrong from the beginning and it caused more anger because it came at a very inappropriate time," he said.
Majority of the delegation members are expatriates, but it includes several native Bahrainis carrying the country's passport.
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