Feel humbled to share birthday with Mahatma Gandhi: Israeli diplomat at Rajghat

Israeli diplomat Noa Hakim, who paid tributes to Mahatma Gandhi on his 149th birth anniversary at Rajghat Tuesday, said the occasion made her feel extra special as October 2 also happens to be her birthday.

"It is my second visit to Rajghat. I had come here accompanying our Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he came here during his India visit early this year. But, I feel honoured and humbled that I share my birthday with such a revered man," Hakim told PTI.

She was among the several foreign dignitaries who paid homage to Gandhi at his memorial at Rajghat.

When asked what comes to her mind when she thinks of Gandhi, the first secretary at the Israeli Embassy here said, "Peace and a sense of tranquillity".

"The Rajghat itself is so solemn in its appeal and so serene with its overall verdant surrounding. His life was simple yet profound," the diplomat said.

At the sprawling Rajghat, Hakim before leaving offered rose petals on the 'samadhi' of the Mahatma, who was assassinated on January 30, 1948.

Asked, if any personality in Israel is revered the same way as Gandhi is in India, Hakim said, "Herzl".

Theodor Herzl was a visionary, who is considered as the spiritual father of the Jewish state.

"I know Gandhi is called the father of the nation in India because of his contribution for achieving Independence for the country," she said.

"In Israel, Herzl's name comes to my mind. He was the Zionist movement leader in the 19th century, but unlike Gandhi who died after seeing a free India, he died before the establishment of Israel, so he could not see the State of Israel," Hakim said.

Netanyahu had visited the home of Gandhi during his India visit, and said modern India's founding father and promoter of peace was an inspiration for humanity.

"An inspiring visit to the hearth of one of humanity's great prophets of inspiration - Mahatma Gandhi", Netanyahu and his wife had written in the guest book.