The brewery apologised to the people and the Government of India for “hurting” their sentiments on Wednesday. (Source: Twitter) The brewery apologised to the people and the Government of India for “hurting” their sentiments on Wednesday. (Source: Twitter)

An Israeli company apologised after they were criticised for using the image of Mahatma Gandhi on their liquor bottles. The incident was brought to light when Rajya Sabha members expressed concern over a picture of the Father of the Nation being used on liquor bottles of the Israeli company. Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu asked External Affairs minister S Jaishankar to look into the matter and take immediate appropriate action.

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The brewery apologised to the ‘people and the Government of India for hurting’ their sentiments on Wednesday. The images were printed on its liquor bottles to commemorate Israel’s 71st Independence Day. However, the production and supplies of the bottles were stopped after the issue was raised. Moreover, efforts are being made to withdraw the product from the market.

“Malka Beer offers its heartfelt apologies to the people and the Government of India for hurting their sentiments,” Gilad Dror, the Brand Manager of the company, said in a statement. “We highly respect and value Mahatma Gandhi and regret our action of putting his image on our bottles,” he said.

Clarifying their position, the manufacturers said that their intention was to “honour Mahatma Gandhi”, who was the only non-Israeli face on the limited edition bottles along with three former prime ministers – David Ben-Gurion, Golda Meir and Menachem Begin. Theodor Herzl, The father of Zionism, was the fifth prominent figure on the limited edition bottles.

Moreover, Dror has also promised the Indian mission that they would keep such sentiments in mind in future. The bottle in question was a part of a box set meant to commemorate Israel’s 71st Independence Day that featured five historical figures on various types of beer, one of which was an image of Gandhi decked out in shades and a tie-dye shirt.

(With Inputs from PTI)

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