Does the clue to Priti Patel’s extraordinary actions on Israel lie in her surname?

She belongs to the UK’s Gujarati diaspora. Sections of the Indian diaspora and especially the Gujaratis take great pride in Indian prime minister Narendra Modi of the Hindu nationalist BJP. 

Somewhat like Myanmar’s leader Aung San Suu Kyi, sections of the Indian diaspora see the “Muslim problem” worldwide as a threat that must  be forcefully repulsed. This provides a reason for many Indians – at home and overseas – to make common cause with the Jewish peoples, and more specifically with the state of Israel. Both India and Israel are threatened by Muslims, so the argument goes.