Reena Pushkarna Recalls Israelis' Emotional Gratitude Gesture

A celebrity chef in Israel, Reena Pushkarna, has shared a deeply personal story about serving Kada Prasad to Israeli citizens as a gesture of thanks. Pushkarna, who runs a tandoori restaurant and once hosted Prime Minister Narendra Modi, spoke about the moment in an interview with IANS.

The story centres on Indian pilot Captain Smit Macchar, who is at the heart of the gratitude expressed by Israelis. Pushkarna also recalled a call from Sara Netanyahu and the honour planned for the captain's visit.

According to Pushkarna, Captain Smit had saved a large number of Israeli citizens. Since then, Israelis who saw Indians in the street would thank them, calling out the captain's name. Pushkarna said they could not imagine that an Indian could do so much for them. Wanting to reciprocate, she chose to create a special dish on the captain's behalf and say thank you to Israelis.

She said that when she gave Kada Prasad to the citizens, they were moved to tears, and several women in the room cried. They questioned her about whether the offering is really made at religious places in India, and whether she was presenting it truly on Macchar's behalf as a thank-you.

Pushkarna revealed that Madam Sara Netanyahu had phoned her to say that Captain Smit would visit Israel and be honoured. She said Sara asked her to handle his hospitality because the captain is vegetarian, and that she and her team would prepare and serve his meals.

Laughing, Pushkarna said she would also give him Kada Prasad during the event, presented as a gift from Israeli citizens.

On September 30, 2026, Smit Macchar stopped a FlyDubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv from crashing. Although a pilot had attacked him, he put his life at risk to save people. Israeli President Isaac Herzog later announced that Macchar would be honoured with the Presidential Award for Civilian Heroism, the country's highest civilian bravery award.