ISRAEL, March 5, 2020 (newsweek.com): Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke about the spread of coronavirus in Israel at a Wednesday press conference, suggesting that Israelis forego the normal greeting ritual of shaking hands and instead adopt the Indian meeting tradition of the Namaste. Netanyahu claimed the Namaste may help to slow the person-to-person spread of coronavirus on Israeli soil. Traditionally, the Namaste greeting is conducted by placing one’s hands together, palms touching and fingers pointing upwards. It can be used with or without a slight bow of the head, but using the bow is seen as a show of respect to the person being greeted.
A Washington Post columnist endorsed the PM’s suggestion in his April 17th article (https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/its-time-to-retire-the-handshake-for-good/2020/04/17/e1f5e6d0-80bd-11ea-a3ee-13e1ae0a3571_story.html):
“Perhaps we should follow Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recommendation last month that handshakes be replaced by the “namaste” gesture. Pressing one’s palms and fingers together vertically, while bowing slightly, conveys something much closer to what we actually want a universal greeting to accomplish. In its original Hindu form, it expresses ‘I bow to the divine in you.’ In a secular Western context (without actually saying ‘namaste’), the gesture communicates good will without any handshake-like undertones of status or dominance. It signals purpose and self-mastery; no need to worry that anyone is judging the quality of the execution. And instead of echoing medieval warrior culture, as the handshake does, the namaste gesture evokes the reverence of Christian prayer.