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Hugh Raichlin
Jewish
World
The Jews of Holtzberg led the Friday night services
at the Knesset Eliyahoo Synagogue. Due
T he Jews of India do not form one the Sassoon family. The Magen David to the courage of their caregiver, Sandra
homogeneous community but Synagogue was built by David Sassoon Samuel, their son Moshe was saved from
rather comprise distinct groups, in 1861 and the Knesseth Eliyahoo the attack, and Moshe and Sandra now
each with its own history and social Synagogue in Mumbai was built in 1884. live in Israel with Moshe’s grandparents.
composition. The Jacob Sassoon School in Mumbai A group of Indian Jews known as the
The oldest of the Indian Jewish was built in 1864 which still provides Bnei Menashe live in the north eastern
communities is that of Cochin (known Jewish studies for a small number of states of Mizoram and Manipur. They
today as Kochi). The earliest Jews were Jewish pupils despite the majority of the practice a form of Biblical Judaism
traders from Judea that came to the pupils being Muslim. and claim descent from one of the
city in the year 562 BCE. That was a Tragically, on November 26, 2008, Rabbi Lost Tribes of Israel. A sixth group of
time when spices, ivory and peacock Gavriel Holtzberg, a Chabad shaliach Indian Jews are those known as the
feathers were popular trade in Cochin. in Mumbai, was murdered with his Bene Ephraim, a small group of Telugu-
The beautiful 400-year old Paradesi pregnant wife Rivka at Nariman House speaking Jews in eastern Andrha Pradesh
Synagogue is still in operation to this where they ran a Beit Chabad. After whose recorded observance of Judaism
day. being kept hostage for several hours by is very recent, dating only to 1981.
A second group of Indian Jews are those Pakistani Muslim terrorists belonging to Indian Jews are a religious minority in
who settled in Madras (Chennai) who the Lashkar-e-Taiba terror organization, India, but have lived there without any
settled there shortly after its founding the Holtzbergs were killed. The incidents of anti-Semitism from the
in 1640. Most of the Jews of Chennai Holtzbergs were community builders local populace. In fact, the closeness
were of Portuguese origin. A third group whose hospitality and care for Jewish of the Jewish community to the local
of Jews, the Bene Israel, claim to be tourists and locals was legendary. Rabbi population has, over the years, been the
descended from a group of 14 Jewish reason for such a large number of local
men and women who were shipwrecked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin traditions entering Jewish tradition
on the coast of India during the times of Netanyahu meets with Indian Prime through cultural diffusion.
King Solomon. Despite their isolation Minister Narendra Modi in January Most of the Indian Jews today live in
from Jewish civilization for many (Photo: Avi Ohayon, GPO) Israel, where there are over 70,000 of
centuries, they observed the Shabbat, them. In all, there are around 5,000 Jews
kashrut, circumcision and many Jewish in the whole of India today, with the
festivals. majority concentrated in Mumbai.
The Baghdadi Jews who came mainly Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
from Iraq and Syria settled in Mumbai and Indian Premier Narendra Modi have
and Kolkata (Calcutta). The most of late developed a warm relationship in
famous of the Baghdadi Jews is arguably what is being hailed as the beginning of
a new era of friendship between the two
nations.
Hugh Raichlin is a lawyer who studies
Jewish communities across the globe.
He is a scholar-in-residence for Jewish
heritage tours
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