Indian Jews in Israel are immigrants and descendants of the immigrants of the

Indian Jewish The history of the Jews in India dates back to antiquity.

communities, who now reside within the State of

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. Indian Jews who live in Israel include thousands of

Cochin Jews Cochin Jews (also known as Malabar Jews or Kochinim, from ) are the oldest group of Jews in India, with roots that are claimed to date back to the time of King Solomon. The Cochin Jews settled in the Kingdom of Cochin in South India, now pa ...

and

Paradesi Jews Paradesi Jews were Jews, Jewish people who immigrated to the Indian subcontinent during the 15th and 16th centuries following the expulsion of Jews from Spain. ''Paradesi'' refers to the Malayalam word that means ''foreign'' as they were newc ...

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

; tens of thousands from the

Bene Israel The Bene Israel (), also referred to as the "Shanivar Teli" () or " Native Jew" caste, are a community of Jews in India. It has been suggested that they are the descendants of one of the Ten Lost Tribes via their ancestors who had settled there ce ...

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

and other parts of

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

and the Bene Menashe of

Manipur Manipur () ( mni, Kangleipak) is a state in Northeast India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. It is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west. It also borders two regions of Myanm ...

and

Mizoram Mizoram () is a state in Northeast India, with Aizawl as its seat of government and capital city. The name of the state is derived from "Mizo people, Mizo", the endonym, self-described name of the native inhabitants, and "Ram", which in the Mizo ...

History

Aliyah or migration to Israel

Since the formation of modern state

in 1948, the majority of Indian Jews have "made

Aliyah Aliyah (, ; he, עֲלִיָּה ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from Jewish diaspora, the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel, which is in the modern era chiefly represented by the Israel, State of Israel ...

" or emigrated to that country. Jews during the British colonial rule were divided into many different communities such as the

and

Baghdadi Jews The former communities of Jewish migrants and their descendants from Baghdad and elsewhere in the Middle East are traditionally called Baghdadi Jews or Iraqi Jews. They settled primarily in the ports and along the trade routes around the Indian ...

, though the Baghdadi Jews refused to recognize the B'nei Israel as Jews, and withheld dispensing charity to them for that reason while the Bene Israel continued to dispense charity to all those in need.Nathan Katz
''Who Are the Jews of India?,''
California University Press, 2000 pp.91ff. There are reminders of Jewish localities in Kerala still left such as Synagogues. Majority of Jews from the old British-Indian capital of

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

(Kolkata) have also migrated to Israel over the last seven decades. When India became independent from Britain in 1947 and Israel declared independence in 1948 and with the heightened nationalism and emphasis in the

Partition Partition may refer to: Computing Hardware * Disk partitioning, the division of a hard disk drive * Memory partition, a subdivision of a computer's memory, usually for use by a single job Software * Partition (database), the division of a ...

of India of Hindu and Muslim identities, most of

emigrated from India. Generally they went to Israel (made

aliyah Aliyah (, ; he, עֲלִיָּה ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from Jewish diaspora, the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel, which is in the modern era chiefly represented by the Israel, State of Israel ...

). Many from the migrants joined the ''

moshav A moshav ( he, מוֹשָׁב, plural ', lit. ''settlement, village'') is a type of Israeli town or settlement, in particular a type of cooperative agricultural community of individual farms pioneered by the Labour Zionists between 1904 an ...

im'' (agricultural settlements) of

Nevatim Nevatim ( he, נְבָטִים) is a moshav in southern Israel. Located in the northern Negev desert around south-east of Beersheba, it falls under the jurisdiction of Bnei Shimon Regional Council. In it had a population of . The nearest settle ...

, Shahar, Yuval, and

Mesilat Zion Mesilat Zion ( he, מְסִלַּת צִיּוֹן, מסילת ציון, ''lit.'' Highway of Zion) is a moshav in central Israel. Located near Beit Shemesh with an area of 1,000 dunams, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Yehuda Regional Coun ...

.Weil, Shalva. "Lost Israelites from North-East India: Re-Traditionalisation and Conversion among the Shinlung from the Indo-Burmese Borderlands." ''The Anthropologist'', 2004. 6(3): 219-233. Others settled in the neighbourhood of

Katamon , settlement_type = Neighborhood of Jerusalem , image_skyline = בית רה"מ לוי אשכול ברחוב בוסתנאי 3 בשכנות קטמון בירושלים.jpg , imagesize = 300px , image_caption = House ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

, and in

Beersheba Beersheba or Beer Sheva, officially Be'er-Sheva ( he, בְּאֵר שֶׁבַע, ''Bəʾēr Ševaʿ'', ; ar, بئر السبع, Biʾr as-Sabʿ, Well of the Oath or Well of the Seven), is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. ...

Ramla Ramla or Ramle ( he, רַמְלָה, ''Ramlā''; ar, الرملة, ''ar-Ramleh'') is a city in the Central District of Israel. Today, Ramle is one of Israel's mixed cities, with both a significant Jewish and Arab populations. The city was f ...

Dimona Dimona ( he, דִּימוֹנָה, ar, ديمونا) is an Israeli city in the Negev desert, to the south-east of Beersheba and west of the Dead Sea above the Arava valley in the Southern District of Israel. In its population was . The Shi ...

and

Yeruham Yeruham ( he, יְרוֹחַם, ''Yeroham'') is a town ( local council) in the Southern District of Israel, in the Negev desert. It covers 38,584 dunams (~38.6 km²), and had a population of in . It is named after the Biblical Jeroham. Un ...

, where many

had settled and maintained a

Judeo-Marathi Judeo-Marathi (Marathi language, Marathi: जुदाव मराठी) is a form of Marathi language, Marathi spoken by the Bene Israel, a Jewish ethnic group that developed a unique identity in India. Judæo-Marathi is, like other Marath ...

dialect. Between 1948 and 1952, some 2,300

made Aliyah to Israel, their new and historic homeland, from India, many as refugees from predominantly Muslim lands (western parts of British India). Several rabbis refused to marry Bene Israel to other Jews, on grounds that they were not legitimate Jews. As a result of sit-down protests and hunger strikes, the

Jewish Agency The Jewish Agency for Israel ( he, הסוכנות היהודית לארץ ישראל, translit=HaSochnut HaYehudit L'Eretz Yisra'el) formerly known as The Jewish Agency for Palestine, is the largest Jewish non-profit organization in the world. ...

returned 337 individuals in several groups to India between 1952 and 1954. Most returned to Israel after several years.

Racism faced by Bene Israel

In 1962, the Indian and international press reported that European-Jewish authorities in Israel had treated the Bene Israel with racism due to their darker skin colour. They objected to the

Chief Rabbi of Israel The Chief Rabbinate of Israel ( he, הָרַבָּנוּת הָרָאשִׁית לְיִשְׂרָאֵל, ''Ha-Rabbanut Ha-Rashit Li-Yisra'el'') is recognized by law as the supreme rabbinic authority for Judaism in Israel. The Chief Rabbinate Co ...

ruling that, before registering a marriage between Indian Jews and Jews not belonging to that community, the registering rabbi should investigate the lineage of the Indian applicant for possible non-Jewish descent. In case of doubt, they should require the applicant to perform conversion or immersion. The discrimination may be related to the fact that some religious authorities believed that the Bene Israel were not fully Jewish because of having intermarried during their long separation from major communities of Jews. Most Israelis thought that was a convenient cover for racially based bias against Jews who were not Ashkenazi or Sephardim. Between 1962 and 1964, the Bene Israel community staged protests, and in 1964 the Israeli Rabbinate declared that the Bene Israel are "full Jews in every respect".

Present Status

The Report of the High Level Commission on the Indian Diaspora reviewed life in Israel for the Bene Israel community. It noted that the city of

in Southern Israel has the largest community of Bene Israel, with a sizable one in

. They operate a new form of the joint family transnationally. Generally the first generation Bene Israel in Israel have not been politically active by choice and had modest means typical of many first generation arrivals in Israel. Successive generations have generally assimilated into Israel's diverse populace and contribute in numerous fields including army/intelligence, management, arts, sports and education. The Israeli state reports that they have not formed continuing economic connections to India and have limited political status in Israel. However, Bene Israel do maintain social and cultural ties with family and friends in India, Israel the United States, the U.K. and other countries. As noted by the Jewish Women's Archive and other sources, periodicals covering the global Bene Israel community has been continuously distributed to select community members since the founding of Wilson College, Mumbai. As Israelites, the Bene Israel overwhelmingly support Israeli political parties favoring a strong defense policy and continued development in the West Bank. The

form a significant majority in the ''

im'' (agricultural settlements) of

, Shahar, Yuval, and

. Others settled in the neighbourhood of

, and in

, and

, where many

had settled. The migrated

still continue to speak Judeo Malayalam.

Notable people

Eli Ben-Menachem Eli Ben-Menachem ( he, אלי בן-מנחם, born 24 November 1947) is a former Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for the Alignment, the Labor Party and One Israel between 1988 and 2006. Biography Born in Bombay, India ( ...

Ruby Daniel Ruby "Rivka" Daniel ( he, רובי "רבקה" דניאל; ml, റൂബി ദാനിയേൽ; December 1912 - 23 September 2002) was a Malayali of Cochin Jewish heritage, the first Malayali woman in the Indian Navy, and the first Cochin Je ...

* Samson Kehimkar * Sarah Avraham *

Ben Avram Edward Philips, Ben Avram (born 1941) is an artist who was born in Bombay, India and immigrated to Israel as a teenager. He graduated from the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in 1965 and continues to call Jerusalem his home. Most of Ben A ...

Eban Hyams Eban Hyams has played professionally in the Australian National Basketball League (NBL) and that country's Waratah League, part of the second division Australian Basketball Association (ABA). He is the first ever player of Indian origin to pla ...

* Uri Benjamin *

Ofer Talker Ofer Talker ( he, עופר טלקר born April 22, 1973) is a former Israeli football defender and now works as a manager. Early years Talker was born in Ashdod, Israel, to a family of Indian-Jewish heritage. Club career Talker began playing ...

Idan Yaniv Idan Yaniv ( he, עידן יניב; born October 18, 1986) is an Israeli singer born in Tel Aviv. He has successfully recorded five albums with many popular singles. His debut single was "Hoshev Aleha" and it was a hit that generated a lot of a ...

Liora Itzhak Liora Itzhak (Pezarkar) ( he, ליאורה יצחק; born 27 September 1974) is an Israeli singer of Indian origin. She was born in Israel to parents who had made aliyah from Mumbai, India. During Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 2017 visit ...

Gallery

File:29-Bnei-Historical-IndiaInk-blog480.jpg, Bene Israel File:BeneIsrael.jpg, Indian Jews File:Israeli Bene Israel.jpg, Bene Israel

References

Indians in Israel
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