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The history of the Jews in India dates back to antiquity.''The Jews of India: A Story of Three Communities''
by Orpa Slapak. The Israel Museum, Jerusalem. 2003. p. 27. .
Weil, Shalva. ''India's Jewish Heritage: Ritual, Art, and Life-Cycle''. Mumbai: Marg Publications
irst published in 2002; 3rd edn. An infrared search and track (IRST) system (sometimes known as infrared sighting and tracking) is a method for detecting and tracking objects which give off infrared radiation, such as the infrared signatures of jet aircraft and helicopters. IR ...
2009.
Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the ...
was one of the first foreign religions to arrive in
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
in
recorded history Recorded history or written history describes the historical events that have been recorded in a written form or other documented communication which are subsequently evaluated by historians using the historical method. For broader world hist ...
. Indian
Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
are a small religious minority who have lived in India since ancient times. They have experienced very sparse instances of
anti-Semitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...
from the local non-Jewish majority. The better-established ancient Jewish communities have assimilated many of the local traditions through
cultural diffusion In cultural anthropology and cultural geography, cultural diffusion, as conceptualized by Leo Frobenius in his 1897/98 publication ''Der westafrikanische Kulturkreis'', is the spread of cultural items—such as ideas, styles, religions, technolo ...
. While some Indian Jews have stated that their ancestors arrived during the time of the Biblical
Kingdom of Judah The Kingdom of Judah ( he, , ''Yəhūdā''; akk, 𒅀𒌑𒁕𒀀𒀀 ''Ya'údâ'' 'ia-ú-da-a-a'' arc, 𐤁𐤉𐤕𐤃𐤅𐤃 ''Bēyt Dāwīḏ'', " House of David") was an Israelite kingdom of the Southern Levant during the Iron Age. Ce ...
, others claim descent from the
Ten Lost Tribes The ten lost tribes were the ten of the Twelve Tribes of Israel that were said to have been exiled from the Kingdom of Israel after its conquest by the Neo-Assyrian Empire BCE. These are the tribes of Reuben, Simeon, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Ash ...
of the pre-Judaic
Israelite The Israelites (; , , ) were a group of Semitic-speaking tribes in the ancient Near East who, during the Iron Age, inhabited a part of Canaan. The earliest recorded evidence of a people by the name of Israel appears in the Merneptah Stele o ...
s who arrived in India earlier. Still some other
Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...
Jews contend that they descend from the Israelite
Tribe of Manasseh According to the Hebrew Bible, the Tribe of Manasseh (; Hebrew: ''Ševet Mənašše,'' Tiberian: ''Šēḇeṭ Mănašše'') was one of the Tribes of Israel. It is one of the ten lost tribes. Together with the Tribe of Ephraim, Manasseh also fo ...
and they are referred to as the
Bnei Menashe The Bnei Menashe ( he, בני מנשה, "Children of Menasseh", known as the Shinlung in India) is a community of people from various Tibeto-Burmese ethnic groups from the border of India and Burma who claim descent from one of the Lost Tribes ...
. The Jewish population in
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 ...
peaked at around 20,000 in the mid-1940s according to some estimates, with others putting the number as high as 50,000, but the community declined rapidly due to emigration to the newly formed
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 ...
, after the
Partition of Palestine The United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine was a proposal by the United Nations, which recommended a partition of Mandatory Palestine at the end of the British Mandate. On 29 November 1947, the UN General Assembly adopted the Plan as Re ...
at the end of British Mandate in 1948. The Indian Jewish community is now estimated to count no more than 5,000 people.


Jewish groups in India

In addition to Jewish expatriates and recent immigrants, there are seven Jewish groups in India: #The
Malabar Malabar may refer to the following: People * Malabars, people originating from the Malabar region of India * Malbars or Malabars, people of Tamil origin in Réunion Places * Malabar Coast, or Malabar, a region of the southwestern shoreline o ...
component of the
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 ...
, according to
Shalva Weil Shalva Weil is a Senior Researcher at The Seymour Fox School of Education at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel. In 2017, she was GIAN Distinguished Professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University, in New Delhi. She has researched Indian Jews, Eth ...
, claim to have arrived in India together with the Hebrew King
Solomon Solomon (; , ),, ; ar, سُلَيْمَان, ', , ; el, Σολομών, ; la, Salomon also called Jedidiah (Hebrew language, Hebrew: , Modern Hebrew, Modern: , Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: ''Yăḏīḏăyāh'', "beloved of Yahweh, Yah"), ...
's merchants. The Cochin Jews settled in
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 ...
as traders. The fair-complexioned component is of European-Jewish descent, both Ashkenazi and
Sephardi Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), ...
. # Chennai Jews: The
Spanish and Portuguese Jews Spanish and Portuguese Jews, also called Western Sephardim, Iberian Jews, or Peninsular Jews, are a distinctive sub-group of Sephardic Jews who are largely descended from Jews who lived as New Christians in the Iberian Peninsula during the i ...
,
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 ...
and
British Jews British Jews (often referred to collectively as British Jewry or Anglo-Jewry) are British citizens who identify as Jewish. The number of people who identified as Jews in the United Kingdom rose by just under 4% between 2001 and 2021. History ...
arrived at
Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
during the 16th century. They were diamond businesspeople and of
Sephardi Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), ...
and
Ashkenazi Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...
heritage. Following expulsion from
Iberia The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...
in 1492 by the
Alhambra Decree The Alhambra Decree (also known as the Edict of Expulsion; Spanish: ''Decreto de la Alhambra'', ''Edicto de Granada'') was an edict issued on 31 March 1492, by the joint Catholic Monarchs of Spain ( Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Arag ...
, a few families of
Sephardic Jews Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), pt, Judeus sefar ...
eventually made their way to Madras in the 16th century. They maintained trade connections to Europe, and their language skills were useful. Although the Sephardim mostly spoke
Ladino Ladino, derived from Latin, may refer to: * The register of Judaeo-Spanish used in the translation of religious texts, such as the Ferrara Bible *Ladino people, a socio-ethnic category of Mestizo or Hispanicized people in Central America especi ...
(i.e. Spanish or Judeo-Spanish), in India they learned Tamil and Judeo-Malayalam from the Malabar Jewish.Katz 2000; Koder 1973; Thomas Puthiakunnel 1973. # Nagercoil Jews: The Syrian Jews,
Musta'arabi Jews Musta'arabi Jews (Musta'aribun اليهود المستعربة in Arabic; Musta'arvim מוּסְתערבים in Hebrew) were the Arabic-speaking Jews, largely Mizrahi Jews and Maghrebi Jews, who lived in the Middle East and North Africa prior t ...
were Arab Jews who arrived at
Nagercoil Nagercoil, also spelt as Nagarkovil ("Temple of the Nāgas", or Nagaraja-Temple), is a city and the administrative headquarters of Kanyakumari District in Tamil Nadu state, India. Situated close to the tip of the Indian peninsula, it lies on an ...
and
Kanyakumari District Kanniyakumari district is one of the 38 districts in Tamil Nadu state and the southernmost district in mainland India. It stands second in terms of population density among the districts of Tamil Nadu. It is also the richest district in Tamil Na ...
in 52 AD along with the arrival of St. Thomas. Most of them were merchants and had also settled around the town of
Thiruvithamcode Thiruvithamcode (also spelled Thiruvithancode), is a small panchayat town located in the Kanyakumari district of the Indian States and territories of India, state of Tamil Nadu. Thiruvithamcode is about 20 km from Nagercoil and 2 km fr ...
. By the turn of the 20th century, most of the families made their way to Cochin and eventually migrated to Israel. In their early days, they maintained trade connections to Europe through the nearby ports of Colachal and Thengaipattinam, and their language skills were useful to the Travancore Kings. As historians Rev. Daniel Tyerman and George cited the reason the Jews selecting Nagercoil as their settlement was for the town’s salubrious climate and its significant Christian population. # The Jews of Goa: These were
Sephardic Jews Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), pt, Judeus sefar ...
from Spain and Portugal who fled to
Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...
after the commencement of the
Inquisition The Inquisition was a group of institutions within the Catholic Church whose aim was to combat heresy, conducting trials of suspected heretics. Studies of the records have found that the overwhelming majority of sentences consisted of penances, ...
in those countries. The community consisted mainly of Jews who had falsely converted to Christianity but wanted to continue taking advantage of being Portuguese subjects, instead of emigrating to countries where they could practice Judaism openly (e.g. Morocco, Ottoman Empire). They were the primary targets of the
Goa Inquisition The Goa Inquisition ( pt, Inquisição de Goa) was an extension of the Portuguese Inquisition in Portuguese India. Its objective was to enforce Catholic Orthodoxy and allegiance to the Apostolic See of Rome (Pontifex). The inquisition primaril ...
. As a result, its members fled to parts of India that were not under Portuguese control. # Another branch of 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 ...
community resided in Karachi until the
Partition of India The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...
in 1947, when they fled to India (in particular, to Mumbai). Many of them also moved to Israel. The Jews from the
Sindh Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...
,
Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...
and
Pathan Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically re ...
areas are often incorrectly called Bani Israel Jews. The Jewish community who used to reside in other parts of what became Pakistan (such as
Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...
or
Peshawar Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...
) also fled to India in 1947, in a similar manner to the larger Karachi Jewish community. #The
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 ...
arrived in the city of Surat from Iraq (and other Arab states), Iran and Afghanistan about 250 years ago, in the mid 18th and 19th centuries. #The
Bnei Menashe The Bnei Menashe ( he, בני מנשה, "Children of Menasseh", known as the Shinlung in India) is a community of people from various Tibeto-Burmese ethnic groups from the border of India and Burma who claim descent from one of the Lost Tribes ...
meaning "Sons of Manassah" in Hebrew, are Mizo and Kuki tribesmen in
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 ...
who are recent converts to the modern form of Judaism, but claim ancestry reaching back to one of the lost ten tribes of Israel; specifically, one of the sons of Joseph.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. #Similarly, the small
Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...
speaking group, the
Bene Ephraim The Bene Ephraim ( he, בני אפריים) ''Bnei Ephraim'' ("Sons of Ephraim"), also called Telugu Jews because they speak Telugu, are a small community living primarily in Kotha Reddy Palem, a village outside Chebrolu, Guntur District, an ...
(meaning "Sons of Ephraim" in Hebrew) also claim ancestry from Ephraim, one of the sons of Joseph and a lost tribe of ancient Israel. Also called "Telugu Jews", their observance of modern Judaism dates to 1981. #European Jewish immigrants to India escaping persecution during World War II account for a small portion of Jewish Indians today. From 1938-1947, about 2,000 Jews fled from Europe and sought asylum in India. Over seventy years later, the descendants of these Jewish migrants have made their own Jewish-Indian mixed community and culture within India.


Cochin Jews

The oldest of the Indian Jewish communities was in the erstwhile
Cochin Kingdom The Kingdom of Cochin, named after its capital in the city of Kochi (Cochin), was a kingdom in the central part of present-day Kerala state. It commenced at the early part of the 12th century and continued to rule until 1949, when monarchy ...
. The traditional account is that traders of
Judea Judea or Judaea ( or ; from he, יהודה, Hebrew language#Modern Hebrew, Standard ''Yəhūda'', Tiberian vocalization, Tiberian ''Yehūḏā''; el, Ἰουδαία, ; la, Iūdaea) is an ancient, historic, Biblical Hebrew, contemporaneous L ...
arrived at Cranganore, an ancient port near Cochin in 562 BC, and that more Jews came as exiles from Israel in the year 70 AD, after the destruction of the
Second Temple The Second Temple (, , ), later known as Herod's Temple, was the reconstructed Temple in Jerusalem between and 70 CE. It replaced Solomon's Temple, which had been built at the same location in the United Kingdom of Israel before being inherited ...
. Many of these Jews' ancestors passed on the account that they settled in India when the Hebrew King Solomon was in power. This was a time that teak wood, ivory, spices, monkeys, and peacocks were popular in trade in Cochin. There is no specific date or reason mentioned as to why they arrived in India, but Hebrew scholars date it to up to around the early Middle Ages. Cochin is a group of small tropical islands filled with markets and many different cultures such as Dutch, Hindu, Jewish, Portuguese, and British. The distinct Jewish community was called
Anjuvannam Anjuvannam (in Tamil and Malayalam, from Persian anjuman, and hanjama or hanjamana in Telugu or Kannada or hamyamana) typically refers to a medieval merchant guild, consisting of non-Indian traders (ethnic Persians and Arabs), primarily active ...
. The still-functioning synagogue in Mattancherry belongs to the
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 ...
, the descendants of
Sephardim Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), pt, Judeus sefa ...
that were expelled from Spain in 1492, although the Jewish community in Mattancherry adjacent to Fort Cochin had only six remaining members as of 2015. Central to the history of the Cochin Jews is their close relationship with Indian rulers, and this was eventually codified on a set of copper plates granting the community special privileges. The date of these plates, known as "Sâsanam", is contentious. The plates themselves provide a date of 379 CE, but in 1925, tradition was setting it as 1069 CE,
Joseph Rabban Joseph Rabban (old Malayalam:Narayanan, M. G. S. ''Perumāḷs of Kerala: Brahmin Oligarchy and Ritual Monarchy: Political and Social Conditions of Kerala Under the Cēra Perumāḷs of Makōtai (c. AD 800 - AD 1124).'' Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBoo ...
by Bhaskara Ravi Varma, the fourth ruler of Maliban granted the copper plates to the Jews. The plates were inscribed with a message stating that the village of Anjuvannam belonged to the Jews and that they were the rightful lords of Anjuvannam and it should remain theirs and be passed on to their Jewish descendants "so long as the world and moon exist". This is the earliest document that shows that the Jews were living in India permanently. It is stored in Cochins main synagogue. The Jews settled in
Kodungallur Kodungallur (; also Cranganore, Portuguese: Cranganor; formerly known as Mahodayapuram, Shingly, Vanchi, Muchiri, Muyirikkode, and Muziris) is a historically significant town situated on the banks of river Periyar on the Malabar Coast in Thr ...
(Cranganore) on the
Malabar Coast The Malabar Coast is the southwestern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Geographically, it comprises the wettest regions of southern India, as the Western Ghats intercept the moisture-laden monsoon rains, especially on their westward-facing m ...
, where they traded peacefully, until 1524. The Jewish leader Rabban was granted the rank of prince over the Jews of Cochin, given the rulership and tax revenue of a pocket principality in
Anjuvannam Anjuvannam (in Tamil and Malayalam, from Persian anjuman, and hanjama or hanjamana in Telugu or Kannada or hamyamana) typically refers to a medieval merchant guild, consisting of non-Indian traders (ethnic Persians and Arabs), primarily active ...
, near Cranganore, and rights to seventy-two "free houses". The Hindu king gave permission in perpetuity (or, in the more poetic expression of those days, "as long as the world and moon exist") for Jews to live freely, build
synagogues A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of wors ...
, and own property "without conditions attached". A link back to Rabban, "the king of Shingly" (another name for Cranganore), was a sign of both purity and prestige. Rabban's descendants maintained this distinct community until a chieftainship dispute broke out between two brothers, one of them named Joseph Azar, in the 16th century. The Jews lived peacefully for over a thousand years in Anjuvannam. After the reign of the Rabban's, the Jewish people no longer had the protection of the copper plates. Neighboring princes of Anjuvannam intervened and revoked all privileges that the Jewish people were given. In 1524, the Jews were attacked by the Moors brothers (Muslim Community) on a suspicion that they were tampering with the pepper trade and the homes and synagogues belonging to them were destroyed. The damage was so extensive that when the Portuguese arrived a few years later, only a small amount of impoverished Jews remained. They remained there for 40 more years only to return to their land of Cochin. Today it also attracts tourists as a historic site. Cochin synagogue at Ernakulum operates partly as a shop by one of few remaining Cochin Jews. It is recorded that currently only 26 Jews lives in Kerala, who is located in different parts of
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 ...
such as
Cochin Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of K ...
,
Kottayam Kottayam () is a municipal town in the Indian state of Kerala. Flanked by the Western Ghats on the east and the Vembanad Lake and paddy fields of Kuttanad on the west. It is the district headquarters of Kottayam district, located in south- ...
and
Thiruvalla Thiruvalla, alternately spelled Tiruvalla, is a town in Kerala and the Headquarters of the Taluk of the same name located in Pathanamthitta district in the State of Kerala, India. The town is spread over an area of . It lies on the banks of ...
. John Jacob is one of the Kerala most senior Jews, who currently lives in
Kaviyoor Kaviyoor is a village located in Thiruvalla Taluk In Pathanamthitta district of Kerala India, situated on the western bank of the Manimala River.It Comes Under Thiruvalla Sub-District & Thiruvalla Constituency. Demographics *Area: 12.67  ...
village,
Thiruvalla Thiruvalla, alternately spelled Tiruvalla, is a town in Kerala and the Headquarters of the Taluk of the same name located in Pathanamthitta district in the State of Kerala, India. The town is spread over an area of . It lies on the banks of ...
, Pathanamthitta District. In Mala,
Thrissur Thrissur (), formerly Trichur, also known by its historical name Thrissivaperur, is a city and the headquarters of the Thrissur district in Kerala, India. It is the third largest urban agglomeration in Kerala after Kochi and Kozhikode, and t ...
District, the Malabar Jews have a Synagogue and a cemetery, as well as in
Chennamangalam Chendamangalam (or Chennamangalam) is a small town and a panchayat in Paravur Taluk, Ernakulam district in the state of Kerala, India. Location It is about 23 km from Ernakulam. It has three rivers, seven inlets, hillocks and large e ...
, Parur and
Ernakulam Ernakulam () is the Central Business District of the city of Kochi in Kerala, India and has lent its name to the Ernakulam district. Many major establishments, including the Kerala High Court, the office of the Kochi Municipal Corporation a ...
. There are at least seven existing synagogues in Kerala, although not serving their original purpose anymore.


Madras Jews

Jews also settled in Madras (now Chennai) soon after its founding in 1640. Most of them were coral merchants from Leghorn, the Caribbean, London, and Amsterdam who were of Portuguese origin and belonged to the Henriques De Castro, Franco, Paiva or Porto families. Jacques (Jaime) de Paiva (Pavia), originally from
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
belonging to Amsterdam Sephardic community, was an early Jewish arrival and the leader of Madras Jewish community. He built the Second
Madras Synagogue The Madras Synagogue is the only synagogue in Madras and it was built by Jacques (Jaime) de Paiva (Pavia) a Paradesi Jew of Madras. Madras Synagogue was also known as the Esnoga, or Snoge, ''Esnoga'' is synagogue in Ladino, the traditio ...
and
Jewish Cemetery Chennai The Jewish Cemetery is a cemetery for the Paradesi Jews of Chennai, India. It is located off Lloyd's Road. The cemetery remains the only memoir of the once significant Jewish population of Chennai, which has now almost become extinct. Burials ...
in Peddanaickenpet, which later became the South end of Mint Street. Jacques (Jaime) de Paiva (Pavia) established good relations with those in power and bought several Golconda diamonds mines to source Golconda diamonds. Through his efforts, Jews were permitted to live within Fort St. George. De Paiva died in 1687 after a visit to his mines and was buried in the Jewish cemetery he had established in Peddanaickenpet, which later became the north Mint Street. In 1670, the Portuguese population in Madras numbered around 3000. Before his death he established "The Colony of Jewish Traders of Madraspatam" with Antonio do Porto, Pedro Pereira and Fernando Mendes Henriques. This enabled more Portuguese Jews, from Leghorn, the Caribbean, London and Amsterdam, to settle in Madras. Coral Merchant Street was named after the Jews' business. Three Portuguese Jews were nominated to be aldermen of
Madras Corporation The Greater Chennai Corporation, formerly known as the Corporation of Madras (1688-1996) and Corporation of Chennai (1996-2016), is the civic body that governs the city of Chennai in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of T ...
. Three - Bartolomeo Rodrigues, Domingo do Porto and Alvaro da Fonseca - also founded the largest trading house in Madras. The large tomb of Rodrigues, who died in Madras in 1692, became a landmark in Peddanaickenpet, but was later destroyed. Samuel de Castro came to Madras from Curaçao and Salomon Franco came from Leghorn. In 1688, there were three Jewish representatives in the Madras Corporation. Most Jewish settlers resided in the Coral Merchants Street in Muthialpet. They also had a
cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...
, called
Jewish Cemetery Chennai The Jewish Cemetery is a cemetery for the Paradesi Jews of Chennai, India. It is located off Lloyd's Road. The cemetery remains the only memoir of the once significant Jewish population of Chennai, which has now almost become extinct. Burials ...
in the neighbouring Peddanaickenpet.


Bene Israel

Foreign notices of 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 ...
go back at least to 1768, when
Rahabi Ezekiel Ezekiel Rahabi (1694–1771) was the chief Jewish merchant of the Dutch East India Company in Cochin, India for almost 50 years. Rabbi ''Rahabi Ezekiel'', (or ''Ezekiel Rahabi'') also was a rabbinical writer known only through his polemical Heb ...
wrote to a Dutch trading partner that they were widespread in Maharatta Province, and observed two Jewish observances, recital of the
Shema ''Shema Yisrael'' (''Shema Israel'' or ''Sh'ma Yisrael''; he , שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל ''Šəmaʿ Yīsrāʾēl'', "Hear, O Israel") is a Jewish prayer (known as the Shema) that serves as a centerpiece of the morning and evening Jewis ...
and observation of
Shabbat Shabbat (, , or ; he, שַׁבָּת, Šabbāṯ, , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the week—i.e., Saturday. On this day, religious Jews remember the biblical storie ...
rest.Nathan Katz
''Who Are the Jews of India?,''
California University Press, 2000 pp.91ff.
They claim that they descend from 14 Jewish men and women, equally divided by gender, who survived the shipwreck of refugees from persecution or political turmoil, and came ashore at Navagaon near Alibag, 20 miles south of Mumbai, some 17 to 19 centuries ago. They were instructed in the rudiments of normative Judaism by Cochin Jews. Their Jewishness is controversial, and initially was not accepted by the Rabbinate in Israel. Since 1964 however they intermarried throughout Israel and are now considered Israeli and Jewish in all respects. They are divided into sub-castes which do not intermarry: the dark-skinned "Kala" and fair-skinned "Gora." The latter are believed to be lineal descendants of the shipwreck survivors, while the former are considered to descend from concubinage of a male with local women. They were nicknamed the ''shanivār telī'' ("Saturday oil-pressers") by the local population as they abstained from work on Saturdays. Bene Israel communities and synagogues are situated in
Pen A pen is a common writing instrument that applies ink to a surface, usually paper, for writing or drawing. Early pens such as reed pens, quill pens, dip pens and ruling pens held a small amount of ink on a nib or in a small void or cavity wh ...
, Mumbai, Alibag, Pune and Ahmedabad with smaller communities scattered around India. The largest synagogue in Asia outside Israel is in Pune (
Ohel David Synagogue Ohel David (Tabernacle of David) Synagogue, also called Laal Deval or Laal Deul is a synagogue in Pune, India. History The construction of the synagogue started in 1863 by philanthropist David Sassoon and was then completed by his success ...
). Mumbai had a thriving Bene Israel community until the 1950s to 1960s when many families from the community emigrated to the fledgling state of Israel, where they are known as Hodi'im (Indians). The Bene Israel community has risen to many positions of prominence in Israel. In India itself the Bene Israel community has shrunk considerably with many of the old Synagogues falling into disuse. Unlike many parts of the world, Jews have historically lived in India with relatively little serious
anti-Semitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...
from the local majority populace, the
Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
s. However, Jews were persecuted by the
Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...
during their control of Goa.


Bombay/Mumbai


South Asian Jews and Baghdadi Jews

The first known Baghdadi Jewish immigrant to India, Joseph Semah, arrived in the port city of
Surat Surat is a city in the western Indian state of Gujarat. The word Surat literally means ''face'' in Gujarati and Hindi. Located on the banks of the river Tapti near its confluence with the Arabian Sea, it used to be a large seaport. It is now ...
in 1730. He and other early immigrants established a synagogue and cemetery in Surat, though most of the city's Jewish community eventually moved to Bombay (
Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
), where they established a new
synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...
and cemetery. They were traders and quickly became one of the most prosperous communities in the city. As philanthropists, some donated their wealth for public building projects. The
Sassoon Docks Sassoon Docks, built in 1875, is one of the oldest docks in Mumbai and was the first wet dock constructed in Bombay. It is one of the few docks in the city open to the public. It is situated in Mumbai harbor in South Mumbai area of Colaba. It ...
and
David Sassoon Library The David Sassoon Library and Reading Room is a famous library and heritage structure in Mumbai, India. The idea for a library to be situated in the center of the city came from Albert Sassoon, son of the famous Baghdadi Jewish philanthropist ...
are some of the famous landmarks still standing today. The synagogue in Surat was eventually razed; the cemetery, though in poor condition, can still be seen on the Katargam-Amroli road. One of the graves within is that of Moseh Tobi, buried in 1769, who was described as 'ha-Nasi ha-Zaken' (The Elder Prince) by
David Solomon Sassoon David Solomon Sassoon (1880–1942) (also known as "David Suleiman Sassoon"), was a bibliophile and grandson of 19th Baghdadi Jewish community leader David Sassoon (treasurer), David Sassoon. Sassoon travelled extensively with the sole intent o ...
in his book ''A History of the Jews in Baghdad'' (Simon Wallenburg Press, 2006, ). Baghdadi Jewish populations spread beyond Bombay to other parts of India, with an important community forming in Calcutta (
Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...
). Scions of this community did well in trade (particularly
jute Jute is a long, soft, shiny bast fiber that can be spun into coarse, strong threads. It is produced from flowering plants in the genus ''Corchorus'', which is in the mallow family Malvaceae. The primary source of the fiber is ''Corchorus olit ...
and
tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of ''Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and north ...
), and in later years contributed officers to the army. One, Lt-Gen J. F. R. Jacob
PVSM Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM) (IAST: ) is a military award of India. It was constituted in 1960 and since then it is awarded in recognition to peace-time service of the most exceptional order and may be awarded posthumously. All ranks of the ...
, became state governor of
Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...
(1998–1999), then
Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...
, and later served as administrator of
Chandigarh Chandigarh () is a planned city in India. Chandigarh is bordered by the state of Punjab to the west and the south, and by the state of Haryana to the east. It constitutes the bulk of the Chandigarh Capital Region or Greater Chandigarh, which al ...
.
Pramila (Esther Victoria Abraham) Esther Victoria Abraham (30 December 1916 – 6 August 2006), better known by her stage name Pramila, was an Indian model, actress and first woman film producer in the Hindi film industry. She is also well known for winning the first Miss Indi ...
became the first ever
Miss India Miss India may refer to: * Femina Miss India, the most prestigious and oldest surviving national beauty pageant in India that started in 1964. It sends its winner to Miss World. * Miss Diva, the national beauty pageant that sends its winners to Miss ...
, in 1947.


Bnei Menashe

The Bnei Menashe are a group of more than 9,000 people from the northeastern Indian states of
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 ...
and
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 ...
who practice a form of biblical Judaism and claim descent from one of the
Lost Tribes of Israel The ten lost tribes were the ten of the Twelve Tribes of Israel that were said to have been exiled from the Kingdom of Israel after its conquest by the Neo-Assyrian Empire BCE. These are the tribes of Reuben, Simeon, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, As ...
. They were originally headhunters and
animists Animism (from Latin: ' meaning 'breath, spirit, life') is the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct spiritual essence. Potentially, animism perceives all things—animals, plants, rocks, rivers, weather systems, hu ...
, and converted to Christianity at the beginning of the 20th century, but began converting to Judaism in the 1970s.


Bene Ephraim

The Bene Ephraim are a small group of
Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...
-speaking Jews in eastern
Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
whose recorded observance of Judaism, like that of the Bnei Menashe, is quite recent, dating only to 1991. There are a few families in
Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
who follow Judaism. Many among them follow the customs of Orthodox Jews, like wearing long beards by men and using head coverings (men) and hair coverings (women) all the time.


Delhi Jewry

Judaism in Delhi is primarily focused on the expatriate community who work in Delhi, as well as Israeli diplomats and a small local community. In
Paharganj Paharganj (literally 'hilly neighbourhood') is a neighbourhood of Central Delhi, located just west of the New Delhi Railway Station. Known as ''Shahganj'' or King's ganj or market place during Mughal era, it is one of the three administrative ...
,
Chabad Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch (), is an Orthodox Jewish Hasidic dynasty. Chabad is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements, particularly for its outreach activities. It is one of the largest Hasidic group ...
has set up a synagogue and religious center in a backpacker area regularly visited by Israeli tourists.


Holocaust Refugees

Between 1938 and 1947, roughly 2,000 Jews immigrated from Europe to British India to escape persecution by the Nazi regime. Most of these refugees arrived in India leading into the start of World War II and consequently were better positioned to find employment and shelter than many European Jews who were forced to leave in the midst of war. Jewish refugees in British India were able to secure jobs in the arts and the service industry while a disproportionately large percentage of the migrants found employment in the medical field. Alongside the adoption of various Indian societal practices and customs, these jobs helped Jewish immigrants create a sense of their unique cultural place and identity as Jews within British India. Immigration policy within the British Empire in the late 1930s and early 1940s often complicated Jewish entry into British India. One requirement of wartime migrants entering British India was for their passports to be "valid for return," where British officials could repatriate refugees if they were deemed burdensome. The annexation of Austria in 1938 saw the replacement of Austrian passports with German documents, meaning that Austrian Jews attempting to flee with Austrian passports no longer met British immigration requirements. Still, Jewish aid organizations in India (most prominently the Council for German Jewry and the Jewish Relief Association) helped to form policies that benefited Jewish immigrants and regulated how Jews were resettled in India. Since most Jewish refugees spoke German and originated from Germany or its neighboring countries, British officials and Indian locals often found the migrants indistinguishable from their non-Jewish counterparts. By 1940, many Jewish refugees were suspected of being Nazi sympathizers or agents passing as Jewish.


Today

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 ...
" (migrated) to
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 ...
since the creation of the modern state in 1948. Over 70,000 Indian Jews now live in Israel (over 1% of Israel's total population). Of the remaining 5,000, the largest community is concentrated in
Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
, where 3,500 have stayed over from the over 30,000 Jews registered there in the 1940s, divided into
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 ...
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. There are reminders of Jewish localities in Kerala still left such as Synagogues. The majority of Jews from the old British-Indian capital of Calcutta (Kolkata) have also migrated to Israel over the last six decades.


Notable Jews of Indian descent

*
Joseph Rabban Joseph Rabban (old Malayalam:Narayanan, M. G. S. ''Perumāḷs of Kerala: Brahmin Oligarchy and Ritual Monarchy: Political and Social Conditions of Kerala Under the Cēra Perumāḷs of Makōtai (c. AD 800 - AD 1124).'' Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBoo ...
, the first Israeli king of Shingly was given copper plates of special grants from the Chera ruler Bhaskara Ravivarman II from
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 ...
*
Ezekiel Rahabi Ezekiel Rahabi (1694–1771) was the chief Jewish merchant of the Dutch East India Company in Cochin, India for almost 50 years. Rabbi ''Rahabi Ezekiel'', (or ''Ezekiel Rahabi'') also was a rabbinical writer known only through his polemical Heb ...
(1694–1771), chief Jewish merchant of the Dutch East India Company in Cochin (Kochi) for almost 50 years *
Abraham Barak Salem Abraham ben Barak Salem (1882 – 1967) was an Indian nationalist and Zionist, a lawyer and politician, and one of the most prominent Cochin Jews of the twentieth century. Popular by his epithet of "Jewish Gandhi", he was known as "Salem Kocha" ...
(1882–1967), Cochin Jewish Indian nationalist leader *
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 ( ...
(1947- ), Israeli politician * Jacqueline Bhabha (1951- ), lecturer at Harvard Law School and Harvard Kennedy School of Government * Ranjit Chaudhry (1955–2020), Bollywood actor * Anil Melwin Machado, Yoga & Kalaripayyattu Master. *
David Abraham Cheulkar David Abraham Cheulkar (21 June 1909 – 2 January 1982), popularly known as David, was an Indian Hindi film actor. In a career spanning four decades, he played mostly character roles, starting with the 1941 film '' Naya Sansar'', and went on ...
(1908-1982), Bollywood actor * Isaac David Kehimkar (1957- ),
lepidopterist Lepidopterology ()) is a branch of entomology concerning the scientific study of moths and the three superfamilies of butterflies. Someone who studies in this field is a lepidopterist or, archaically, an aurelian. Origins Post-Renaissance, t ...
, butterfly expert based in Navi Mumbai. *
Reuben David Reuben David (19 September 1912 – 24 March 1989) was a zoologist and the founder of the Kankaria Zoo in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. Biography He was born into a Bene Israel Jews in India, Jewish family in Ahmedabad. He was the youngest son of ...
(1912-1989) zoologist *
Esther David Esther David (born 17 March 1945) is an Indian Jewish author, an artist and a sculptor. She is a recipient of the Sahitya Akademi Award. Early life She was born into a Bene Israel Jewish family in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. She won Sahitya Akademi ...
(March 17, 1945— ), Jewish-Indian author, an artist and a sculptor *
Nadira Nadira is a given name common in Asian countries. It may refer to Given name * Nadira (actress), an Indian actress of the 1950s and 1960s, best known for her roles as a temptress * Nadira (Pakistani actress), Pakistani actress in Punjabi and Urdu ...
(1932–2006), Bollywood actress *
Karen David Karen Shenaz David (born 15 April 1979) is a Canadian actress, singer, and songwriter, best known for portraying Princess Isabella Maria Lucia Elizabetta of Valencia in ABC's fairytale-themed musical-comedy television series ''Galavant'', as w ...
(1979- ), British-Canadian actress * Dr Abraham Erulkar, personal physician to
Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...
, father of Lila Erulkar * Lila Erulkar,
First Lady of Cyprus First Lady of Cyprus refers to the wife of the president of Cyprus. The country's current first lady is Andri Moustakoudes, wife of President Nicos Anastasiades, who has held the position since 2013. First ladies of Cyprus References {{DEF ...
(1993–2003) and wife of
Glafcos Clerides Glafcos Ioannou Clerides ( el, Γλαύκος Ιωάννου Κληρίδης; 24 April 1919 – 15 November 2013) was a Cypriot politician and barrister who served as the fourth president of Cyprus from 1993 to 2003. At the time of his death, ...
, president of the
Republic of Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...
*
Nissim Ezekiel Nissim Ezekiel (16 December 1924 – 9 January 2004) was an Indian Jewish poet, actor, playwright, editor and art critic. He was a foundational figure in postcolonial India's literary history, specifically for Indian Poetry in English. He ...
, poet, playwright, editor and art-critic *
Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...
J F R Jacob Lieutenant General Jack Farj Rafael Jacob, PVSM (2May 1921 – 13January 2016), was a general officer in the Indian Army. He was best known for the role he played in the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971. Jacob, then a major general, served as ...
, former Chief of Staff of the Indian Army's Eastern Command, and former Governor of Punjab and Goa * Vice Admiral
Benjamin Abraham Samson Vice Admiral (India), Vice Admiral Benjamin Abraham 'Chippy' Samson, PVSM (25 September 1916 – 18 March 2008) was an Indian Navy Admiral who served as the Flag Officer Commanding Indian Fleet from 8 January 1964 to 31 May 1966. He was the firs ...
, Indian Navy Admiral, former Flag Officer Commanding Indian Fleet * (Hakham)
Ezra Reuben David Barook Ezra (; he, עֶזְרָא, '; fl. 480–440 BCE), also called Ezra the Scribe (, ') and Ezra the Priest in the Book of Ezra, was a Jewish scribe ('' sofer'') and priest ('' kohen''). In Greco- Latin Ezra is called Esdras ( grc-gre, Ἔσδρ ...
, a High Priest in Jerusalem in 1856. He travelled to India and settled in Calcutta *
Gerry Judah Gerry Judah FRSS is a British artist and designer who has created settings for theatre, film, television, museums and public spaces. Early life Gerry Judah's maternal and paternal grandparents came from Baghdad to settle in the already e ...
, artist and designer *
Ellis Kadoorie Sir Ellis Kadoorie CBE (1865–1922) was a Jewish entrepreneur and philanthropist. He was a member of the wealthy Baghdadian Kadoorie family that had large business interests in the Far East. His brother was Sir Elly Kadoorie, and his nephew w ...
and
Elly Kadoorie Sir Eleazer "Elly" Silas Kadoorie (1867 – February 8, 1944) was a Baghdadi-born Jewish businessman and philanthropist active in Shanghai and Hong Kong. He was a member of the wealthy Kadoorie family that had large business interests in the F ...
, philanthropists *
Horace Kadoorie Sir Horace Kadoorie, CBE (28 September 1902 – 22 April 1995) was an industrialist, hotelier, and philanthropist. Early life and education In 1913–14, he spent a year at Clifton College and was a member of Polacks House; a boarding house so ...
, philanthropist * Lillian, Indian film actress * Samson Kehimkar, musician *
Ezekiel Isaac Malekar RabbiEzekiel Isaac Malekar is the head of the Jewish community in New Delhi, India. He is the Honorary Secretary of the Judah Hyam Synagogue at the corner of Humayun road, where he works voluntarily. The Synagogue, in addition to serving the Jewis ...
,
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 ...
rabbi *
Ruby Myers Ruby Myers (1907 – 10 October 1983), better known by her stage name Sulochana, was an Indian silent film actress of Jewish ancestry, from the community of Baghdadi Jews in India. In her heyday she was one of the highest paid actresses of h ...
, Bollywood actress of the 1920s known as Sulochana * Firoza Begum, Indian actress born as 'Erin Daniels' *
Pearl Padamsee Pearl Padamsee (1931 – 24 April 2000) was an Indian theatre personality as a stage actress, director and producer of English language theatre in Mumbai active in 1950s–1990s. She acted a few Hindi and English language films, including '' K ...
, theatre personality *
David and Simon Reuben David Reuben (born 1941) and Simon Reuben (born 1944) are Indian-born British businessmen. In May 2020, they were named as the second richest family in the UK by the '' Sunday Times Rich List'' with a net worth of £16 billion. Early life and b ...
, businessmen * Lalchanhima Sailo, rabbi and founder of Chhinlung Israel People's Convention * David Sassoon, businessman * Albert Abdullah David Sassoon, British Indian merchant *
Sassoon David Sassoon Sassoon David Sassoon (August 1832 – 24 June 1867) was a British Indian businessman, banker, and philanthropist. Biography Early life Sassoon was born in August 1832 in Bombay, India.William D. Rubinstein, ''The Palgrave Dictionary of An ...
, philanthropist and benefactor of greater Indian Jewish community *
Solomon Sopher Solomon F. Sopher is the president of the Baghdadi Jewish community in Mumbai, India. He also serves as the Trustee of the David Sassoon Fund, and as the chairman and managing director of Sir Jacob Sassoon Trust, which manages the Knesset Eliya ...
, Jewish community leader in
Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
*
Esther Victoria Abraham Esther Victoria Abraham (30 December 1916 – 6 August 2006), better known by her stage name Pramila, was an Indian model, actress and first woman film producer in the Hindi film industry. She is also well known for winning the first Miss India ...
, also known as Pramila, first
Miss India Miss India may refer to: * Femina Miss India, the most prestigious and oldest surviving national beauty pageant in India that started in 1964. It sends its winner to Miss World. * Miss Diva, the national beauty pageant that sends its winners to Miss ...
* Fleur Ezekiel - Bene Israel model, chosen as Miss India World in 1959 *
Sheila Singh Paul Dr. (Prof.) Sheila Singh Paul, MRCP, FRCP, DCH, DTM (12 September 1916 – 11 January 2001) was the Founder and Director of Kalawati Saran Children's Hospital, New Delhi. She was the first Indian woman to be given such a huge responsibility a ...
, paediatrician, founder and director of Kalawati Saran Children's Hospital, New Delhi; pioneer in polio vaccination * Ruby Daniel, Israeli author of Cochin Jewish origin *
Leela Samson Leela Samson (born 6 May 1951) is a Bharatanatyam dancer, choreographer, instructor, writer and actress from India. As a soloist, she is known for her technical virtuosity and has taught Bharatanatyam at Shriram Bhartiya Kala Kendra in Delhi f ...
, dancer, choreographer, and actress *
Jael Silliman Jael Silliman is an author, scholar, and women’s right activist. She currently works as a consultant on gender and development, women of color and reproductive rights, and gender and environment issues. She lives in New York City and Calcutta. She ...
, Baghdadi Indian Jewish author based in Kolkata *
Anish Kapoor Sir Anish Mikhail Kapoor (born 12 March 1954) is a British-Indian sculptor specializing in installation art and conceptual art. Born in Mumbai, Kapoor attended the elite all-boys Indian boarding school The Doon School, before moving to the UK ...
, Jewish Artist of Indian Descent * Bensiyon Songavkar, Indian cricket, silver medalist at the
2009 Maccabiah Games The 18th Maccabiah Games ( he, המכביה ה-18 ישראל תשס"ט), were held in July 2009. According to the organizing committee these were the largest games held yet. These Games were the world's fifth-largest sporting event, behind the Ol ...


See also

*
Bene Ephraim The Bene Ephraim ( he, בני אפריים) ''Bnei Ephraim'' ("Sons of Ephraim"), also called Telugu Jews because they speak Telugu, are a small community living primarily in Kotha Reddy Palem, a village outside Chebrolu, Guntur District, an ...
*
Bnei Menashe The Bnei Menashe ( he, בני מנשה, "Children of Menasseh", known as the Shinlung in India) is a community of people from various Tibeto-Burmese ethnic groups from the border of India and Burma who claim descent from one of the Lost Tribes ...
*
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 ...
*
Desi Jews Desi Jews are Jews living in South Asia (or originally from this region, also known as the Indian subcontinent) who belong to communities that had been integrated into South Asian culture and society. The term Desi, found in most South Asian lang ...
* Meshuchrarim *
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 ...
* Sephardic Jews in India * Christianity in India *
History of the Jews in Afghanistan The history of the Jews in Afghanistan goes back at least 2,500 years. Ancient Iranian tradition suggests that Jews settled in Balkh, an erstwhile Zoroastrian and Buddhist stronghold, shortly after the collapse of the Kingdom of Judah in 58 ...
*
History of the Jews in Tajikistan Jews and Judaism in Tajikistan have a long and varied history. Many of the Tajik Jews were originally Bukharan Jews. History Jews first arrived in the eastern part of the Emirate of Bukhara, in what is today Tajikistan, in the 2nd century BC. Afte ...
*
History of the Jews in Pakistan The history of the Jews in Pakistan dates at least as far back as 1839, when Pakistan was a part of British India. Various estimates suggest that there were about 1,000 to 2,500 Jews living in Karachi at the beginning of the 20th century, mostl ...
* History of the Jews in Sri Lanka


Notes


References


Further reading


Aafreedi, Navras Jaat, ed., ''Café Dissensus'', Issue 12: Indian Jewry, January 2015

Aafreedi, Navras Jaat, "Community and Belonging in Indian Jewish Literature"
''Himal Southasian'' (), May 2014

''Asian Jewish Life'' (), Autumn 2010, pp. 31–34.

''Asian Jewish Life'' (), Issue 15, October 2014, pp. 13–16.
Aafreedi, Navras Jaat, "The Attitudes of Lucknow's Muslims towards Jews, Israel and Zionism"
''Café Dissensus'' (), Issue 7, April 15, 2014

''Yedioth Ahronoth'', August 3, 2013

''Yedioth Ahronoth'', May 23, 2013 * ''India's Bene Israel: A Comprehensive Inquiry and Sourcebook'' Isenberg, Shirley Berry; Berkeley:
Judah L. Magnes Museum The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life, formerly known as the Judah L. Magnes Museum from 1961 until its reopening in 2012, is a museum of Jewish history, art, and culture in Berkeley, California. The museum, which was founded in 1961 by Sey ...
, 1988 * ''Indian Jewish Heritage: Ritual, Art and Life-Cycle'' Dr.
Shalva Weil Shalva Weil is a Senior Researcher at The Seymour Fox School of Education at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel. In 2017, she was GIAN Distinguished Professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University, in New Delhi. She has researched Indian Jews, Eth ...
(ed). Mumbai: Marg Publications, 3rd ed. 2009 * ''Indo-Judaic Studies in the Twenty-First Century: A Perspective from the Margin'', Katz N., Chakravarti, R., Sinha, B. M. and Weil, S., New York and Basingstoke, England:
Palgrave Macmillan Palgrave Macmillan is a British academic and trade publishing company headquartered in the London Borough of Camden. Its programme includes textbooks, journals, monographs, professional and reference works in print and online. It maintains off ...
. 2007 * ''Karmic Passages: Israeli Scholarship on India'', Shulman, D. and Weil, S. New Delhi:
Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...
.2008 * ''The Last Jews of Kerala'', Edna Fernandes, Portobello Books, (), 2008.


External links


INDIA
Encyclopaedia Judaica article in
Encyclopedia.com Encyclopedia.com (also known as HighBeam Encyclopedia) is an online encyclopedia. It aggregates information from other published dictionaries, encyclopedias and reference works including pictures and videos. History The website was launched by ...

Jews Of India
Encyclopedia of India article in Encyclopedia.com
TheJewsOfIndia.com
Comprehensive website of Jews in India
Bneimenashe.com
Bnei Menashe Jews of North East India

Jewish India
Jewsofindia.org
Jews of India
Indjews.com
Indian synagogues in Israel
Indian Jews
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Jewish Encyclopedia ''The Jewish Encyclopedia: A Descriptive Record of the History, Religion, Literature, and Customs of the Jewish People from the Earliest Times to the Present Day'' is an English-language encyclopedia containing over 15,000 articles on th ...

Bene Israel
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Cochin Jews
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Calcutta Jews
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India Virtual Jewish History Tour
- Jewish Virtual Library
Information on synagogues in Kerala, India
{{Religion in India topics