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

and

Paradesi Jews Paradesi Jews were 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 newcomers ...

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 Ca ...

; tens of thousands from the Bene Israel of

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the second-most populous state in India and the second-most populous country subdi ...

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 ...

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", the self-described name of the native inhabitants, and "Ram", which in the Mizo language means "lan ...

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 the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel, which is in the modern era chiefly represented by the State of Israel. Traditionally descri ...

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

(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 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 the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel, which is in the modern era chiefly represented by the State of Israel. Traditionally descri ...

). 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 ...

im'' (agricultural settlements) of Nevatim, Shahar,

Yuval Yuval ( he, יוּבַל), also known as Kfar Yuval ( he, כְּפַר יוּבַל), is a moshav in northern Israel. Located in the Galilee Panhandle between Metula and Kiryat Shmona, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mevo'ot HaHermon Region ...

, and Mesilat Zion.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, Dimona and Yeruham, where many Bene Israel had settled and maintained a

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

dialect. Between 1948 and 1952, some 2,300 Bene Israel 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 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 Ramla. 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 Nevatim, Shahar,

, and Mesilat Zion. Others settled in the neighbourhood of

, and in

, Ramla, Dimona, and Yeruham, where many Bene Israel had settled. The migrated

still continue to speak Judeo Malayalam.

Notable people

* Eli Ben-Menachem * Ruby Daniel * Samson Kehimkar * Sarah Avraham * Ben Avram * Eban Hyams *

Uri Benjamin Uri Benjamin (born 11 March 1954) is an Israeli former professional footballer that has played in Hapoel Be'er Sheva Honours Club ; Hapoel Be'er Sheva * Premier League: ** Winners (2): 1974/1975, 1975/1976 * Super Cup A super cup is a comp ...

* Ofer Talker *

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

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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