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History of the Jews in India
A map of India, showing the main areas of Jewish concentration. In addition to Jewish expatriates and recent immigrants, there are five native Jewish communities in India:
Cochin Jews
The oldest of the three longest-established Jewish communities, traders from Judea and Israel arrived in the city of Cochin, in what is now Kerala, 2,500 years ago. According to recordings by Jews, the date of the first arrival is given at 562 BC. Assimilated with the local population, the community built synagogues and colonies there. The synagogue in Cochin, is a protected heritage site and is a popular tourist destination although it actually does not belong to the Cochin Jews, but rather to Pardesi Jews. There are currently 53 practicing Cochin Jews left in Kerala, about 8000 now practice in Israel. There are said to be 3 categories of Jews in Cochin; "white", "brown" and "black". They all claim to be exiles from Palestine from the year 70 C.E.[1] It is believed that the "black" Jews came after the Islamist conquest of Persia in the 7th century and that the "white" Jews came from their expulsion from Spain in 1492 C.E.[2] Bene IsraelThe Bene Israel arrived 2,100 years ago after a shipwreck stranded seven Jewish families from Judea at Navagaon near Alibag, just south of Mumbai. The families multiplied and integrated with the local Maharashtrian population adopting their language (Marathi), dress and food. They were nicknamed the shaniv?r tel? ("Saturday oil-pressers") by the local population as they abstained from work on Saturdays which is Judaism's Shabbat. The Bene Israel claim a lineage to the Cohanim, which claims descent from Aaron, the brother of Moses. In 2002, a DNA test confirmed that the Bene Israel share the same heredity as the Cohanim. Baghdadi JewsDespite the name, the Baghdadi Jews are not exclusively of Iraqi origin: many came from Iran, Afghanistan, Syria, and Yemen as well. These Jews emigrated to India around 250 years ago and settled down in the city of Mumbai. They were traders and quickly became one of the highest earning communities in the city. As philanthropists, some of them donated their wealth to public structures. The David Sassoon Docks and a Sassoon Library are some of the famous landmarks still standing today. As well as Mumbai, Baghdadi Jews spread to other parts of India, with an important community in Kolkata. Scions of this community did well in trade (particularly jute, but also tea) and, in later years, contributed officers to the army. One, Lt-Gen J. F. R. Jacob PVSM, becoming state governor of, first, Goa and then Punjab. Bnei MenasheAn estimated 9,000 people in the northeastern Indian states of Mizoram and Manipur started practicing Halachik Judaism in the 1970s, being the descendants of the Tribe of Manasseh. They have since been recognized by Israel as a lost tribe, and most have left, or plan to leave India and emigrate to Israel after undergoing a conversion to Orthodox Judaism. However, India, under pressure from Christian Missionaries, has since halted conversions to Judaism and exodus to Israel. [3] Bene EphraimThe Bene Ephraim are a small group of Telugu-speaking Jews in eastern Andhra Pradesh whose recorded observance of Judaism, like that of the Bnei Menashe, is quite recent, dating only to 1981. Today
The Paradesi Synagogue in Kochi See also
References
External links
de:Juden in Indien es:Judaísmo en la India fr:Histoire des Juifs en Inde it:Storia degli Ebrei in India he:????? ???? ja:???????? pl:?ydzi w Indiach ru:????? ????? sv:Judendomen i Indien Source: Wikipedia | The above article is available under the GNU FDL. | Edit this article
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