Baghdadi Jews, also known as Indo-Iraqi Jews, are mostly descended from Baghdad and other parts of the Middle East, as the name implies. They first established themselves in ports and along trade routes in the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea. The Baghdadi Jews were great traders and business people before coming to India,…
“For over 2,000 years, Jews have lived in India and have never faced discrimination. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.” (Yona Metzger, rabbi) The film depicts Jewish life in Kochi, a seaside city in Kerala, India, today. The Kochi Jews are India’s oldest Jewish community, with suspected roots dating back to King Solomon’s reign. The majority…
Anti-Semitism has never existed in India, making it one of the few places in the world where Jews have never faced anti-Semitism. Indian Jews currently residing in Israel, their “fatherland,” reminisce about their rich history and culture in India. “I am glad that my two countries, India and Israel, my motherland and my fatherland, have…
A 120-year-old, hand-carved teak sofa from the living room of the man known as the Jewish Gandhi is tucked away in the living room of a suburban house just north of Toronto. The piece’s creativity is highlighted by the lion’s head on an armrest, a carved peacock, and an elephant’s head, according to that man’s…
Maharashtra recognized Jews as a religious minority in 2016, but there are no statistics on their population because the Indian census does not recognize them as a distinct group. Two weeks ago, Mumbai’s Jewish community reopened the rebuilt Keneseth Eliyahoo Synagogue in Kala Ghoda. The synagogue is one of two in the city erected by…
New Delhi: Jews used to be prominent members of Indian society, serving as prominent business owners, government officials, physicians, lawyers, and academics. They now make up a tiny percentage of the population. When it comes to the Jewish community in Delhi, there are only about ten households. Even though they have a great deal of…
Cochin Jews, Bene Israel, Baghdadi Jews, Bnei Menashe, and Bene Ephraim are among India’s five different Jewish communities. The Cochin Jews claim to be India’s oldest Jewish community, having arrived around the time of King Solomon in Cochin, now part of the South Indian state of Kerala. Following the fall of the Second Temple in…
“Can you hear it?” Sarah Cohen whispers upstairs in the Paradesi Synagogue during Jewish prayers. Something is happening next door at the Hindu temple.” Indeed, the strange liturgy fusion between this congregation and the one neighboring is difficult to overlook. “We often hear their music and prayers,” she says, a Star of David pendant dangling…
Scientists have revealed the first DNA evidence to corroborate the Jewish roots of the peculiar Bene Israel society, which lives in the western portion of India and has a relatively unknown past. According to academics, the Bene Israel community has traditionally identified as Jewish. “Almost nothing is known about the Bene Israel group before the…
Only a few Jews remain in Kochi, Kerala’s Jew Town. Taha, a Muslim, owns and operates an embroidery shop on Jew Street. Outside Sarah Cohen’s shop, Taha was a poor street trader selling postcards. How did this friendship become a relationship?