A small Jewish community has existed on India’s Malabar coast for 900 years, coexisting peacefully with their Hindu, Muslim, and Christian neighbors. It has served as an example of interfaith tolerance. However, as Fred de Sam Lazaro tells, the population has shrunk since Israel’s founding, and one of the last Jewish survivors, who runs the…
A minor ethnic community in northeastern India claims to be one of Israel’s lost tribes. The Kuki people’s zeal has persuaded Israel’s Chief Rabbi to authorize their immigration to the Promised Land. Because Kuki men are historically fighters, the majority of them join the army after they arrive in Israel, leaving their spouses to acclimate…
“If being the final flicker of the Jewish light in Kolkata is our fate, then so be it.” Kolkata is often regarded as one of India’s most beautiful cities. However, few people realize that the majority of the city’s landmarks were created by members of the Jewish community, not the British. They were once tens…
Hollywood has long been connected with Jews, for better or worse, since the first Jewish-run studios made cinema what it is today. Bollywood? Not at all. The vast Hindustani-language cinema industry’s over-the-top action sequences and large-scale dance routines are well-known around the world, but most Westerners are probably unaware that many of the industry’s early…
Baghdadi Jews, who came to India in the late eighteenth century from Baghdad, Basra, Aleppo, and other Arabic-speaking portions of the Ottoman Empire, established large diaspora groups in Bombay and Calcutta. Baghdadi Jews in India were unique in that they followed Iraqi or Syrian traditions and rituals while also embracing English and Indian culture. Originally…
A new DNA study sheds light on the origins of the Indian Bene Israel community and offers insights into its distant past. According to a new study published in the scientific journal PLOS ONE just two weeks ago, the group formed in one of the Middle Eastern Jewish communities. They arrived in India 19 to…
Although many Jewish contemporary artists have achieved recognition at the Jewish cultural scene, one such artist is Siona Benjamin, a young Jewish Indian artist whose new exhibition, “Finding Home,” was recently launched at the JCC of Manhattan. Her work (which is based on a Mughal art style) is full of brilliant, unique ideas and elements,…
As a Jewish artist who grew up in India and has since moved to the United States, I focus on my work in cross-cultural and transcultural art. I help you bridge the gap between modern and traditional by giving you the platform to communicate with others across cultures. After the split, some family members, like…
It had been a long time since anyone could understand the songs performed by the Nirit Singers of Israel, as the music was in an ancient language not spoken today. But people who witnessed their performance found themselves clapping along to the rhythm anyway. The panel of experts on folk songs was made up of…
After their army service, young Israelis are traveling to India in droves. Many who visit come back home with delightful stories and memories of their time in South Africa. Now, their parents are visiting with tour groups that feature luxurious budgets. They’ve heard so much about India, and now they’re seeing it all firsthand. Air…