Zubin Mehta is on the phone with an old buddy for the first few minutes of our encounter (who, it turns out, is a grandson of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan). Mr. Mehta’s acquaintance is an Indian Zoroastrian—or Parsi—and the two are planning supper after the maestro and his Israel Philharmonic Orchestra conclude…
In India, there are fewer than 4,000 Jews, although there are around 100,000 Indian Jews in Israel. Take a look at how it all went down. Sophie Judah first realized she was Jewish when she was 14 years old and received a copy of Anne Frank’s diary from her uncle. “I have read it seven…
According to Pushkar Sohoni, a researcher in Historic Preservation, Islamic Architecture, and Indo-Persian Cultural History, the Jewish population has made significant contributions to India’s development through its culture, architecture, and arts. “Since they arrived in India, they have been at the forefront of bringing development through numerous establishments, hospitals, and institutions built in and around…
European painters such as Chagall, Liebermann, Pissarro, and Soutine are often connected with Jewish art. Siona Benjamin, a Bombay-born painter whose work incorporates Jewish, Indian, and American themes, dispels the myth that Jewish art is primarily Western. A Shipwrecked Ancestry, a Rootless IdentityBenjamin’s forebears, the Bene Israel Jews of India, have had their history questioned….
Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, just returned from a six-day official visit to India, during which the two countries declared a “new era” in bilateral relations. Zubair Ahmed of BBC Hindi visited Israel’s Beersheba to meet a population of Indian-origin Jews who arrived shortly after the country’s founding. Even though Naor Gudekar is 61 years…
The Jewish community in India is one of many communities that have settled in India after migrating from outside the country’s modern territorial borders. What distinguishes the Jews, though, is their ability to integrate into the local culture. A humble appearing structure tucked away in a corner of the high-end Humayun Road in Khan Market,…
Anish Kapoor, a British-Indian sculptor, contributed $1 million on Wednesday to five charities working with migrants throughout the world, to help ease a record-breaking global displacement crisis. Last year, Kapoor, who was born to an Indian father and an Iraqi Jewish mother, was awarded the Genesis Prize, dubbed the Jewish Nobel, for his dedication to…
Sharad Pawar’s visit to Israel in 1993 is a favorite story among Bene Israeli Jews. Nissim Moses, who resides in Petah Tiqwa, Israel, says that “he was given a reception by the Indian community and he started giving a speech in English.” “And everyone screamed, ‘No, no, no,’ so he switched to Hindi, and everyone…
Many of us learned about Hanukkah from an episode of ‘F.R.I.E.N.D.S.’ in which Ross (David Schwimmer) explains the significance of the holiday to his son Ben, or from the popular ‘The OC’ episode -Chrismukkah,’ in which the characters celebrate the best of Hanukkah and Christmas. You might be shocked to learn that the celebration has…
Kenneth Robbins, a South Asian art collector who has documented several expatriate communities in India, and Pushkar Sohoni, an expert in the Deccan’s Islamic architectural traditions, have collaborated with Surendra Kumar, a topographic panorama photographer, to create a compact yet exquisite guide book on the Deccan’s rich Jewish heritage. While there are now some books…