The Jewish Museum in London presents the story of British Jews while also honoring the Jewish community as a whole. The Baghdadi Jewish community in India is one such community. This Jewish population, which originated in Iraq and spread over the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean, played a critical economic role in the region, which…
Jael Silliman is an Associate Professor of Women’s Studies at the University of Iowa and the author of Jewish Portraits, Indian Frames: Women’s Narratives from a Hopeful Diaspora (Brandeis University Press, 2002). The experiences of four generations of Jewish women in Silliman’s family are chronicled in this deeply personal novel about Calcutta’s little-known Jewish community….
MYSORE, India (JTA) Christmas has always been a celebratory affair in Kolkata, from the blinding outdoor lights that cover Park Lane, to the lively pop-up Christmas market in the central rotunda of the vast New Market. Although celebrations are toned down this year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the devastating after-effects…
The origin and affiliation of Indian Jewish groups with other world populations remain a point of contention due to a lack of written records or inscriptions. Previous genetic investigations have discovered indications of Indian Jewish and Middle Eastern (Jewish) communities sharing a modest heritage. However, these studies (which rely on a small number of people)…
Are there any Jews in India? No, I’m not referring to the Native Americans who were thought to be remnants of the Ten Lost Tribes by 19th-century clergy. I’m referring to Jews in India. After all, why not? After all, our forefathers were distributed to all four corners of the earth as a result of…
25/11/2020 7:30 pm – 9:00 pm This talk was initially given in the summer of 2016, and I know that some of you were there. It was a hot August Friday night in the Peill Room, and Stu and I had cooked some delectable Indian fare to accompany the festivities. Even though everything I say will be…
Wednesday, November 4, 2020 @ 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm Finally, we’re going to look at some new research. New book: Shalva Weil talks about her new book, “The Baghdadi Jews in India: Maintaining Communities, Negotiating Identities, and Creating Super-Diversity,” in this video. This book looks at how the Baghdadi Jewish community changed dramatically overtime…
Despite its diminishing numbers, the Bene Israel minority in this city takes pleasure in being “Indian” and hoists the tricolor on Republic Day and Independence Day to show its “patriotism.” With Republic Day approaching, the office-bearers of the Succoth Shelomo Synagogue here are busy persuading the minuscule Jewish community here to come forth on January…
Friday, December 13, 2019, 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm Join artist Siona Benjamin and the Wyner Family Jewish Heritage Center, in collaboration with the Jewish Arts Collaborative, for an intimate and vibrant evening exploring art, heritage, and history. Siona will discuss her childhood growing up in a Bene Israel Jewish household in cosmopolitan India, and…
January 18, 2019, 6:30 pm Join HOH for a lovely, lay-led Kabbalat Shabbat service at the Museum of African American History. Lauren Pyes will speak about her travel to India with CJP and Project Inspire, as well as her interactions with the Indian Jewish community. India’s Jewish community is small but powerful. Mumbai is a…