(JTA) — KOCHI, India — Today, you’ll find lively Kasmiri businesses selling Persian antiquities, pashmina shawls, and traditional Islamic handicrafts along this coastal city’s “Jew street,” in sharp contrast to the neighborhood’s heyday when every household was Jewish. “In Jew Town, only two people are remaining.” “One is extremely old and spends most of her…
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…
Daniel learned Hebrew and the teachings of the faith as a child in Mumbai’s small, close-knit Jewish community. He often led prayers and aided at his local synagogue, where several members of his family served as community leaders, even though he was not officially ordained. That experience came in useful in 1994, when Daniel and…
While traveling through India in 2017, a friend from Assam, India’s northeastern state, told me about the Lost Tribe Jewish settlements in Mizoram, a neighboring state. I was curious and wanted to learn more after growing up in a Jewish family without ever fully embracing the faith of my observant parents. I quickly found that…
The many varieties of Jewish people throughout the world celebrate Hanukkah (the festival that begins tonight), with each group performing the celebration in different ways. A story recently published by NBC Asian America (December 11) tells the story of the growing population of Indian Jews in New York City, who gather each year to celebrate…
More than half a century ago, the magnificent synagogues of Kolkata were packed with members of a vibrant Indian Jewish community. The congregations are no longer present—less than two dozen remain—but the mosques are still maintained by numerous generations of Muslim families. In 1798, a Syrian jewel salesman named Shalom Cohen became the first Jew…
Even though a Kassam rocket had just landed across the street, David Lhundgim smiled as he entered his residence in this besieged village on the Gaza border. Lhundgim, who was born in the rural areas of northeast India, had been in Sderot since 2007, and he appeared to be well-adjusted in at least one way:…
In other words, Jews openly supported the INC’s goals for a secular and democratic India while opposing British authority. This article was written by one of The Quint’s members. Our membership program gives those who aren’t full-time journalists or frequent contributors the opportunity to be published on The Quint in our unique ‘Member’s Opinion’ area,…
I am a Mumbai-born painter who now resides in the United States. My work depicts my upbringing as a Jew in India, which is largely Hindu and Muslim. In my art, I create a mosaic inspired by both Indian/Persian miniature paintings and illuminated manuscripts, combining imagery from my history with the position I perform in…
From ancient times, the history of Judaism has been intertwined with the experiences of the Jewish Diaspora. The concept that God will deliver the Jews back to the Promised Land if they obey his laws and uphold the covenant has been strengthened by the first exodus of the Jewish people from Egypt to the land…