In the early part of the 20th century, many Bene Israel became active in theIndian film industry as actresses/actors, producers, and directors. WithIndian independence in 1947 followed by theIsraeli Declaration of Independence in 1948, many Bene Israel, including those who had arrived in India after theirexodus from newly-independent Pakistan, soon emigrated to theState of Israel, the United States, as well asCanada, and otherCommonwealth countries. Emigration from India (mostly to Israel but also to the UK, the US, Canada and Australia) reduced the approximate population there from a peak of 20,000 in 1951 to 16,000 in 1961 and 5,500 in 1971, after which the emigration greatly declined.[20]
Bene Israels in 1850s.Bene Israel teachers in Bombay, 1856
The Bene Israel community believes that their ancestors fledJudea during the persecution underAntiochus Epiphanes and are descended from fourteen Jews, seven men and seven women, who came to India as the only survivors of a shipwreck[7][21] near the village of Navagaon on thecoast about 20 miles (32 km) south of Mumbai.[22] Some historians have thought their ancestors may have belonged to one of theLost Tribes of Israel.[23][24] They took up the work of oil pressing and running grocery shops but abstained from working on the Sabbath, and hence were called Shanivar Teli. Genetic evidence as of 2005 suggests that the Bene Israel appear to carry a haplotype which points to a Middle Eastern origin, and Jews may have formed part of the founding group.[25] They gradually assimilated to the people around them, while retaining customs that are considered Jewish.[26] The medieval Jewish philosopherMaimonides may have been referring to the Bene Israel when he wrote in a letter:[27][7] "The Jews of India know nothing of the Torah, save for the Sabbath and circumcision."[28]
At a point in history which is uncertain, anIndian Jew from Cochin named David Rahabi discovered the Bene Israel in their villages and recognized their vestigial Jewish customs.[29] Rahabi taught the people about normative Judaism. He trained some young men among them to be the religious preceptors of the community.[30] Known asKajis, these men held a position that became hereditary, similar to theCohanim. They became recognized as judges and settlers of disputes within the community.[31]
Bene Israel tradition places Rahabi's arrival at either 1000 or 1400, although some historians have dated his arrival to the 18th century. They suggest that the "David Rahabi" of Bene Israel folklore was a man named David Ezekiel Rahabi, who lived from 1694 to 1772, and resided inCochin, then the centre of the wealthyMalabar Jewish community.[32][33] Others suggest that the reference is to David Baruch Rahabi, who arrived in Bombay from Cochin in 1825.[34]
It is estimated that there were 6,000 Bene Israel in the 1830s; 10,000 at the turn of the 20th century; and in 1948—their peak in India—they numbered 20,000.[35] Since that time, most of the population has emigrated to Israel. In 2020, the Jewish population in Mumbai numbered about 3,500, out of which 99% were from the Bene Israel community.[36] Mumbai and surrounding regions, likeRaigad, house several synagogues, most of which belong to the Bene Israel community.
UnderBritish colonial rule, many Bene Israel rose to prominence in India; they were less affected by discriminatory legislation and gained prominent positions within thecolonial government and theIndian Army, at a higher rate overall than their non-Jewish counterparts.[26] Some of these enlistees with their families later immigrated to theBritish protectorate ofAden.[37] In the 19th century, the Bene Israel did however meet with hostility from the newly anglicizedBaghdadi Jews who considered the Bene Israel to be "Indian". They also questioned the Jewishness of the community. In response, the Bene Israel educator and historian, Haeem Samuel Kehimkar, spearheaded the defence of the Jewishness of the Bene Israel in the late 1800s. In his writings, he tried to portray the Bene Israel as a totally foreign community in India. He also divided the community into two endogamous groups: white (gora) and black (kala). He claimed the whites had pure blood, while the blacks were the progeny of Indian women and therefore impure.[38][39]
In the early twentieth century, numerous Bene Israel became leaders in the new film industry in India. In addition, men worked as producers and actors:Ezra Mir (alias Edwin Myers) (1903–1993) became the first chief ofFilms Division of India, and Solomon Moses was head of the Bombay Film Lab Pvt Ltd from the 1940s to 1990s.[40] Ennoch Isaac Satamkar was a film actor and assistant director toMehboob Khan, a director of Hindi films.[41]
Given the relatively privileged position they had held under British colonial rule, many Bene Israel prepared to leave India atindependence in 1947. They believed that nationalism and the emphasis onindigenous religions would mean fewer opportunities for them. Most immigrated to thestate of Israel,[42] which was newly established in 1948 as a Jewish homeland.[43][44]
Between 1948 and 1952, some 2,300 Bene Israel immigrated toIsrael.[45] In India, the Bene Israel and other Jews lived in urban areas, however in Israel they were settled intodevelopment towns.[46] Members of the Bene Israel faceddiscrimination from other Jewish groups—one reason being their darker skin colour.[47] Several rabbis refused to marry Bene Israel to other Jews, on grounds that they were not legitimate Jews under Orthodox law. Between 1952 and 1954, following sit-down protests and hunger strikes by Bene Israel demanding to be sent back to India, theJewish Agency repatriated 337 members of the Bene Israel community to India, though most eventually returned to Israel years later.[48][49]
In 1962, authorities in Israel were accused of racism towards the Bene Israel.[50][51] In the case that caused the controversy, the Council of theChief Rabbinate of Israel ruled that before registering a marriage between Indian Jews and Jews not belonging to that community, the registering rabbi should investigate the lineage of the Indian applicant for possible non-Jewish descent, and in case of doubt, require the applicant to perform conversion or immersion.[52][50][51] This discrimination may be related to the fact that some religious authorities believed that the Bene Israel were not fully Jewish because of inter-marriage during their long separation.[53] Between 1962 and 1964, the Bene Israel community staged protests against the religious policy. In 1964 the Israeli Rabbinate ruled that the Bene Israel are "full Jews in every respect".[42][54]
TheReport of the High Level Commission on the Indian Diaspora (2012) reviewed life in Israel for the Bene Israel community. It noted that the city ofBeersheba in Southern Israel has the largest community of Bene Israel, with a sizable one inRamla. They have a new kind of transnational family.[clarification needed][55] Generally the Bene Israel have not been politically active and have been of modest means.[citation needed] They have not formed continuing economic connections to India and have limited political status in Israel. Jews of Indian origin are generally regarded as Sephardic; they have become well integrated religiously within the Sephardic community in Israel.[56] Abbink[who?], on the other hand, states that the Bene Israel have become a distinct ethnic minority in Israel.[citation needed] The community, despite having been in Israel for many generations, has maintained many of their traditions from India. For example, traditional wedding rituals such asmehndi remain in practice.[57] TheMalida ceremony—a thanksgiving ritual commemorating the Jewish prophetElijah, who has become a kind of patron saint for Bene Israel—is also still practiced.[13] This ceremony is regarded as unique to the Bene Israel Jewish community.[13] It is also calledEliahu HaNabi[citation needed] (the Hebrew name for Elijah) and is performed at weddings and other celebratory events. The ceremony features themalida food—a tray offlattened rice, grated coconut, raisins, spices, and fruit of two or more different kinds.[13] The Community also observes Tashlich, the ceremony of taking a ritual bath at Rosh Hashanah[clarification needed]. The Bene Israel like to attend their own synagogues to maintain group life. Their group lifestyle can be seen through their higher levels ofendogamy compared to other Jewish groups.[53]
Religiously, the Bene Israel adopted the devotional singing styleKirtan from their Marathi Hindu neighbors. A popular Kirtan is one based on theStory of Joseph.[58] Their main traditional musical instruments are theIndian Harmonium and theBulbul tarang.[59]
The Central Organisation of Indian Jews in Israel (COIJI) was founded by Noah Massil.[citation needed]The organization has twenty chapters around Israel. Maiboli, the newsletter for the Bene Israel community is edited by Noah Masil.[citation needed] There is also a website called Indian Jewish Community in Israel which coordinates various cultural activities organized by the community. The community in Israel opened the museum of Indian Jewish Heritage in the town ofDimona in 2012. The museum is currently run by volunteers. At present, the museum has a small collection of items donated by the community. It also holds cultural and cooking classes for all communities.[60]
Jerusha Jhirad (1890–1984), the first female Indian Jewish physician[63]
Ezra Mir alias Edwin Myers (1903–1993), noted in theGuinness Book of World Records as "the producer of the largest number of documentaries and short films".[40]
David Abraham Cheulkar (1908–1982), actor who starred inBoot Polish (1954) and sang (on screen) "Nanhe Munne Bachche"[40]
Firoza Begum (born as Susan Solomon), actor in the 1920s and 1930s[40]
Reuben David (1912–89), zoologist, founder of Kankaria Zoo, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, father of Esther David
^Benjamin J. Israel,The Jews of India, Centre for Jewish and Inter-faith Studies, Jewish Welfare Association, New Delhi, 1982, p. 25: "What the mother tongue of the Bene Israel was when they came to India is unknown. But for centuries it has been Marathi"
^Fischel, Walter (1970). "Bombay in Jewish History in the Light of New Documents from the Indian Archives".Proceedings of the American Academy for Jewish Research. 38/39:119–144.doi:10.2307/3622356.JSTOR3622356.
^abWeil, Shalva. "Bombay (Present day Mumbai)". In Stillman, Norman A. (ed.).Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World.doi:10.1163/1878-9781_ejiw_COM_0004450.
^abc"The Jewish Community of Mumbai".ANU Museum.The foundation of a permanent Jewish settlement in Mumbai was laid in the second half of the 18th century by the Bene Israel who gradually moved from their villages in the Konkan region to Mumbai. Their first synagogue in Mumbai was built (1796) on the initiative of S.E. Divekar.
^abcdBenjamin J. Israel,The Jews of India, Centre for Jewish and Inter-faith Studies, Jewish Welfare Association, New Delhi, 1982, p. 29: "While the present Orthodox Bene Israel ritual conforms to the Sephardi prayer books, there is one peculiarity which is unique to the Bene Israel,... themalida ceremony. On every occasion for thanksgiving a special home service is held, the central feature of which is the singing of a hymn... commemorating the prophet Elijah... followed by the recital of blessings over a concoction of parched rice, shredded coconut, raisins and spices... partaken of by all present, with fruit of at least two kinds.")
^Solomon Grayzel,A History of the Jews, The Jewish Publication Society of America, Filadélfia, 1968, p. 744: "their Jewish religion has been entirely restored, and they observe it in orthodox fashion, according to theSpanish ritual"
^Weil, Shalva (1981).The Jews from the Konkan: the Bene Israel Community of India. Tel-Aviv: Beth Hatefutsoth.
^Benjamin J. Israel,The Jews of India, Centre for Jewish and Inter-faith Studies, Jewish Welfare Association, New Delhi, 1982, p. 21: "At the opening of the eighteenth century the Bene Israel were almost wholly concentrated in a small coastal strip of about 1,000 square miles slightly to the south of Bombay."
^Benjamin J. Israel,The Jews of India, Centre for Jewish and Inter-faith Studies, Jewish Welfare Association, New Delhi, 1982, p. 16: "in the early years of the nineteenth century, the Bene Israel believed that their ancestors came a long time ago by sea from somewhere in the 'north' and were shipwrecked off Navagaon about 20 miles south of Bombay Island"
^Weil, Shalva (2013). "Jews of India and Ten Lost Tribes". In Patai, Raphael; Itzhak, Haya Bar (eds.).Jewish Folklore and Traditions: A Multicultural Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO.
^Neubauer, A. (1868).Géographie du Talmud (in French). Paris: Michel Lévy Frères. p. 386., who wrote: "The Bané Israel, a Jewish tribe in India, claim, we have said, to descend from the ten tribes; this tradition deserves serious examination." (End Quote)
^abWeil, Shalva (2009) [2002]. "Bene Israel Rites and Routines". In Weil, Shalva (ed.).India's Jewish Heritage: Ritual, Art and Life-Cycle (3rd ed.). Mumbai: Marg Publications. pp. 78–89.
^Roland JG (1998) The Jewish communities of India: identity in a colonial era. 2nd ed. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Transaction Publishers
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^Weil, Shalva (1996). "Religious Leadership vs. Secular Authority: the Case of the Bene Israel".Eastern Anthropologist.49 (3–4):301–316.INIST2465018.
^Sohoni, Pushkar; Robbins, Kenneth X. (2017).Jewish Heritage of the Deccan: Mumbai, the northern Konkan, Pune. Mumbai: Deccan Heritage Foundation; Jaico. pp. 16–17.ISBN978-93-86348-66-1.
^Shalva, Weil (2002). "Cochin Jews". In Ember, Carol R.; Ember, Melvin; Skoggard, Ian (eds.).Encyclopedia of World Cultures Supplement. New York: Macmillan Reference USA. pp. 78–80.
^Haeem Samuel Kehimkar,The History of the Bene-Israel of India (ed. Immanuel Olsvanger), Tel-Aviv : The Dayag Press, Ltd.; London : G. Salby 1937, p. 66
^Saphir, Yaakov (1968).Even Sapir (in Hebrew). Vol. 1. Jerusalem. p. 217.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
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^Religion and Society. Christian Institute for the Study of Religion and Society, Vol. 38 - India. 1991. p. 53.
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