Judaism in India

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rabbi Salomon Halevi and his wife Rebecca, Jews in Madras
Main settlement areas for Indian Jews
Jews from Cochin (1900)
Interior view of the Paradesi Synagogue in Kochi
Hebrew inscription at the Mattancherry Synagogue in Kochi (Kerala)

Jews in India are a religious minority in the Hindu country.

General

It is believed that some Jews came to India as early as the time of the Southern Empire (926 to 586 BC), others were possibly descendants of the ten lost tribes of Israel (from 722 BC).

Half of Indian Jews now live in the northeastern states of Manipur and Mizoram , and a quarter in the western Indian metropolis of Mumbai . In India, in contrast to other countries, Jews hardly experienced any anti-Semitism ; There have only been violent confrontations with Islamists for a few years . The terrorist attacks in Mumbai in 2008 , a Jewish community center to stop goals belonged.

From 1947 (India's independence), an aliyah (wave of emigration) of the majority of Indian Jews to Israel took place , which gained independence one year after India. According to the 2011 census, there are only around 4,400 Jews left in India.

There are five groups in India:

Cochin Jews

Main article: Cochin Jews

Cochin Jews are the oldest group and, according to legends, were originally traders from Judea , who settled in Kochi (formerly Cochin; Kerala ) 2500 years ago and quickly established churches. However, immigration in the early Middle Ages is more likely . The Kochi Synagogue is a significant cultural monument that was built in 1568.

The vast majority, around 5,000 believers, have already emigrated to Israel . According to the 2011 Indian census, fewer than 50 Jews live in the state of Kerala.

Beni Israel

Main article: Beni Israel

The Bene Israel reached the subcontinent according to a legend before about 2100 years ago, after a ship from Judea in Navagaon near Alibag to be wrecked on India's west coast. They constitute the largest group of Indian Jews. The Beni Israel centers in India were in Maharashtra and Gujarat ( Mumbai , Pune , Ahmedabad ). Most of them emigrated to Israel today. The number of Beni Israel living in Israel is estimated at around 60,000. According to the Indian census of 2011, there are still just under 1,600 Jews living in the state of Maharashtra and around 120 in the state of Gujarat.

Baghdadi Jews

The Baghdadi Jews came to Mumbai about 250 years ago from Iraq , Iran , Afghanistan and Arab countries . They were seen as enterprising traders. From Mumbai they dispersed into large parts of the country, with a large group in Kolkata .

When India became independent in 1947, 35,000 Jews were still living in Mumbai, down from around 3,000 in 2018.

Bene Ephraim

Bene Ephraim (also called Telugu Jews ) is a small group of Indian Jews in eastern Andhra Pradesh who speak Telugu .

Bnei Menashe

The Bnei Menashe (German: sons of Manasseh) live in the northeastern states of Manipur and Mizoram . They did not come to Judaism until the 1970s, but claim to be descendants of the Israelite tribe of Manasseh . They have traditions that suggest that they belong to the Israelites. For example, they perform circumcision with sharp stones, practice cleaning lepers with spring water, sing songs in which the holy places of Israel are mentioned and celebrate a festival similar to the Jewish Passover.

It was not until 2005 that they were recognized as such by Shlomo Amar , the Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel. They are thus free to emigrate to Israel. The number of Bnei Menashe is estimated in media reports at 5,000–7,000.

In the 2011 census, around 2000 people in Manipur and around 300 in Mizoram indicated their religion as Judaism.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Census of India 2011: C-01 Appendix: Details of Religious Community Shown Under 'Other Religions And Persuasions' In Main Table C-1- 2011 (India & States / UTs).
  2. ↑ We feel safe. In: Israelnetz .de. November 26, 2018, accessed December 26, 2018 .
  3. ^ Israelnetz.de , November 9, 2005, accessed on July 24, 2018.
  4. ↑ Source for 5000 members: BBC (1) , BBC (2) ; Source for 6,000 members: Rabbinate Recognizes Bnei Menashe as “Descendants of Israel” ; Source for 7,000 family members Let My People Come: Why is Israel Blocking Bnei Menashe Aliyah?

literature

  • Monique Zetlaoui: Shalom India - Histoire des communautés juives en Inde. Imago, Paris 2000, ISBN 2-911416-37-6 .
  • Shalva Weil (Ed.): Indian Jewish Heritage: Ritual, Art and Life-Cycle. Marg Publications, Mumbai 2002, ISBN 81-85026-58-0 .
  • Nathan Katz: Who Are the Jews of India? University of California Press, Berkeley 2000, ISBN 0-520-21323-8 .
  • Joan G. Roland: Bombay. In: Dan Diner (Ed.): Encyclopedia of Jewish History and Culture (EJGK). Volume 1: A-Cl. Metzler, Stuttgart / Weimar 2011, ISBN 978-3-476-02501-2 , pp. 376-381.

Web links

Commons : Judaism in India  - Collection of Pictures, Videos and Audio Files