Bene Israel

Not to be confused with Bani Isra'il, Beta Israel, or B'nai Israel.

Bene Israel
בני ישראל‎ (Hebrew)
बेने इस्राएल (Judeo-Marathi)
Bene Israel wedding
Regions with significant populations
 Israel60-80,000[1][2]
 India<5,000[3]
Languages
Hebrew, Judeo-Marathi,[4] English[5][6]
Religion
Judaism
Related ethnic groups
Cochin Jews, Paradesi Jews, Baghdadi Jews

The Bene Israel (lit. 'Sons of Israel'), also referred to as the "Shanivar Teli" (lit. 'Saturday oil-presser')[7][8][9] or "Native Jew" caste,[10] are a community of Jews in India. It has been suggested[11] that they are the descendants of one of the Ten Lost Tribes via their ancestors who had settled there centuries ago. Starting in the second half of the 18th century,[12] after they were taught about normative Sephardi Judaism,[13][14] they migrated from villages in the Konkan region[15][12] where they had previously lived[16] to nearby cities throughout British India—primarily to Mumbai[11] where their first synagogue opened in 1796[12][17][18] but also to Pune, Ahmedabad, and Karachi (now in Pakistan),[19] where they gained prominent positions within the British colonial government and the Indian Army.

In the early part of the 20th century, many Bene Israel became active in the Indian film industry as actresses/actors, producers, and directors. With Indian independence in 1947 followed by the Israeli Declaration of Independence in 1948, many Bene Israel, including those who had arrived in India after their exodus from newly-independent Pakistan, soon emigrated to the State of Israel, the United States, as well as Canada, and other Commonwealth 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]

  1. ^ https://www.jpost.com/jerusalem-report/the-contribution-of-indian-jews-to-israel-637429
  2. ^ https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-42731363
  3. ^ https://www.jpost.com/jerusalem-report/the-contribution-of-indian-jews-to-israel-637429
  4. ^ 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"
  5. ^ Roland, Joan G. (2018). Jewish Communities of India: Identity in a Colonial Era. Routledge. ISBN 9781351309820.
  6. ^ "Bene Israel | people".
  7. ^ Waldman, Yedael Y.; Biddanda, Arjun; Davidson, Natalie R.; Billing-Ross, Paul; Dubrovsky, Maya; Campbell, Christopher L.; Oddoux, Carole; Friedman, Eitan; Atzmon, Gil; Halperin, Eran; Ostrer, Harry; Keinan, Alon (24 March 2016). "The Genetics of Bene Israel from India Reveals Both Substantial Jewish and Indian Ancestry". PLOS ONE. 11 (3): e0152056. Bibcode:2016PLoSO..1152056W. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0152056. PMC 4806850. PMID 27010569.
  8. ^ "India's Jewish connection : The Tribune India".
  9. ^ "BENI-ISRAEL - JewishEncyclopedia.com". jewishencyclopedia.com.
  10. ^ 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. JSTOR 3622356.
  11. ^ a b Weil, 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.
  12. ^ a b c "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.
  13. ^ Benjamin 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,... the malida 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.")
  14. ^ 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 the Spanish ritual"
  15. ^ Weil, Shalva (1981). The Jews from the Konkan: the Bene Israel Community of India. Tel-Aviv: Beth Hatefutsoth.
  16. ^ 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."
  17. ^ Madnick, Shulie (25 March 2021). "Why do the Jews of India call Passover 'The holiday of the covered clay pot with the sour liquid'?". The Forward.
  18. ^ Benjamin J. Israel, The Jews of India, Centre for Jewish and Inter-faith Studies, Jewish Welfare Association, New Delhi, 1982, p. 27
  19. ^ Weil, Shalva (2008). "The Jews of Pakistan". In Erlich, M. Avrum (ed.). Encyclopedia of the Jewish Diaspora. Santa Barbara, USA: ABC CLIO.
  20. ^ Benjamin J. Israel, The Jews of India, Centre for Jewish and Inter-faith Studies, Jewish Welfare Association, New Delhi, 1982, p. 11