View source for Bene Israel

{{Short description|Jewish community in the Indian subcontinent}}
{{for|similar uses|Children of Israel (disambiguation){{!}}Children of Israel}}
{{Use Indian English|date=April 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}}
{{Infobox ethnic group
| image            = Israeli Bene Israel.jpg
| caption          = Bene Israel wedding
| group            = Bene Israel
| langs            = [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]], [[Judeo-Marathi]],<ref>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"</ref> [[English language|English]]<ref>{{cite book|title=Jewish Communities of India: Identity in a Colonial Era|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gCNHDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT396|year=2018|publisher=[[Routledge]]|first=Joan G.|last=Roland|isbn = 978-1-351-30982-0}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Bene-Israel|title = Bene Israel &#124; people}}</ref>
| rels             = [[Judaism]]
| related          = [[Cochin Jews]], [[Paradesi Jews]], [[Baghdadi Jews]]
| native_name      = {{Script/Hebrew|בני ישראל}} ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]])<br />{{langx|mr|बेने इस्राएल|label=none}} ([[Judeo-Marathi]])
| native_name_lang = 
| population       = 
| region1          = {{flag|Israel}}
| pop1             = 60–80,000<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.jpost.com/jerusalem-report/the-contribution-of-indian-jews-to-israel-637429 | title=The contribution of Indian Jews to Israel | date=12 August 2020 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-42731363 | title=Israel's Indian Jews and their lives in the 'promised land' | date=19 January 2018 }}</ref>
| region2          = {{flag|India}}
| pop2             = <5,000<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.jpost.com/jerusalem-report/the-contribution-of-indian-jews-to-israel-637429 | title=The contribution of Indian Jews to Israel | date=12 August 2020 }}</ref>
}}

The '''Bene Israel''' ({{Literal translation|[[Israelites|Sons of Israel]]}}), also referred to as the "[[Teli|Shanivar Teli]]" ({{Literal translation|Saturday oil-presser}})<ref name="NIH2">{{cite journal |last1=Waldman |first1=Yedael Y. |last2=Biddanda |first2=Arjun |last3=Davidson |first3=Natalie R. |last4=Billing-Ross |first4=Paul |last5=Dubrovsky |first5=Maya |last6=Campbell |first6=Christopher L. |last7=Oddoux |first7=Carole |last8=Friedman |first8=Eitan |last9=Atzmon |first9=Gil |last10=Halperin |first10=Eran |last11=Ostrer |first11=Harry |last12=Keinan |first12=Alon |title=The Genetics of Bene Israel from India Reveals Both Substantial Jewish and Indian Ancestry |journal=PLOS ONE |date=24 March 2016 |volume=11 |issue=3 |article-number=e0152056 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0152056 |doi-access=free |pmid=27010569 |pmc=4806850 |bibcode=2016PLoSO..1152056W }}</ref><ref name="TI">{{Cite web|url=https://tribuneindia.com/news/archive/features/india-s-jewish-connection-791548|title=India's Jewish connection: The Tribune India}}</ref><ref name="JE">{{Cite web|url=https://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/3489-bombay-india|title=BENI-ISRAEL - JewishEncyclopedia.com|website=jewishencyclopedia.com}}</ref> or "[[History of the Jews in India|Native Jew]]" caste,<ref>{{cite journal |last=Fischel |first=Walter |title=Bombay in Jewish History in the Light of New Documents from the Indian Archives |journal=Proceedings of the American Academy for Jewish Research |volume=38/39 |pages=119–144 |jstor=3622356 |date=1970 |doi=10.2307/3622356 }}</ref> are a community of [[Jews]] in India. It has been suggested<ref name="ejio bombay">{{cite encyclopedia |doi=10.1163/1878-9781_ejiw_COM_0004450 |title=Bombay (Present day Mumbai) |first1=Shalva |last1=Weil |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World |editor1-first=Norman A. |editor1-last=Stillman }}</ref> 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,<ref name="DBS"/> after they were taught about normative [[Sephardi Jews|Sephardi Judaism]],<ref name="JWA29">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.")</ref><ref>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 [[Sephardic law and customs|Spanish ritual]]"</ref> they migrated from villages in the [[Konkan|Konkan region]]<ref>{{cite book |last=Weil |first=Shalva |year=1981 |title=The Jews from the Konkan: the Bene Israel Community of India |location=Tel-Aviv |publisher=Beth Hatefutsoth}}</ref><ref name="DBS">{{cite web |title=The Jewish Community of Mumbai |url=https://dbs.anumuseum.org.il/skn/en/c6/e168438/Place/Mumbai |website=ANU Museum |quote=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. }}</ref> where they had previously lived<ref>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."</ref> to nearby cities throughout [[Presidencies and provinces of British India|British India]]—primarily to [[Mumbai]]<ref name="ejio bombay"/> where their first synagogue opened in 1796<ref name="DBS"/><ref>{{cite news |last1=Madnick |first1=Shulie |title=Why do the Jews of India call Passover 'The holiday of the covered clay pot with the sour liquid'? |url=https://forward.com/news/466618/why-do-the-jews-of-india-call-passover-the-holiday-of-the-covered-clay-pot/ |work=The Forward |date=25 March 2021 }}</ref><ref>Benjamin J. Israel, ''The Jews of India'', Centre for Jewish and Inter-faith Studies, Jewish Welfare Association, New Delhi, 1982, p. 27</ref> but also to [[Pune]], [[Ahmedabad]], and [[Karachi]] (now in [[Pakistan]]),<ref>{{cite book |last=Weil |first=Shalva |year=2008 |chapter=The Jews of Pakistan |editor-first=M. Avrum |editor-last=Erlich |title=Encyclopedia of the Jewish Diaspora |location=Santa Barbara, USA |publisher=ABC CLIO}}</ref> where they gained prominent positions in the [[British Raj|British colonial government]] and the [[British Indian Army|Indian Army]].

In the early part of the 20th century, many Bene Israel became active in the [[Cinema of India|Indian film industry]] as actresses/actors, producers, and directors. With [[Partition of India|Indian independence in 1947]] followed by the [[Israeli Declaration of Independence|Israeli Declaration of Independence in 1948]], many Bene Israel, including those who had arrived in India after their [[Jewish exodus from Arab and Muslim countries#Pakistan|exodus from newly-independent Pakistan]], soon emigrated to the [[Israel|State of Israel]], the United States, as well as [[Canada]], and other [[Member states of the Commonwealth of Nations|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.<ref>Benjamin J. Israel, ''The Jews of India'', Centre for Jewish and Inter-faith Studies, Jewish Welfare Association, New Delhi, 1982, p. 11</ref>

==History==
{{further|History of the Jews in India}}
[[File:Bene Israels (9727799854).jpg|thumb|Bene Israels in 1850s.]]
[[File:KITLV 87160 - Johnson and Henderson - Bene Israel teachers of the Free Church of Scotland's Mission School and the Jewish English School in Bombay, British India - 1856.tif|thumb|right|Bene Israel teachers in Bombay, 1856]]

The Bene Israel community believes that their ancestors fled [[Judea]] during the persecution under [[Antiochus Epiphanes]] and are descended from fourteen Jews, seven men and seven women, who came to India as the only survivors of a shipwreck<ref name="NIH2"/><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Bene-Israel | title=Bene Israel &#124; Jewish Community, India & Migration &#124; Britannica }}</ref> near the village of Navagaon on the [[coast]] about {{convert|20|mi|km}} south of Mumbai.<ref name="JWA16">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"</ref> Some historians have thought their ancestors may have belonged to one of the [[Ten Lost Tribes|Lost Tribes of Israel]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Weil |first=Shalva |year=2013 |chapter=Jews of India and Ten Lost Tribes |editor1-first=Raphael |editor1-last=Patai |editor2-first=Haya Bar |editor2-last=Itzhak |title=Jewish Folklore and Traditions: A Multicultural Encyclopedia |publisher=ABC-CLIO}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Géographie du Talmud |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_DIgYKxhNNL8C|first=A.|last=Neubauer|author-link=Adolf Neubauer|location=Paris|publisher=Michel Lévy Frères |year=1868|page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_DIgYKxhNNL8C/page/n431 386]|language=fr}}, 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)</ref> 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.<ref name="Parfitt Egorova 2005">{{cite journal |last1=Parfitt |first1=Tudor |author-link1=Tudor Parfitt |last2=Egorova |first2=Yulia |title=Genetics, History, and Identity: The Case of the Bene Israel and the Lemba |journal=Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry |date=June 2005 |volume=29 |issue=2 |pages=193–224 |doi=10.1007/s11013-005-7425-4 |pmid=16249950 |s2cid=19691358 }}</ref> They gradually assimilated to the people around them, while retaining customs that are considered Jewish.<ref name="Weil2009">{{cite book |last=Weil |first=Shalva |year=2009 |chapter=Bene Israel Rites and Routines |editor-first=Shalva |editor-last=Weil |title=India's Jewish Heritage: Ritual, Art and Life-Cycle |location=Mumbai |publisher=Marg Publications |orig-date=2002 |edition=3rd |pages=78–89}}</ref> The medieval Jewish philosopher [[Maimonides]] may have been referring to the Bene Israel when he wrote in a letter:<ref name=Roland1998>Roland JG (1998) The Jewish communities of India: identity in a colonial era. 2nd ed. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Transaction Publishers</ref><ref name="NIH2"/> "The Jews of India know nothing of the Torah, save for the Sabbath and circumcision."<ref name="JWA15">Benjamin J. Israel, ''The Jews of India'', Centre for Jewish and Inter-faith Studies, Jewish Welfare Association, New Delhi, 1982, p. 15</ref>

At a point in history which is uncertain, an [[Cochin Jews|Indian Jew from Cochin]] named David Rahabi discovered the Bene Israel in their villages and recognized their vestigial Jewish customs.<ref>{{cite book |last=Weil |first=Shalva |year=1994 |chapter=Yom Kippur: the Festival of Closing the Doors |editor-first=Hananya |editor-last=Goodman |title=Between Jerusalem & Benares: Comparative Studies in Judaism & Hinduism |location=New York |publisher=State University of New York Press |pages=85–100}}</ref> Rahabi taught the people about normative Judaism. He trained some young men among them to be the religious preceptors of the community.<ref>{{cite journal |id={{INIST|2465018}} |last=Weil |first=Shalva |year=1996 |title=Religious Leadership vs. Secular Authority: the Case of the Bene Israel |journal=Eastern Anthropologist |volume=49 |issue=3–4 |pages=301–316 }}</ref> Known as ''Kajis'', these men held a position that became hereditary, similar to the [[Cohanim]]. They became recognized as judges and settlers of disputes within the community.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Sohoni|first1=Pushkar|author1-link=Pushkar Sohoni|last2=Robbins|first2=Kenneth X.|title=Jewish Heritage of the Deccan: Mumbai, the northern Konkan, Pune|date=2017|publisher=Deccan Heritage Foundation; Jaico|location=Mumbai|isbn=978-93-86348-66-1|pages=16–17}}</ref>

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 in [[Cochin]], then the centre of the wealthy [[Cochin Jews|Malabar Jewish community]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/489631/David-Ezekiel-Rahabi |title=David Ezekiel Rahabi (Jewish-Indian leader) |encyclopedia=Britannica Online Encyclopedia |publisher=Britannica.com |access-date=10 March 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Weil |last=Shalva |year=2002 |chapter=Cochin Jews |editor1-first=Carol R. |editor1-last=Ember |editor2-first=Melvin |editor2-last=Ember |editor3-first=Ian |editor3-last=Skoggard |title=Encyclopedia of World Cultures Supplement |location=New York |publisher=Macmillan Reference USA |pages=78–80}}</ref> Others suggest that the reference is to David Baruch Rahabi, who arrived in Bombay from Cochin in 1825.<ref>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</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bh.org.il/bene-israel-mumbai-india/ |title=The Bene Israel of India |first=Shalva |last=Weil |publisher=The Museum of the Jewish People at Beit Hatfutsot}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Rangan">{{cite news |last1=Datta |first1=Rangan |title=Inside the synagogues of Mumbai |url=https://www.forbesindia.com/article/forbes-lifes/inside-the-synagogues-of-mumbai/63125/1 |work=Forbes India |date=3 October 2020}}</ref> Mumbai and surrounding regions, like [[Raigad district|Raigad]], house several synagogues, most of which belong to the Bene Israel community.

Under [[Colonial India|British colonial rule]], many Bene Israel rose to prominence in India; they were less affected by discriminatory legislation and gained prominent positions within the [[British Raj|colonial government]] and the [[British Indian Army|Indian Army]], at a higher rate overall than their non-Jewish counterparts.<ref name="Weil2009" /> Some of these enlistees with their families later immigrated to the [[British protectorate]] of [[Aden Protectorate|Aden]].<ref>{{cite book |first=Yaakov |last=Saphir |author-link=Yaakov Saphir |title=Even Sapir |volume=1 |location=Jerusalem |year=1968 |page=217 |language=he}}</ref> In the 19th century, the Bene Israel did however meet with hostility from the newly anglicized [[Baghdadi 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.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Numark |first1=Mitch |title=Constructing a Jewish Nation in Colonial India: History, Narratives of Discent, and the Vocabulary of Modernity |journal=Jewish Social Studies |date=2001 |volume=7 |issue=2 |pages=89–113 |id={{Project MUSE|18256}} |doi=10.2979/JSS.2001.7.2.89 |s2cid=162334921 }}</ref><ref name="Egorova2018">{{cite book|author=Yulia Egorova|title=Jews and Muslims in South Asia: Reflections on Difference, Religion, and Race|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TB5rDwAAQBAJ&pg=PP1|date=5 September 2018|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-985624-4|pages=36–40}}</ref>

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 of [[Films Division of India]], and Solomon Moses was head of the Bombay Film Lab Pvt Ltd from the 1940s to 1990s.<ref name="glitz"/> Ennoch Isaac Satamkar was a film actor and assistant director to [[Mehboob Khan]], a director of Hindi films.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Religion and Society|publisher= Christian Institute for the Study of Religion and Society, Vol. 38 - India |date=1991| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mecnAAAAYAAJ&q=satamkar |page=53 }} <!-- Reference notes him as Ennoch Isaac Satamkar. --> </ref>

Given the relatively privileged position they had held under British colonial rule, many Bene Israel prepared to leave India at [[Indian Independence Act 1947|independence]] in 1947. They believed that nationalism and the emphasis on [[Religion in India|indigenous religions]] would mean fewer opportunities for them. Most immigrated to the [[Israel|state of Israel]],<ref name="Weil 2008">{{cite book |last=Weil |first=Shalva |year=2008 |chapter=Jews in India |editor-first=M. Avrum |editor-last=Erlich |title=Encyclopaedia of the Jewish Diaspora |location=Santa Barbara, USA |publisher=ABC CLIO}}</ref> which was newly established in 1948 as a Jewish homeland.<ref>{{cite book |first=Joan G. |last=Roland |title=Jews in British India: Identity in a Colonial Era |location=Hanover |publisher=University Press of New England |year=1989 |pages=34–35}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Weil |first=Shalva |year=2005 |chapter=Motherland and Fatherland as Dichotomous Diasporas: the Case of the Bene Israel |editor1-first=Lisa |editor1-last=Anteby |editor2-first=William |editor2-last=Berthomiere |editor3-first=Gabriel |editor3-last=Sheffer |title=Les Diasporas 2000 ans d'histoire |location=Rennes |publisher=Presses Universitaires de Rennes |pages=91–99}}</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Beth-Ha-Elohim.JPG|Synagogue in [[Pen, India]]
File:Synagogue Madhupura Ahmedabad India.jpg|[[Magen Abraham Synagogue]] in [[Ahmedabad]]
File:120 Bombay 1890.png|A page from a [[Haggada]] with [[Marathi language|Marathi]] and [[Hebrew]] text, printed in Mumbai, 1890
File:Bene israel-cimetiere juif de bombay en inde.jpg|Bene Israel Cemetery, [[Mumbai]]
File:Jewish community Madhupura Ahmedabad India.jpg|Members of the Jewish community in Madhupura, Ahmedabad
File:Magen Hassidim Synagogue, outside.jpg|Magen Hassidim Synagogue, the largest Bene Israeli Synagogue in Mumbai
File:Shaare Rason Synagogue, Mumbai, Interior 1.jpg|Inside the Shaare Rason Synagogue, Mumbai
File:Tiphearth Israel Synagogue, Mumbai.jpg|Tiphearth Israel Synagogue, Mumbai
</gallery>

==Life in Israel==
{{main|Indian Jews in Israel}}
Between 1948 and 1952, some 2,300 Bene Israel immigrated to [[Israel]].<ref>Weil, Shalva. (2000) ''India, The Larger Immigrations from Eastern Countries,'' Jerusalem: Ben-Zvi Institute and the Ministry of Education. (Hebrew)</ref> In India, the Bene Israel and other Jews lived in urban areas, however in Israel they were settled into [[development town]]s.<ref name="Abhyankar2008">{{cite book|author=Rajendra Madhukar Abhyankar|title=West Asia and the Region: Defining India's Role|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YopTyDFI1U4C&pg=PA177|year=2008|publisher=Academic Foundation|isbn=978-81-7188-616-6|pages=196–197}}</ref> Members of the Bene Israel faced [[Racism in Israel|discrimination]] from other Jewish groups—one reason being their darker skin colour.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2018-01-19 |title=Israel's Indian Jews and their lives in the 'promised land' |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-42731363 |access-date=2022-06-15}}</ref> 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, the [[Jewish Agency for Israel|Jewish Agency]] repatriated 337 members of the Bene Israel community to India, though most eventually returned to Israel years later.<ref>{{cite book |last=Weil |first=Shalva |year=2011 |chapter=Bene Israel |editor-first=Judith |editor-last=Baskin |title=Cambridge Dictionary of Judaism and Jewish Culture |location=New York |publisher=Cambridge University Press}}</ref><ref name="Roby2015">{{cite book|author=Bryan K. Roby|title=The Mizrahi Era of Rebellion: Israel's Forgotten Civil Rights Struggle 1948-1966|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I1ERDQAAQBAJ&pg=PT8|date=4 December 2015|publisher=Syracuse University Press|isbn=978-0-8156-5345-5|pages=116–120}}</ref>

In 1962, authorities in Israel were accused of racism towards the Bene Israel.<ref name="Abramov, S. Zalman 1976, p. 277">Abramov, S. Zalman, ''Perpetual dilemma: Jewish religion in the Jewish State'', Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press, 1976, p. 277-278</ref><ref name="Smooha, Sammy 1978, p. 400-401">Smooha, Sammy, ''Israel: pluralism and conflict'', University of California Press, 1978, p. 400-401</ref> In the case that caused the controversy, the Council of the [[Chief 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.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Zieve |first1=Tamara |title=This Week in History: Indian summer in the Knesset |url=https://www.jpost.com/features/in-thespotlight/this-week-in-history-indian-summer-in-the-knesset |work=The Jerusalem Post |date=12 August 2012 }}</ref><ref name="Abramov, S. Zalman 1976, p. 277"/><ref name="Smooha, Sammy 1978, p. 400-401"/> 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.<ref name=Abbink2002>{{cite journal |last1=Abbink |first1=Jon G. |title=Ethnic Trajectories in Israel. Comparing the 'Bené Israel' and 'Beta Israel' Communities, 1950-2000 |journal=Anthropos |date=2002 |volume=97 |issue=1 |pages=3–19 |jstor=40465613 }}</ref> 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".<ref name="Weil 2008"/><ref name="RebhunWaxman2004">{{cite book|author1=Uzi Rebhun|author2=Chaim Isaac Waxman|title=Jews in Israel: Contemporary Social and Cultural Patterns|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I2PYTmFwQxcC&pg=PA221|year=2004|publisher=UPNE|isbn=978-1-58465-327-1|pages=230–231}}</ref>

The ''Report of the High Level Commission on the Indian Diaspora'' (2012) reviewed life in Israel for the Bene Israel community. It noted that the city of [[Beersheba]] in Southern Israel has the largest community of Bene Israel, with a sizable one in [[Ramla]]. They have a new kind of transnational family.{{Clarify|reason=This sentence is vague and lacks information.|date=September 2025}}<ref>{{cite journal |last=Weil |first=Shalva |year=2012 |title=The Bene Israel Indian Jewish Family in Transnational Context |journal=Journal of Comparative Family Studies |volume=43 |issue=1 |pages=71–80 |doi=10.3138/jcfs.43.1.71 }}</ref> Generally the Bene Israel have not been politically active and have been of modest means.{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}} 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://indiandiaspora.nic.in/diasporapdf/chapter9.pdf|title=Report of the High Level Commission on the Indian Diaspora|publisher=Indian Diaspora|access-date=29 April 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101011172532/http://indiandiaspora.nic.in/diasporapdf/chapter9.pdf|archive-date=11 October 2010}}</ref> Abbink{{Who|date=September 2025}}, on the other hand, states that the Bene Israel have become a distinct ethnic minority in Israel.{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}} The community, despite having been in Israel for many generations, has maintained many of their traditions from India. For example, traditional wedding rituals such as [[mehndi]] remain in practice.<ref name="Hutter2013">{{cite book |author=Manfred Hutter |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LSZcAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA21 |title=Between Mumbai and Manila: Judaism in Asia since the Founding of the State of Israel (Proceedings of the International Conference, held at the Department of Comparative Religion of the University of Bonn. May 30, to June 1, 2012) |date=17 July 2013 |publisher=V&R Unipress |isbn=978-3-8470-0158-4 |pages=21– 28, 31}}</ref> The ''Malida'' ceremony—a thanksgiving ritual commemorating the Jewish prophet [[Elijah]], who has become a kind of patron saint for Bene Israel—is also still practiced.<ref name="JWA29"/> This ceremony is regarded as unique to the Bene Israel Jewish community.<ref name="JWA29" /> It is also called ''Eliahu HaNabi''{{Citation needed|date=September 2025|reason=In the sources I have found online, the ceremony is only referred to as "Malida", and the name "Eliahu HaNabi" does not appear.}} (the Hebrew name for Elijah) and is performed at weddings and other celebratory events. The ceremony features the [[malida]] food—a tray of [[flattened rice]], grated coconut, raisins, spices, and fruit of two or more different kinds.<ref name="JWA29"/>  The Community also observes Tashlich, the ceremony of taking a ritual bath at Rosh Hashanah{{Clarify|reason=Tashlich means "throwing" sins into the sea, and has nothing to do with ritually bathing|date=April 2024}}. The Bene Israel like to attend their own synagogues to maintain group life. Their group lifestyle can be seen through their higher levels of [[endogamy]] compared to other Jewish groups.<ref name=Abbink2002/>

Religiously, the Bene Israel adopted the devotional singing style [[Kirtan]] from their Marathi Hindu neighbors. A popular Kirtan is one based on the [[Joseph (Genesis)|Story of Joseph]].<ref>Judith Cohen: ''Jüdische Musik. IV: Östliche Diaspora (14.–19. Jahrhundert). 3. Orientalische Gemeinden. b. Indien (Bene Israel, Cochin).'' In: ''MGG Online,'' November 2016</ref> Their main traditional musical instruments are the [[Harmonium#The Harmonium in India|Indian Harmonium]] and the [[Bulbul tarang]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Moskovich |first1=Rina Krut |title=The Role of Music in the Liturgy of Emigrant Jews from Bombay: The Morning Prayer for the Three Festivals |journal=Asian Music |date=1986 |volume=17 |issue=2 |pages=88–107 |doi=10.2307/833900 |jstor=833900 }}</ref>

The Central Organisation of Indian Jews in Israel (COIJI) was founded by Noah Massil.{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}}The organization has twenty chapters around Israel. Maiboli, the newsletter for the Bene Israel community is edited by Noah Masil.{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}} 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 of [[Dimona]] 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.<ref name="SemiMiccoli2013">{{cite book|author1=Emanuela Trevisan Semi|author2=Dario Miccoli|author3=Tudor Parfitt|title=Memory and Ethnicity: Ethnic Museums in Israel and the Diaspora|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dWIxBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA97|date=5 December 2013|publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing|isbn=978-1-4438-5466-5|page=103}}</ref>

==Migration to other countries==
Members of Bene Israel also settled in Britain<ref>Weil, S. 1974 'Bene Israel in Britain', New Community 3(1-2): 87–91.</ref> and North America, mostly in Canada.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thestar.com/life/food_wine/2015/04/02/passover-a-spicy-affair-for-torontos-indian-jews.html|title=Passover a spicy affair for Toronto's Indian Jews {{!}} The Star|last=Henry|first=Michele|date=2 April 2015|website=[[Toronto Star]]|language=en|access-date=2019-06-03}}</ref>

==Notable people==
* [[Reuben Dhondji Ashtumkar]] (1820–after 1877), Indian soldier who fought in the [[Indian Rebellion of 1857]]
* [[Joseph Ezekiel Rajpurkar]] (1834–1905), Indian writer and translator of Hebrew liturgical works into Marathi
* [[Rebecca Reuben Nowgaokar]] (1889–1957), writer and educator
* [[Jerusha Jhirad]] (1890–1984), the first female Indian Jewish physician<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/bene-israel|title=Bene Israel {{!}} Jewish Women's Archive|website=jwa.org|access-date=2019-08-14}}</ref>
* [[Ezra Mir]] alias Edwin Myers (1903–1993), noted in the ''Guinness Book of World Records'' as "the producer of the largest number of documentaries and short films".<ref name="glitz"/>
* [[David Abraham Cheulkar]] (1908–1982), actor who starred in ''Boot Polish'' (1954) and sang (on screen) "Nanhe Munne Bachche"<ref name="glitz"/>
* [[Firoza Begum (actress)|Firoza Begum]] (born as Susan Solomon), actor in the 1920s and 1930s<ref name="glitz">{{cite web |url=http://www.indiaglitz.com/channels/hindi/article/19064.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060519022310/http://www.indiaglitz.com/channels/hindi/article/19064.html |archive-date=19 May 2006 |work=IndiaGlitz |title=Jews, the lost tribe of Indian Cinema |first=Harish C. |last=Menon |author-link=Harish C. Menon |date=14 December 2005}}</ref>
* [[Reuben David]] (1912–89), zoologist, founder of Kankaria Zoo, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, father of Esther David
* [[Benjamin Abraham Samson]] (1916–2008), Indian Navy Admiral, father of Leela Samson
* [[Lila Irene Clerides|Lila Erulkar]] (1921–2007), [[First Lady of Cyprus]] (1993–2003) and wife of [[Glafcos Clerides]], president of the [[Republic of Cyprus]]
* [[Nissim Ezekiel]] (1924–2004), Indian poet<ref>{{cite news |title=Obituary: Nissim Ezekiel |first=Lawrence |last=Joffe |work=The Guardian |location=London |date=9 March 2004 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2004/mar/09/guardianobituaries.india |access-date=2013-09-26}}</ref>
* [[Fleur Ezekiel]], model and 1959 Miss World India
* [[Ralph Sam Haeems]] (1940–2005), Indian-born British criminal defence solicitor
* [[Samson Kehimkar]] (d. 2007), Indian musician
* [[Esther David]] (1945–), Indian writer and critic, daughter of Reuben David
* [[Leela Samson]] (1951–), Indian dancer, choreographer, and actress; daughter of Benjamin Abraham Samson
* [[Isaac David Kehimkar]] (1957–), Indian [[lepidopterist]], butterfly expert based in Navi Mumbai {{citation needed|date=February 2025}}
* [[Liora Itzhak|Liora Itzhak Pezarkar]] (1974–), Israeli singer of Indian origin.
* [[Eban Hyams]] (1981–), Indian-born Australian professional basketball player
* [[Madhura Naik]] (1984–), Indian actress
* [[Bensiyon Songavkar]] (1985–), Indian cricket, silver medalist at the [[2009 Maccabiah Games]]
* [[Ezekiel Isaac Malekar]], Indian rabbi
* [[Judah Reuben | Judah Reuben Nowgaonkar]] (1922 - 2006), Indian cricket umpire.
==See also==
* [[Judaism in India]]
* [[Satamkar]]
* [[Synagogues in India]]
* [[Jews of Pakistan]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
<!--Put additions in alphabetical order by author's name-->
* [[Esther David|David, Esther]]. ''The Book of Esther'', Penguin Global, 2003
* Isenberg, Shirley Berry. ''India's Bene Israel: A Comprehensive Inquiry and Sourcebook,'' Berkeley: [[Judah L. Magnes Museum]], 1988
* {{cite web |title=The Woman Preserving the Endangered Cuisine of Indian Jews |last=Lin-Sommer |first=Sam |date=1 Mar 2023 |website=Atlas Obscura |url=https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/indian-jewish-food?}}
* Meera Jacob. ''Shulamith'' (1975)
* [[Tudor Parfitt|Parfitt, Tudor]]. (1987) ''The Thirteenth Gate: Travels among the Lost Tribes of Israel'', London: [[Weidenfeld & Nicolson]].
* [[Sadia Shepard|Shepard, Sadia]]. ''The Girl from Foreign: A Search for Shipwrecked Ancestors, Forgotten Histories, and a Sense of Home,'' [[Penguin Press]], 2008
* [[Shalva Weil|Weil, Shalva]]. (2018) 'Indian Judaic Tradition'&nbsp; in Sushil Mittal and Gene Thursby (eds.) ''Religions in South Asia'' (new edition), New York and London: Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group, pp.186–205.
* Weil, Shalva. (ed.) (2019) ''The Baghdadi Jews in India: Maintaining Communities, Negotiating Identities and Creating Super-Diversity,'' London: Routledge.

==External links==
{{Commons category|Bene Israel}}
* Joseph Jacobs and Joseph Ezekiel, [http://jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=710&letter=B "Beni-Israel"], ''[[Jewish Encyclopedia]]'' (1901–1906).
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090627205829/http://www.ushmm.org/museum/exhibit/focus/antisemitism/voices/transcript/?content=20090604 "Interview with Sadia Shepard"], ''Voices on Antisemitism,'' [[United States Holocaust Memorial Museum]], 4 June 2009.
* [http://www.jewsofindia.org "Bene Israel", Photo Gallery & Forum], Jews of India.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060519101358/http://fletcher.tufts.edu/news/2005/09/najam091605.shtml September 2005], The [[Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy]], [[Tufts University]].
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20190708172653/http://www.indjews.com/ "The Indian Jewish community and synagogues in Israel"], India Jews.
* [http://www.piyut.org.il/tradition/912.html?currPerformance=1188 "Yonati Ziv Yifatech"], Bene Israel wedding hymn.
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=1FhFswoz3U8C&pg=PA1 ''Bene Israel History''].
* [http://www.aventurasliterarias.com/ebks/libr/142-03%20The%20History%20of%20the%20Bene-Israel.pdf ''The History of the Bene-Israel in India''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140812051302/http://www.aventurasliterarias.com/ebks/libr/142-03%20The%20History%20of%20the%20Bene-Israel.pdf |date=12 August 2014 }}, by Haeem Samuel Kahimkar (1830–1909).
* [https://jewishfilm.org/Catalogue/films/beneisrael.htm ''The Bene Israel: A Family Portrait''] (1994), an Indian documentary film on the Bene Israel.
{{Social groups of Maharashtra}}

[[Category:Bene Israel| ]]
[[Category:Indian Jews]]
[[Category:Social groups of Maharashtra]]
[[Category:Groups claiming Israelite descent]]
[[Category:Jewish ethnic groups]]
[[Category:Oil pressing castes]]