04-06-2005, 11:34 PM
http://www.hvk.org/hvk/articles/0103/259.html
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Israeli researcher releases book on Indian Jews
Author: Manoj Nair
Publication: Mid-Day
Date: January 17, 2003
URL: http://www.mid-day.com/news/city/2003/january/41868.htm
A new book has documented the cultural heritage of Indiaâs three Jewish communities. The book, authored by nine writers, explores in pictures and prose the rituals, architecture and contributions of the Bene Israelis, the Cochinese and the Baghdadis, miniscule communities who, while retaining their Jewish identity, absorbed the culture and customs of their adopted land.
The book, Indiaâs Jewish Heritage â Ritual, Art and Life-Cycle, published by Marg Publications, was released on Tuesday. It has been edited by anthropologist Dr Shalva Weil of the Hebrew University, Jerusalem.
Contributors to the book include prominent Indian Jews, like Esther David and Sifra Samuel Lentin. David has written a chapter on Bene Israeli costumes and Samuel a piece on the Jewish presence in Mumbai. Samuel Hallegua, a Cochinese, has described the wedding rituals of his community, now depleted to fewer than 20 members in Kochi.
Dr Weil, who spent two years working on the book, says she has been coming to India for the last 30 years. âDuring these visits, I have interacted with Jews in India and have developed a special relationship with them,â she says.
The relationship helped during her research for the book. There is very little written history of the Bene Israelis or Cochinese before the 18th century, says Weil, who visited the vibrant Jewish community in Thane and derelict synagogues around Alibaug while working on the book.
âIn the 1980s, Jacob Circle was the centre of the Jewish community in Mumbai. Now Thane, where most of Indiaâs 4,500 Bene Israelis live, is the centre,â she says.
Weil says she ignored a fourth group, the Bnei Menashe of Mizoram, who have been claiming to be descendents of one of the 10 lost tribes of Israel. âI made a conscious decision to concentrate on the three recognised Jewish communities. The Menashe has never been recognised as Jews,â she says.
The Jews have had a presence in India for more than 2,000 years, and they will proudly tell you India is the only country in the world where they did not face anti-Semitism. Sadly, however, migration to Israel and the West is depleting their numbers in India. But the rate of emigration has slowed down recently. âThe violence in Israel is shameful. It is not a pull factor for many Indian Jews,â she says.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Israeli researcher releases book on Indian Jews
Author: Manoj Nair
Publication: Mid-Day
Date: January 17, 2003
URL: http://www.mid-day.com/news/city/2003/january/41868.htm
A new book has documented the cultural heritage of Indiaâs three Jewish communities. The book, authored by nine writers, explores in pictures and prose the rituals, architecture and contributions of the Bene Israelis, the Cochinese and the Baghdadis, miniscule communities who, while retaining their Jewish identity, absorbed the culture and customs of their adopted land.
The book, Indiaâs Jewish Heritage â Ritual, Art and Life-Cycle, published by Marg Publications, was released on Tuesday. It has been edited by anthropologist Dr Shalva Weil of the Hebrew University, Jerusalem.
Contributors to the book include prominent Indian Jews, like Esther David and Sifra Samuel Lentin. David has written a chapter on Bene Israeli costumes and Samuel a piece on the Jewish presence in Mumbai. Samuel Hallegua, a Cochinese, has described the wedding rituals of his community, now depleted to fewer than 20 members in Kochi.
Dr Weil, who spent two years working on the book, says she has been coming to India for the last 30 years. âDuring these visits, I have interacted with Jews in India and have developed a special relationship with them,â she says.
The relationship helped during her research for the book. There is very little written history of the Bene Israelis or Cochinese before the 18th century, says Weil, who visited the vibrant Jewish community in Thane and derelict synagogues around Alibaug while working on the book.
âIn the 1980s, Jacob Circle was the centre of the Jewish community in Mumbai. Now Thane, where most of Indiaâs 4,500 Bene Israelis live, is the centre,â she says.
Weil says she ignored a fourth group, the Bnei Menashe of Mizoram, who have been claiming to be descendents of one of the 10 lost tribes of Israel. âI made a conscious decision to concentrate on the three recognised Jewish communities. The Menashe has never been recognised as Jews,â she says.
The Jews have had a presence in India for more than 2,000 years, and they will proudly tell you India is the only country in the world where they did not face anti-Semitism. Sadly, however, migration to Israel and the West is depleting their numbers in India. But the rate of emigration has slowed down recently. âThe violence in Israel is shameful. It is not a pull factor for many Indian Jews,â she says.
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