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IANS[ THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 04, 2003 11:14:46 AM ]

Indian Jews hope for closer Indo-Israel ties

NEW DELHI: Jews in India, a microscopic community, are looking forward
to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's trip next week, saying it
would be an affirmation of growing bilateral ties.

New Delhi has only 10-12 Jewish families, making up for a community of
50 people. The national figures aren't extraordinarily high either,
with only 4,500 Jews left in India.

Most Indian Jews are settled in Mumbai, with small communities living
in Kochi and Kolkata as well. In the 1940s there were around 3,000
Jews in Kerala but now barely 60 are left.

Ezekiel Issac Malekar, the rabbi at New Delhi's only synagogue, says
the community here takes pride in its Indian origin and at the same
time balances it with its religious requirements.

"Bustling Friday evening and Saturday morning prayers are a testimony
to that," he says.

Besides community members, around 200 diplomats and visitors also turn
up for these prayer sessions.

For Jews here, Sharon's India visit, the first by an Israeli prime
minister, is a very significant one. Sharon arrives here on a
three-day trip on September 9.

"His visit is a formal declaration of close ties between the two
countries," Malekar said.

He says although Sharon is not scheduled to visit the synagogue, if he
plans to (come) "our doors will always be open for him."

The synagogue, located in central Delhi's Humayun Road, is a stone's
throw away from Hotel Taj Mahal where Sharon is expected to stay.

Built in 1956, the synagogue was designed by well-known architect J M
Benjamin, who also designed the Parliament House annexe among other
buildings.

In 1995, then Israeli foreign minister Shimon Peres, during his visit
here, had dropped in at the synagogue on a surprise visit.

The community's numbers are steadily dwindling as most Indian Jews
have been migrating to Israel in search of better jobs and matrimonial
prospects.

However, Malekar says his Indian roots are too strong to permit him to
move out.

"My last name, a typical Konkani name, is only one of the ways to
assert my bond with India," he says. "This (India) is my karma bhoomi
(place where you earn your deeds) while that (Israel) is my dharma
bhoomi (land of faith)."

There are three groups of Jews in India. The first are the Bene Israel
group, or the Children of Israel, who reached here 2,000 years ago
after a shipwreck near Mumbai.

Jews in Kochi, known as the Cochini Jews, were chiefly spice traders
who arrived there in the 9th century. The Baghdadi Jews came around
the 16th century and are mostly settled in Kolkata and Mumbai.

Points out Malekar: "India is the only pluralist country where Jews
haven't faced any anti-Semitism or persecution. Jews have been here
for over 2,000 years and contributed significantly to the country's
growth," he adds.

According to Malekar, there are around 50,000 Jews of Indian origin in
Israel and most of them are doing well. He says the community there
too has maintained its distinct Indian culture.

But Malekar, who is also the secretary of Delhi's Jewish Welfare
Society, complains about his community not being given minority
status.

"We have no representation and neither are we governed by a codified
law. Even Jewish holidays are missing from the government's calendar,"
he says.

Besides weekend prayers, inter-faith teachings and Hebrew classes are
also organised at the synagogue.

"Although most people confuse us with Christians, the Indian
government is aware of the community's existence," he says.