<p>Growing up in Bombay, your columnist’s mother recalls friendships with Jewish girls at school, university, and at Larsen & Toubro, where she worked. Summer holidays were spent at their estates in Awas. The adjacent village of Kihim was largely Jewish and her family would visit to buy bread from specialist bakeries. The story of the Jewish community of Bombay, particularly those who once lived in Kihim in Alibaug, is one of successful integration. Their origins can be traced back more than two millennia, when survivors fleeing persecution in the Galilee are said to have landed on the Konkan coast. Over centuries, these Bene Israel spread across the region, with some settling in Bombay and others in rural enclaves like Kihim. </p><p>The Jews of Kihim pursued livelihoods that mirrored the rhythms of the region – farming and fishing. Sabbath meals were prepared with a distinctly Maharashtrian touch. Some men joined the British colonial service or worked as clerks, while others cultivated ancestral plots. They spoke Marathi fluently, dressed like their neighbours and joined in local festivals, while maintaining the Sabbath. There was no anti-Semitism in their long history in India. Their integration balanced distinctiveness with adaptation. Weddings followed Jewish ritual but were accompanied by Marathi folk songs; homes displayed rangoli during Diwali. </p><p>Alongside the Bene Israel story ran that of the Baghdadi Jews, who arrived in Bombay from Iraq, Syria and elsewhere in the Middle East from the late 18th century. Drawn by the city’s role as a trade hub, they brought mercantile networks and quickly became influential in textiles, shipping and real estate. Among the most prominent were the Sassoon and Kadoorie families. David Sassoon, who settled in Bombay in 1832 after fleeing political persecution, built an empire spanning cotton, opium and banking. From his Apollo Street offices, he exported Indian cotton to China and brought back tea, silk and porcelain. His legacy was not only commercial. He funded Bombay’s schools, hospitals and the famous Sassoon Docks. The Kadoories extended the Baghdadi reach eastward. Sir Elly Kadoorie, established himself in Hong Kong, investing in utilities, real estate, and hotel - most famously The Peninsula. They, too, retained sentimental ties to India, donating to Bombay institutions long after their departure. Sir Michael Kadoorie, the current patriarch of the family still lives in Hong Kong and chairs amongst others the CLP Group. </p><p>The turning point for both communities came after the establishment of Israel in 1948, when migration gathered pace. By the 1960s, Kihim’s Jewish population had dwindled almost entirely. Those who stayed eventually moved to Bombay or abroad. Yet cultural links with India endure. Many Indian Jews in Israel still cook Malida, a sweetened dish offered at thanksgiving. Women wear saris on special occasions and Marathi songs are still sung in towns like Beersheba and Ashdod. Baghdadi descendants in Israel and the West recall biryani and khichdi recipes. Economic ties, though, have been modest. A few entrepreneurs in Israel of Indian-Jewish origin source goods from India, however these links are personal rather than institutional. </p><p> Several Indian Jews have achieved distinction. Lieutenant-General JFR Jacob, became a symbol of Jewish military service in India, credited with orchestrating the 1971 Bangladesh campaign. In the arts, actor and singer Shaul Sapir, born in Bombay, found fame in Israel’s entertainment world while retaining a love of Indian music. Today, Kihim holds only faint traces of its Jewish past reflected in an overgrown cemetery, a shell of a synagogue and the memories of a few elderly residents. Yet the story of its Jews, is part of a larger narrative of a community that found in India not exile but a home where faith could coexist peacefully with the traditions of their adopted land. </p>
<p>Growing up in Bombay, your columnist’s mother recalls friendships with Jewish girls at school, university, and at Larsen & Toubro, where she worked. Summer holidays were spent at their estates in Awas. The adjacent village of Kihim was largely Jewish and her family would visit to buy bread from specialist bakeries. The story of the Jewish community of Bombay, particularly those who once lived in Kihim in Alibaug, is one of successful integration. Their origins can be traced back more than two millennia, when survivors fleeing persecution in the Galilee are said to have landed on the Konkan coast. Over centuries, these Bene Israel spread across the region, with some settling in Bombay and others in rural enclaves like Kihim. </p><p>The Jews of Kihim pursued livelihoods that mirrored the rhythms of the region – farming and fishing. Sabbath meals were prepared with a distinctly Maharashtrian touch. Some men joined the British colonial service or worked as clerks, while others cultivated ancestral plots. They spoke Marathi fluently, dressed like their neighbours and joined in local festivals, while maintaining the Sabbath. There was no anti-Semitism in their long history in India. Their integration balanced distinctiveness with adaptation. Weddings followed Jewish ritual but were accompanied by Marathi folk songs; homes displayed rangoli during Diwali. </p><p>Alongside the Bene Israel story ran that of the Baghdadi Jews, who arrived in Bombay from Iraq, Syria and elsewhere in the Middle East from the late 18th century. Drawn by the city’s role as a trade hub, they brought mercantile networks and quickly became influential in textiles, shipping and real estate. Among the most prominent were the Sassoon and Kadoorie families. David Sassoon, who settled in Bombay in 1832 after fleeing political persecution, built an empire spanning cotton, opium and banking. From his Apollo Street offices, he exported Indian cotton to China and brought back tea, silk and porcelain. His legacy was not only commercial. He funded Bombay’s schools, hospitals and the famous Sassoon Docks. The Kadoories extended the Baghdadi reach eastward. Sir Elly Kadoorie, established himself in Hong Kong, investing in utilities, real estate, and hotel - most famously The Peninsula. They, too, retained sentimental ties to India, donating to Bombay institutions long after their departure. Sir Michael Kadoorie, the current patriarch of the family still lives in Hong Kong and chairs amongst others the CLP Group. </p><p>The turning point for both communities came after the establishment of Israel in 1948, when migration gathered pace. By the 1960s, Kihim’s Jewish population had dwindled almost entirely. Those who stayed eventually moved to Bombay or abroad. Yet cultural links with India endure. Many Indian Jews in Israel still cook Malida, a sweetened dish offered at thanksgiving. Women wear saris on special occasions and Marathi songs are still sung in towns like Beersheba and Ashdod. Baghdadi descendants in Israel and the West recall biryani and khichdi recipes. Economic ties, though, have been modest. A few entrepreneurs in Israel of Indian-Jewish origin source goods from India, however these links are personal rather than institutional. </p><p> Several Indian Jews have achieved distinction. Lieutenant-General JFR Jacob, became a symbol of Jewish military service in India, credited with orchestrating the 1971 Bangladesh campaign. In the arts, actor and singer Shaul Sapir, born in Bombay, found fame in Israel’s entertainment world while retaining a love of Indian music. Today, Kihim holds only faint traces of its Jewish past reflected in an overgrown cemetery, a shell of a synagogue and the memories of a few elderly residents. Yet the story of its Jews, is part of a larger narrative of a community that found in India not exile but a home where faith could coexist peacefully with the traditions of their adopted land. </p>
