Bombay Jews

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19th century Bene Israel Beni-israel-india.jpg
19th century Bene Israel
Bene Israel in Bombay Beni-israel-india-2.jpg
Bene Israel in Bombay
Maharashtra-Raigad and Bene Israel.png
A Bene Israel cemetery in Bombay Bene israel-cimetiere juif de bombay en inde.jpg
A Bene Israel cemetery in Bombay

Jews started settling in Bombay in the 2nd century. [1] The Jewish community of Bombay consisted of three distant groups, the Bene Israeli Jews, the Baghdadi Jews, and the Cochin Jews. [2]

Contents

The Bene Israeli Jewish community of Bombay, who migrated from the Konkan villages, south of Bombay, are believed to be the descendants of the Jews of Israel who were shipwrecked off the Konkan coast, probably in the year 175 BCE, during the reign of the Greek ruler, Antiochus IV Epiphanes. Following the pogroms of Daud Pasha of Baghdad, many Baghdadi Jews fled Iraq, and settled in Bombay. [1]

Culture

The Bene Israeli Jewish community of Bombay speak the Marathi language, an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the state of Maharashtra in India.

References

  1. 1 2 Weil, Shalva (30 November 2008). "Background: A rich history now stained with blood". The Jerusalem Post . Retrieved 1 September 2013.
  2. The Jewish Traveler: Hadassah Magazine's Guide to the World's Jewish Communities and Sights, p.69

Further reading