Re: [Goanet] Further Chapters for Jewish India? (Scroll, 7/7/2021)
On Wednesday, July 7, 2021, 12:00:05 p.m. CDT, V M wrote: Thank you for the kind feedback + interesting comments, Mervyn. One day I'm going to go check out these Shirazi... VM, The people of the isles of Zanzibar had to combine two political parties, the Afro party and the Shirazi party to have an effective coalition to win an election. WRT to traditions of the Shirazi people, modern scholars are pointing out to inconsistencies between oral history and documented migration in the region. DNA has thrown another wrench into traditions but the Shirazi are happy with their traditions. The only reason for their movement/migration today, is an economic one. Mervyn
Re: [Goanet] Further Chapters for Jewish India? (Scroll, 7/7/2021)
Good article, specially appreciated since I have a more than casual understanding of the Indian Jews history and situation. Roland. Toronto. > On Jul 7, 2021, at 3:19 AM, V M wrote: > > https://scroll.in/article/999497/reading-the-complex-reality-of-indias-jewish-communities-tiny-but-still-expanding > > In her aching, confessional *Book of Esther*, the author Esther David (her > original family name was Dandekar) describes attempting to “make aliyah” > via the Law of Return, which gives Jewish people from any part of the > world the right to migrate to Israel. > > She was “running away from India” and her Bene Israeli community, which > maintains the tradition that they are descended from 14 Jewish men and > women from across the Arabian Sea who were shipwrecked on the Konkan > coastline over 2,000 years ago. That is why David says she “tried to uproot > myself from my surrogate motherland, and replant myself in the home of my > ancestors”. Her intention was to move “like a pilgrimage. It would wipe out > my past. Give me a new life.” She tried to learn Hebrew, sang Israeli folk > songs, and learned to dance the Hora (an originally Eastern European > practice that has become intrinsic to contemporary Jewish culture). But the > alienation never lifted: “What a heavy price one had to pay to be a Jew!” > > At one point, the new migrant was offered an appealing home, where “the > courtyard was covered with mosaic tiles in green, blue and white. There was > an orange tree in the centre, laden with ripe fruit. I felt I had walked > into a house from the Arabian Nights.” There were no strings attached, and > her social worker insisted “I take it without a second thought. The > finances would be worked out later.” But when she was told the premises > originally belonged to Palestinians who “left”, David refused, earning an > earful: “You are stupid. Too sentimental. If you want to stay here, get > used to the life here.” > > David realised, “If I wanted to live like a Jew, I could live anywhere. I > did not have to live in Israel to feel more Jewish than I felt in India. > For me, Israel was a discoloured mosaic floor, stained by images of > violence, fire, blood, ambulances, Israel unnerved me. I was terrified of > terrorist attacks, the right to kill for survival, and the constant > tension.” She yearned for Ahmedabad, and “felt relieved as I made > preparations to return”. > > *Book of Esther *was published in 2002, at the same time as *India’s Jewish > Heritage: Ritual, Art and Life-Cycle*, edited by Shalva Weil of the Hebrew > University of Jerusalem, who has gone on to produce an entire shelf on the > Jewish presence in India, including – in 2019 alone: *The Baghdadi Jews in > India: Maintaining Communities, Negotiating Identities and Creating > Super-Diversity* and *The Jews of Goa.* > > Though it was less than two decades ago, there was very little reliable > information on Jewish India back then. That’s why Weil’s compilation (an > Indian edition was published in 2009 by Marg) was gratefully received for > its solid historiography on the subcontinent’s three distinct Jewish > communities: Esther David’s Bene Israelis, the “Black” and “White” Cochini > of Kerala, and the highly globalised Baghdadis, who rode economic, > political and social winds in and out of British India, Singapore and China > while transitioning fast from “Orientals to Imagined Britons”. > > Considering all three communities made aliyah en bloc in the late 1940s and > early 1950s, you might assume the lengthy annals of Jewish Indian history > verge on extinguishment. But as Esther David’s new *Bene Appétit: The > Cuisine of Indian Jews* demonstrates, that’s not the case. Three separate > chapters dwell on communities that effectively didn’t exist even as > recently as 2002, which illuminates an astonishing truth: there are many > more Jewish Indians today than any point in the past 50 years, and their > numbers are still expanding. > > Check the evidence in *Bene Appétit*, where David surveys (via visits to > each location) the relatively familiar cultural landscape of Cochin, Bene > Israeli coastal Maharashtra, and Baghdadi Jewish Kolkata, then wings off to > visit the “Bene Ephraim Jews of Andhra Pradesh”, the “Bnei Menashe Jews of > Manipur” and “Bnei Menashe Jews of Mizoram”. All these are freshly minted > Indian Jewish communities that are in the process of “rediscovering” – > under strict rabbinical supervision – an orthodox Jewish identity, complete > with intricate Biblical genealogical underpinnings. > > Every time another batch pursues the years-long process until fruition, > they petition to make aliyah, and an extensive network of agencies helps > them move to Israel. In this way, thousands have gone, and many more are in > line. By the mytho-historical Biblical calculus used to support their case > for “Jewish origins” it’s theoretically possible – albeit highly unlikely – > the entire Kuki, Mizo and Chin
Re: [Goanet] Further Chapters for Jewish India? (Scroll, 7/7/2021)
On Wednesday, July 7, 2021, 02:53:45 a.m. CDT, V M wrote: https://scroll.in/article/999497/reading-the-complex-reality-of-indias-jewish-communities-tiny-but-still-expanding In her aching, confessional *Book of Esther*, the author Esther David (her original family name was Dandekar) describes attempting to “make aliyah” via the Law of Return, which gives Jewish people from any part of the world the right to migrate to Israel. Darn VM! You waltzed through a minefield with ease. Congrats! The pictures in the article are invaluable as they show people with typical Indian features i.e. people who have been thoroughly assimilated over the decades. In Tanzania, we have the Shirazi people who claim they are descendants of settlers from Shiraz, Iran. The Shirazi look exactly like their neighbours and rightly claim that they do not have to prove that they are Shirazi because all the neighbours know who is Shirazi and who is not. Thankfully, the Shirazi have no desire to "return" to Shiraz. Using the Bible as a title deed is about the best idea I have come across. Zionism could have been a great concept but once you decide to use arms to get rid of the local population, you essentially are trading living in peace in another land to living in a state of perpetual war in God's chosen land. Mervyn
Re: [Goanet] Further Chapters for Jewish India? (Scroll, 7/7/2021)
Thank you for the kind feedback + interesting comments, Mervyn. One day I'm going to go check out these Shirazi... On Wed, 7 Jul 2021, 22:20 Mervyn Lobo, wrote: > On Wednesday, July 7, 2021, 02:53:45 a.m. CDT, V M > wrote: > > > https://scroll.in/article/999497/reading-the-complex-reality-of-indias-jewish-communities-tiny-but-still-expanding > > In her aching, confessional *Book of Esther*, the author Esther David (her > original family name was Dandekar) describes attempting to “make aliyah” > via the Law of Return, which gives Jewish people from any part of the > world the right to migrate to Israel. > > > > > > Darn VM! > You waltzed through a minefield with ease. Congrats! > > > The pictures in the article are invaluable as they show people with > typical Indian features i.e. people who have been thoroughly assimilated > over the decades. > > > In Tanzania, we have the Shirazi people who claim they are descendants of > settlers from Shiraz, Iran. The Shirazi look exactly like their neighbours > and rightly claim that they do not have to prove that they are Shirazi > because all the neighbours know who is Shirazi and who is not. Thankfully, > the Shirazi have no desire to "return" to Shiraz. > > > Using the Bible as a title deed is about the best idea I have come across. > Zionism could have been a great concept but once you decide to use arms to > get rid of the local population, you essentially are trading living in > peace in another land to living in a state of perpetual war in God's chosen > land. > > > Mervyn > > > > > > > > > >
[Goanet] Further Chapters for Jewish India? (Scroll, 7/7/2021)
https://scroll.in/article/999497/reading-the-complex-reality-of-indias-jewish-communities-tiny-but-still-expanding In her aching, confessional *Book of Esther*, the author Esther David (her original family name was Dandekar) describes attempting to “make aliyah” via the Law of Return, which gives Jewish people from any part of the world the right to migrate to Israel. She was “running away from India” and her Bene Israeli community, which maintains the tradition that they are descended from 14 Jewish men and women from across the Arabian Sea who were shipwrecked on the Konkan coastline over 2,000 years ago. That is why David says she “tried to uproot myself from my surrogate motherland, and replant myself in the home of my ancestors”. Her intention was to move “like a pilgrimage. It would wipe out my past. Give me a new life.” She tried to learn Hebrew, sang Israeli folk songs, and learned to dance the Hora (an originally Eastern European practice that has become intrinsic to contemporary Jewish culture). But the alienation never lifted: “What a heavy price one had to pay to be a Jew!” At one point, the new migrant was offered an appealing home, where “the courtyard was covered with mosaic tiles in green, blue and white. There was an orange tree in the centre, laden with ripe fruit. I felt I had walked into a house from the Arabian Nights.” There were no strings attached, and her social worker insisted “I take it without a second thought. The finances would be worked out later.” But when she was told the premises originally belonged to Palestinians who “left”, David refused, earning an earful: “You are stupid. Too sentimental. If you want to stay here, get used to the life here.” David realised, “If I wanted to live like a Jew, I could live anywhere. I did not have to live in Israel to feel more Jewish than I felt in India. For me, Israel was a discoloured mosaic floor, stained by images of violence, fire, blood, ambulances, Israel unnerved me. I was terrified of terrorist attacks, the right to kill for survival, and the constant tension.” She yearned for Ahmedabad, and “felt relieved as I made preparations to return”. *Book of Esther *was published in 2002, at the same time as *India’s Jewish Heritage: Ritual, Art and Life-Cycle*, edited by Shalva Weil of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, who has gone on to produce an entire shelf on the Jewish presence in India, including – in 2019 alone: *The Baghdadi Jews in India: Maintaining Communities, Negotiating Identities and Creating Super-Diversity* and *The Jews of Goa.* Though it was less than two decades ago, there was very little reliable information on Jewish India back then. That’s why Weil’s compilation (an Indian edition was published in 2009 by Marg) was gratefully received for its solid historiography on the subcontinent’s three distinct Jewish communities: Esther David’s Bene Israelis, the “Black” and “White” Cochini of Kerala, and the highly globalised Baghdadis, who rode economic, political and social winds in and out of British India, Singapore and China while transitioning fast from “Orientals to Imagined Britons”. Considering all three communities made aliyah en bloc in the late 1940s and early 1950s, you might assume the lengthy annals of Jewish Indian history verge on extinguishment. But as Esther David’s new *Bene Appétit: The Cuisine of Indian Jews* demonstrates, that’s not the case. Three separate chapters dwell on communities that effectively didn’t exist even as recently as 2002, which illuminates an astonishing truth: there are many more Jewish Indians today than any point in the past 50 years, and their numbers are still expanding. Check the evidence in *Bene Appétit*, where David surveys (via visits to each location) the relatively familiar cultural landscape of Cochin, Bene Israeli coastal Maharashtra, and Baghdadi Jewish Kolkata, then wings off to visit the “Bene Ephraim Jews of Andhra Pradesh”, the “Bnei Menashe Jews of Manipur” and “Bnei Menashe Jews of Mizoram”. All these are freshly minted Indian Jewish communities that are in the process of “rediscovering” – under strict rabbinical supervision – an orthodox Jewish identity, complete with intricate Biblical genealogical underpinnings. Every time another batch pursues the years-long process until fruition, they petition to make aliyah, and an extensive network of agencies helps them move to Israel. In this way, thousands have gone, and many more are in line. By the mytho-historical Biblical calculus used to support their case for “Jewish origins” it’s theoretically possible – albeit highly unlikely – the entire Kuki, Mizo and Chin peoples, comprising several million individuals living along India’s border with Burma, could eventually qualify as Jewish Indians, along with another seven million members of the Madiga caste community from Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka. Of course, none of this is actually in the altogether pleasant *Bene Appétit*. Ever since
