BENE-ISRAEL

(Hebrew: "Sons of Israel"), Jews of India who for centuries lived in Bombay and adjacent regions totally isolated from other Jewish influences. Their arrival in India is said to have been precipitated by a shipwreck some 2,000 years ago, but this cannot be substantiated any more than the theory that the Bene-Israel are remnants of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel, who disappeared from history after the northern Kingdom of Israel was overrun by the Assyrians in 721 BC. When the existence of a Jewish community in India first attracted public attention in the 18th century, the group still adhered to such Jewish practices as circumcision, observance of the sabbath, certain dietary laws, and the celebration of several major festivals. David Ezekiel Rahabi (1694-1772) and Samuel Ezekiel Divekar (1730-97), both of Cochin, were instrumental in revivifying Judaism among the Bene-Israel as was also contact with Arabic-speaking Jews of Baghdad. The first of numerous Bene-Israel synagogues, all following the Sefardic (Spanish) liturgy, was built in Bombay in 1796. Though the Bene-Israel speak Marathi rather than Hebrew and differ little from their Hindi neighbours in appearance, they claim pure Jewish blood. This contention created problems when a majority of the Bene-Israel migrated to the State of Israel after 1948, for the chief rabbinate objected to their marriage with other Jews on the grounds that the Bene-Israel could not have properly observed rabbinic laws governing marriage and divorce. A compromise was reached in 1964: the Bene-Israel as a group were declared full-fledged Jews, but the chief rabbinate reserved to itself the right to decide the legitimacy of individual marriages.