84-609: The Bene Israel ( lit. ' Sons of Israel ' ), also referred to as the " Shanivar Teli " ( lit. ' Saturday oil-presser ' ) or " Native Jew " caste, are a community of Jews in India. It has been suggested that they are the descendants of one of the Ten Lost Tribes via their ancestors who had settled there centuries ago. Starting in the second half of the 18th century, after they were taught about normative Sephardi Judaism , they migrated from villages in
168-547: A literacy rate of 83.14%. 36.83% of the population lived in urban areas. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make up 5.12% and 11.58% of the population respectively. Languages in Raigad district (2011) At the time of the 2011 Census of India , 79.04% of the population in the district spoke Marathi , 7.06% Hindi , 5.85% Urdu and 0.90% Gujarati as their first language. 1.01% of the population recorded their language as 'Others' under Marathi. The most populous tribes are
252-667: A Canaanite language known as Biblical Hebrew . The language's modern descendant is today the only surviving dialect of the Canaanite languages . Gary Rendsburg argues that some archaic biblical traditions and other circumstantial evidence point to the Israelites emerging from the Shasu and other seminomadic peoples from the desert regions south of the Levant , later settling in the highlands of Canaan. Several theories exist for
336-454: A common ancestry of Samaritan and Jewish patrilineages. Most of the former may be traced back to a common ancestor in what is today identified as the paternally inherited Israelite high priesthood ( Cohanim ), with a common ancestor projected to the time of the Assyrian conquest of the kingdom of Israel ." A 2020 study (by Agranat-Tamr et al.) stated that there was genetic continuity between
420-677: A connection with the biblical Land of Israel . Other groups claim continuity with the Israelites, including Pashtuns , British , Black Hebrew Israelites , Igbos Mormons , and evangelical Christians that subscribe to covenant theology . Some argue that some Palestinians descend from Israelites who were not exiled by the Romans. As of 2024, only one study has directly examined ancient Israelite genetic material. The analysis examined First Temple -era skeletal remains excavated in Abu Ghosh , and showed one male individual belonging to
504-491: A genealogical basis. Other scholars argue that the distinction is based on religion. For example, Troy W. Martin argues that biblical Jewishness is based on adherence to 'covenantal circumcision', regardless of ancestry ( Genesis 17:9–14 ). In Judaism , "Israelite", broadly speaking, refers to a lay member of the Jewish ethnoreligious group, as opposed to the priestly orders of Kohanim and Levites . In legal texts, such as
588-513: A haplotype which points to a Middle Eastern origin, and Jews may have formed part of the founding group. They gradually assimilated to the people around them, while retaining customs that are considered Jewish. The medieval Jewish philosopher Maimonides may have been referring to the Bene Israel when he wrote in a letter: "The Jews of India know nothing of the Torah, and of the laws nothing save
672-525: A new kind of transnational family. Generally the Bene Israel have not been politically active and have been of modest means. They have not formed continuing economic connections to India and have limited political status in Israel. Jews of Indian origin are generally regarded as Sephardic; they have become well integrated religiously with the Sephardic community in Israel. Abbink, on the other hand, states that
756-631: A period of nominal independence for the Jewish people under the Hasmonean dynasty (140–37 BCE). Initially operating semi-autonomously within the Seleucid sphere, the Hasmoneans gradually asserted full independence through military conquest and diplomacy, establishing themselves as the final sovereign Jewish rulers before a prolonged hiatus in Jewish sovereignty in the region. Some scholars argue that Jews also engaged in active missionary efforts in
840-461: A ritual bath at Rosh Hashanah. The Bene Israel also like to attend their own synagogues to maintain group life. This is also seen in higher levels of endogamy compared to other Jewish groups. Religiously, the Bene Israel adopted the devotional singing style Kirtan from their Marathi Hindu neighbors. A popular Kirtan is one based on the Story of Joseph . Their main traditional musical instruments are
924-592: A series of inscriptions mention the " House of David ". They came from Israel's neighbors. Compared to the United Monarchy, the historicity of the Kingdom of Israel and Judah is widely accepted by historians and archaeologists. Their destruction by the Assyrians and Babylonians respectively is also confirmed by archaeological evidence and extrabiblical sources. Christian Frevel argues that Yahwism
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#17327869950561008-534: A shipwreck near the village of Navagaon on the coast about 20 miles (32 km) south of Mumbai. Some historians have thought their ancestors may have belonged to one of the Lost Tribes of Israel . They took up the work of oil pressing and running grocery shops but abstained from working on the Sabbath, and hence were called Shanivar Teli. Genetic evidence as of 2005 suggests that the Bene Israel appear to carry
1092-477: Is a similar ethnonym but it is usually applied whenever Israelites are economically disadvantaged or migrants. It might also refer to their descent from Eber , the grandson of Noah . During the period of the divided monarchy, "Israelites" referred to the inhabitants of the northern Kingdom of Israel , but eventually, included the inhabitants of the Kingdom of Judah in post-exilic usage. In literature of
1176-620: Is bounded by Mumbai Harbour to the northwest, Thane district to the north, Pune district to the east, Ratnagiri district to the south and the Arabian Sea to the west. It includes the large natural harbour of Pen-Mandwa, which is immediately south of Mumbai harbour , and forming a single landform with it. The northern part of the district is included in the planned metropolis of Navi Mumbai , consisting of Kharghar , Ulve node , New Panvel and Khanda Colony , Taloja , Kamothe and Kalamboli nodes as well as Uran City and its port,
1260-577: Is found in the Merneptah Stele in c. 1209 BCE . The inscription is very brief and says: "Israel is laid waste and his seed is not". The inscription refers to a people , not an individual or nation state , who are located in central Palestine or the highlands of Samaria . Some Egyptologists suggest that Israel appeared in earlier topographical reliefs, dating to the Nineteenth Dynasty (i.e. reign of Ramesses II ) or
1344-506: Is present on South side and Arabian sea on West. Kulaba (also spelled Kolaba) district was split from Thane district in 1869. At this point, the northernmost parts of present-day Raigad district were retained in Thane district . Panvel, just across the bay from Mumbai , was not included in Kolaba district until 1883, and Karjat , an area in the north-east corner of modern Raigad district,
1428-511: Is the most important railway station in the district; it is connected to Mumbai (by both the Harbour Line and Main Line of Central Railway), Thane (by Trans-Harbour Line), Roha, Vasai (Western Railway) and Karjat. All trains, ranging from passengers to Rajdhanis stop here, and it is considered the gateway for travelling south. There is a narrow gauge railroad from Neral to Matheran , called
1512-490: The 2011 census Raigad district has a population of 2,634,200, roughly equal to the nation of Kuwait or the US state of Nevada . This gives it a ranking of 153rd in India (out of a total of 640 ). The district has a population density of 368 inhabitants per square kilometre (950/sq mi). Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 19.31%. Raigad has a sex ratio of 959 females for every 1000 males, and
1596-647: The Bible , the Israelites are the descendants of Jacob , a patriarch who was later renamed as Israel. Following a severe drought in Canaan , Jacob and his twelve sons fled to Egypt, where they eventually formed the Twelve Tribes of Israel . The Israelites were later led out of slavery in Egypt by Moses and conquered Canaan under Joshua 's leadership, who was Moses's successor. Most modern scholars agree that
1680-555: The British protectorate of Aden . In the 19th century, the Bene Israel did however meet with hostility from the newly anglicized Baghdadi Jews who considered the Bene Israel to be "Indian". They also questioned the Jewishness of the community. In response, the Bene Israel educator and historian, Haeem Samuel Kehimkar, spearheaded the defence of the Jewishness of the Bene Israel in the late 1800s. In his writings, he tried to portray
1764-513: The Cohanim . They became recognized as judges and settlers of disputes within the community. Bene Israel tradition places Rahabi's arrival at either 1000 or 1400, although some historians have dated his arrival to the 18th century. They suggest that the "David Rahabi" of Bene Israel folklore was a man named David Ezekiel Rahabi, who lived from 1694 to 1772, and resided in Cochin , then the center of
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#17327869950561848-650: The Eighteenth Dynasty , but this reading remains controversial. In the Hebrew Bible, Israel first appears in Genesis 32:29 , where an angel gives the name to Jacob after the latter fought with him . The folk etymology given in the text derives Israel from yisra , "to prevail over" or "to struggle with", and El , a Canaanite- Mesopotamian creator god that is tenuously identified with Yahweh. However, modern scholarship interprets El as
1932-745: The First Temple , marking the kingdom's demise. Subsequently, a segment of the Judahite populace was exiled to Babylon in several waves. Judeans were progenitors of the Jews, who practiced Second Temple Judaism during the Second Temple period . With the fall of Babylon to the rising Achaemenid Persian Empire , king Cyrus the Great issued a proclamation known as the Edict of Cyrus , encouraging
2016-603: The Greco-Roman world , which led to conversions. Several scholars, such as Scot McKnight and Martin Goodman , reject this view while holding that conversions occasionally occurred. A similar diaspora existed for Samaritans but their existence is poorly documented. In 63 BCE, the Roman Republic conquered the kingdom. In 37 BCE, the Romans appointed Herod the Great as king of a vassal Judea . In 6 CE, Judea
2100-554: The Indian Harmonium and the Bulbul tarang . The Central Organisation of Indian Jews in Israel (COIJI) was founded by Noah Massil. The organization has twenty chapters around Israel. Maiboli, the newsletter for the Bene Israel community is edited by Noah Masil. There is also a website called Indian Jewish Community in Israel which coordinates various cultural activities organized by the community. The community in Israel opened
2184-689: The Indian film industry as actresses/actors, producers, and directors. With Indian independence in 1947 followed by the Israeli Declaration of Independence in 1948 , many Bene Israel, including those who had arrived in India after their exodus from newly-independent Pakistan , soon emigrated to the State of Israel , the United States, as well as Canada , and other Commonwealth countries . Emigration from India (mostly to Israel but also to
2268-515: The Iron Age . The name of Israel first appears in the Merneptah Stele of ancient Egypt , dated to about 1200 BCE. Modern scholarship considers that the Israelites emerged from groups of indigenous Canaanites and other peoples. They spoke an archaic form of the Hebrew language , which was a regional variety of the Canaanite languages , known today as Biblical Hebrew . In the Iron Age ,
2352-834: The J2 Y-DNA haplogroup, a set of closely-related DNA sequences thought to have originated in the Caucasus or Eastern Anatolia, as well as the T1a and H87 mitochondrial DNA haplogroups, the former of which has also been detected among Canaanites, and the latter in Basques, Tunisian Arabs, and Iraqis, suggesting a Mediterranean, Near Eastern, or perhaps Arabian origin. A 2004 study (by Shen et al.) comparing Samaritans to several Jewish populations (including Ashkenazi Jews , Iraqi Jews , Libyan Jews , Moroccan Jews , and Yemenite Jews ) found that "the principal components analysis suggested
2436-451: The JNPT . The district includes cities/towns Kharghar , Taloja , Kalamboli , Panvel , Rasayani , Karjat , Khopoli , Matheran , Uran , Pen , Alibag , Murud-Janjira , Roha , Nagothane , Sudhagad-Pali , Mangaon , Mhasla , Shrivardhan , Mahad , Birwadi , Poladpur . The largest city in terms of Population, Industrialization as well as Area is Panvel . The district also includes
2520-589: The Jewish Agency repatriated 337 members of the Bene Israel community to India, though most eventually returned to Israel years later. In 1962, authorities in Israel were accused of racism towards the Bene Israel. In the case that caused the controversy, the Council of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel ruled that before registering a marriage between Indian Jews and Jews not belonging to that community,
2604-571: The Katkari , Thakar and Mahadev Koli. Raigad District is connected to Mumbai by Sion Panvel Expressway . The Mumbai-Pune expressway and NH4 passes through Panvel . NH 66 , which starts at Panvel, traverses the whole district. The Konkan Railway line starts at Roha and passes through Mangaon and Veer in Mahad . The Central Railway Line of Mumbai to Pune passes through Karjat with Extension Line for Karjat to Khopoli . Panvel Junction
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2688-571: The Konkan region where they had previously lived to nearby cities throughout British India —primarily to Mumbai where their first synagogue opened in 1796 but also to Pune , Ahmedabad , and Karachi (now in Pakistan ), where they gained prominent positions within the British colonial government and the Indian Army . In the early part of the 20th century, many Bene Israel became active in
2772-1235: The Matheran Hill Railway . The main ports are JNPT , Mandava, Revas, Murud , Dighi and Shrivardhan . After the British took over the old Colaba and this region, they established four Anglo-Vernacular medium school and 30 government schools in the year 1865–66. In the year 1861 the first school for girls was started in Alibag. The Mission Church started the first English school in Alibag in 1879. Prabhakar Patil Education Society (PNP education Society) runs 27 Institutes: Five Primary English & Marathi Schools, Twenty Seven Secondary Marathi Schools, One Arts, Science & Commerce Jr. & Sr. College, One English & Marathi Medium D. Ed College, One B. Ed. College, One Polytechnic Institute and One MMS College. Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) established National Institute of Securities Markets at Patalganga, tal Khalapur. Two more old and valuable institutions in Raigad District named Vasantrao Naik College Murud And Mhasla, established by
2856-605: The Mishnah and Gemara , ישראלי ( Yisraeli ), or Israelite, is used to describe Jews instead of יהודי ( Yehudi ), or Jew. In Samaritanism , Samaritans are not Jews יהודים ( Yehudim ). Instead, they are Israelites, which includes their Jewish brethren, or Israelite Samaritans. The history of the Israelite people can be divided into these categories, according to the Hebrew Bible : Efforts to confirm
2940-539: The Philistines , who were of Mycenaean Greek origin. As a result, intermarriage with other Semites was common. But what distinguished Israelite circumcision from non-Israelite circumcision was its emphasis on 'correct' timing. Israelite circumcision also served as a mnemonic sign for the circumcised, where their 'unnatural' erect circumcised penis would remind them to behave differently in sexual matters. Yom-Tov Lipmann-Muhlhausen suggests that Israelite identity
3024-641: The Sea Peoples , particularly the Dan(an)u . Nonetheless, they intermingled with the former nomads, due to socioeconomic and military factors. Their interest in Yahwism and its concern for the underprivileged was another factor. Possible allusions to this historical reality in the Hebrew Bible include the aforementioned tribes, except for Issachar and Zebulun, descending from Bilhah and Zilpah , who were viewed as "secondary additions" to Israel. El worship
3108-427: The Second Temple period , "Israel" included the members of the united monarchy, the northern kingdom, and eschatological Israel. " Jew " (or " Judean ") was another popular ethnonym but it might refer to a geographically restricted sub-group or to the inhabitants of the southern kingdom of Judah. In addition, works such as Ezra-Nehemiah pioneered the idea of an "impermeable" distinction between Israel and gentiles, on
3192-489: The Second Temple period . This event marked a cataclysmic moment in Jewish history, prompting a reconfiguration of Jewish identity and practice to ensure continuity. The cessation of Temple worship and disappearance of Temple-based sects facilitated the rise of Rabbinic Judaism , which stemmed from the Pharisaic school of Second Temple Judaism, emphasizing communal synagogue worship and Torah study , eventually becoming
3276-494: The Torah does not provide an authentic account of the Israelites' origins, and instead view it as constituting their national myth . However, it is supposed that there may be a "historical core" to the narrative. The Bible also portrays the kingdoms of Israel and Judah as the successors of an earlier United Kingdom of Israel , though the historicity of the latter is disputed. Jews and Samaritans both trace their ancestry to
3360-631: The Tribe of Levi . Josephus quoting Manetho identifies them with the Hyksos . Other scholars believe that the Exodus narrative was a " collective memory " of several events from the Bronze Age. In addition, it is unlikely that the Israelites overtook the southern Levant by force, according to archaeological evidence. Instead, they branched out of indigenous Canaanite peoples that long inhabited
3444-403: The death penalty was legislated for these 'secret crimes', they functioned as a warning, where offenders would confess out of fear and make appropriate reparations. The historicity of the United Monarchy is heavily debated among archaeologists and biblical scholars: biblical maximalists and centrists ( Kenneth Kitchen , William G. Dever , Amihai Mazar , Baruch Halpern and others) argue that
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3528-521: The "complexities of the Jewish soul". Names were significant in Israelite culture and indicated one's destiny and inherent character. Thus, a name change indicated a 'divine transformation' in one's 'destines, characters and natures'. These beliefs aligned with the Near Eastern cultural milieu, where names were 'intimately bound up with the very essence of being and inextricably intertwined with personality'. In terms of appearance, rabbis described
3612-462: The "general Southland" (i.e. modern Sinai and the southern parts of Israel and Jordan ), who abandoned their pastoral-nomadic ways. Canaanites who lived outside the central hill country were tenuously identified as Danites, Asherites, Zebulunites, Issacharites, Naphtalites and Gadites. These inhabitants do not have a significant history of migration besides the Danites, who allegedly originate from
3696-508: The Bene Israel as a totally foreign community in India. He also divided the community into two endogamous groups, white (gora) and black (kala). He claimed the whites had pure blood and the blacks were the progeny of Indian women and therefore impure. In the early twentieth century, numerous Bene Israel became leaders in the new film industry in India. In addition, men worked as producers and actors: Ezra Mir (alias Edwin Myers) (1903-1993) became
3780-755: The Bene Israel community staged protests against the religious policy. In 1964 the Israeli Rabbinate ruled that the Bene Israel are "full Jews in every respect". The Report of the High Level Commission on the Indian Diaspora (2012) reviewed life in Israel for the Bene Israel community. It noted that the city of Beersheba in Southern Israel has the largest community of Bene Israel, with a sizable one in Ramla . They have
3864-494: The Bene Israel community. Mumbai and surrounding regions like Raigad houses several synagogues, most of which belong to the Bene Israel community. Under British colonial rule , many Bene Israel rose to prominence in India; they were less affected by discriminatory legislation and gained prominent positions within the colonial government and the Indian Army , at a higher rate overall than their non-Jewish counterparts. Some of these enlistees with their families later immigrated to
3948-414: The Bene Israel have become a distinct ethnic minority in Israel. The community despite being in Israel for many generations has maintained many of their traditions from India such as a form of Malida dedicated to the Jewish prophet Elijah as a thanksgiving ritual and wedding rituals such as mehndi . The prophet Elijah has become a kind of patron saint for Bene Israel. A ritual of thanksgiving dedicated to
4032-494: The Biblical Jews as being "midway between black and white" and having the "color of the boxwood tree". Assuming Yurco 's debated claim that the Israelites are depicted in reliefs from Merneptah 's temple at Karnak is correct, the early Israelites may have wore the same attire and hairstyles as non-Israelite Canaanites. Dissenting from this, Anson Rainey argued that the Israelites in the reliefs looked more similar to
4116-559: The Bronze Age and Iron Age southern Levantines, which included the Israelites and Judahites. They could be "modeled as a mixture of local earlier Neolithic populations and populations from the northeastern part of the Near East (e.g. Zagros Mountains , Caucasians / Armenians and possibly, Hurrians )". Reasons for the continuity include resilience from the Bronze Age collapse , which was mostly true for inland cities such as Tel Megiddo and Tel Abel Beth Maacah . Elsewhere, European -related and East African -related components were added to
4200-466: The Exodus narrative. Israel's demographics were similar to the demographics of Ammon , Edom , Moab and Phoenicia . Besides their focus on Yahweh worship, Israelite cultural markers were defined by body, food, and time, including male circumcision , avoidance of pork consumption and marking time based on the Exodus, the reigns of Israelite kings , and Sabbath observance . The first two markers were observed by neighboring west Semites besides
4284-417: The Prophet Elijah is called Eliahu HaNabi (the Hebrew name for Elijah), and is performed at weddings and other celebratory events. The ceremony features a tray of flattened rice , grated coconut, raisins, spices, and fruit of two or more different kinds. The ceremony is regarded as a boundary marker between the Bene Israel and other Jewish communities. The Community also observes Tashlich, the ceremony of taking
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#17327869950564368-428: The Sabbath and circumcision." At a point in history which is uncertain, an Indian Jew from Cochin named David Rahabi discovered the Bene Israel in their villages and recognized their vestigial Jewish customs. Rahabi taught the people about normative Judaism. He trained some young men among them to be the religious preceptors of the community. Known as Kajis , these men held a position that became hereditary, similar to
4452-431: The Samaritans identify as "Israel", "B'nai Israel" or "Shamerim/Shomerim" (i.e. "Guardians/Keepers/Watchers"). Towards the end of the same century, the Neo-Babylonian Empire emerged victorious over the Assyrians, leading to Judah's subjugation as a vassal state . In the early 6th century BC, a series of revolts in Judah prompted the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II to lay siege to and destroy Jerusalem along with
4536-545: The Shasu. Based on biblical literature, it is implied that the Israelites distinguished themselves from peoples like the Babylonians and Egyptians by not having long beards and chin tufts. However, these fashion practices were upper class customs. In the 12th century BCE, many Israelite settlements appeared in the central hill country of Canaan, which was formerly an open terrain. These settlements lacked evidence of pork consumption, compared to Philistine settlements, had four-room houses and lived by an egalitarian ethos , which
4620-420: The UK, the US, Canada and Australia) reduced the approximate population there from a peak of 20,000 in 1951 to 16,000 in 1961 and 5,500 in 1971, after which the emigration greatly declined. The Bene Israel community believes that their ancestors fled Judea during the persecution under Antiochus Epiphanes and are descended from fourteen Jews, seven men and seven women, who came to India as the only survivors of
4704-514: The ancient Israelites. Jews trace their ancestry to tribes that inhabited the Kingdom of Judah, including Judah , Benjamin and partially Levi , while the Samaritans claim their lineage from the remaining members of Ephraim , Manasseh , and Levi who were not deported in the Assyrian captivity after the fall of Israel. Other groups have also claimed affiliation with the Israelites . Canaan State of Israel (1948–present) The first reference to Israel in non-biblical sources
4788-404: The biblical account is more or less accurate, while biblical minimalists ( Israel Finkelstein , Ze'ev Herzog , Thomas L. Thompson and others) argue that Israel and Judah never split from a singular state. The debate has not been resolved, but recent archaeological discoveries by Eilat Mazar and Yosef Garfinkel show some support for the existence of the United Monarchy. From 850 BCE onwards,
4872-422: The biblical ethnogenesis of Israel through archaeology have largely been abandoned as unproductive. Many scholars see the traditional narratives as national myths with little historical value, but some posit that a small group of exiled Egyptians contributed to the Exodus narrative. William G. Dever cautiously identifies this group with the Tribe of Joseph , while Richard Elliott Friedman identifies it with
4956-430: The disappearance of Israelite tribes from Galilee and Transjordan, it's plausible that many Israelites from Samaria survived and remained in the region. These survivors, contrary to Jewish tradition, are believed to have become the ancestors of the Samaritans, who followed Samaritanism . Research indicates that only a portion of this population intermarried with Mesopotamians settlers. In their native Samaritan Hebrew ,
5040-409: The district are Panvel , Karjat , Navi Mumbai , Khopoli , Shrivardhan and Mahad . The district was renamed to Raigad after the fort that was the first capital of the former Maratha Empire , which in turn was renamed from its earlier name - Rairi. The fort is located in the interior regions of the district, in dense forests on a west-facing spur of the Western Ghats of Sahyadri Range. In 2011
5124-436: The district had a population of 2,634,200, compared to 2,207,929 in 2001. The name was changed in the regime of Chief Minister A. R. Antulay on 1 January 1981. In 2011 urban dwellers had increased to 36.91% from 24.22% in 2001. Alibag is the headquarters of Raigad district. Raigad district's neighbouring districts are Mumbai, Thane districts on North, Pune district on East, Satara district on South East, Ratnagiri district
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#17327869950565208-741: The emphasis on indigenous religions would mean fewer opportunities for them. Most immigrated to the state of Israel , which was newly established in 1948 as a Jewish homeland. Between 1948 and 1952, some 2,300 Bene Israel immigrated to Israel . In India, the Bene Israel and other Jews lived in urban areas, however in Israel they were settled into development towns . Members of the Bene Israel faced discrimination from other Jewish groups, including due to their darker skin colour. Several rabbis refused to marry Bene Israel to other Jews, on grounds that they were not legitimate Jews under Orthodox law. Between 1952 and 1954, following sit-down protests and hunger strikes by Bene Israel demanding to be sent back to India,
5292-459: The exiles to return to their homeland after the Persians raised it as an autonomous Jewish-governed province named Yehud . Under the Persians ( c. 539–332 BCE ), the returned Jewish population restored the city and rebuilt the Temple in Jerusalem. The Cyrus Cylinder is controversially cited as evidence for Cyrus allowing the Judeans to return. The returnees showed a "heightened sense" of their ethnic identity and shunned exogamy , which
5376-425: The first chief of Films Division of India , and Solomon Moses was head of the Bombay Film Lab Pvt Ltd from the 1940s to 1990s. Ennoch Isaac Satamkar was a film actor and assistant director to Mehboob Khan , a director of Hindi films. Given the relatively privileged position they had held under British colonial rule, many Bene Israel prepared to leave India at independence in 1947. They believed that nationalism and
5460-408: The isle of Gharapuri or Elephanta , located in Uran which has ancient Hindu and Buddhist caves. Raigad district is divided into eight subdivisions, with fifteen talukas , and 1,967 villages. Panvel (in Navi Mumbai city) is the main Municipal Corporations responsible for services. MMRDA , CIDCO , and NAINA are the special planning authorities operational in Raigad district. According to
5544-416: The kingdoms of Israel and Judah emerged. The Kingdom of Israel , with its capital at Samaria , fell to the Neo-Assyrian Empire around 720 BCE; while the Kingdom of Judah , with its capital at Jerusalem , was destroyed by the Neo-Babylonian Empire in 586 BCE. Some of the Judean population was exiled to Babylon , but returned to Israel after Cyrus the Great conquered the region. According to
5628-494: The museum of Indian Jewish Heritage in the town of Dimona in 2012. The museum is currently run by volunteers. At present, the museum has a small collection of items donated by the community. It also holds cultural and cooking classes for all communities. Members of Bene Israel also settled in Britain and North America, mostly in Canada. Israelites The Israelites were a Hebrew -speaking ethnoreligious group consisting of tribes that inhabited much of Canaan during
5712-405: The norm. In addition, royal inscriptions were scarce, along with imported and decorated pottery. The Kingdom of Israel was conquered by the Neo-Assyrian Empire around 720 BCE . The records of Sargon II of Assyria indicate that he deported part of the population to Assyria. This deportation became the basis for the Jewish idea of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel . Some Israelites migrated to
5796-436: The origins of historical Israelites. Some believe they descended from raiding groups, itinerant nomads such as Habiru and Shasu or impoverished Canaanites, who were forced to leave wealthy urban areas and live in the highlands. The prevailing academic opinion is that the Israelites were a mixture of peoples predominately indigenous to Canaan, with additional input from an Egyptian matrix of peoples, which most likely inspired
5880-421: The population, from a north-south and south-north gradient respectively. Late Neolithic and Bronze Age Europeans and Somalis were used as representatives. Raigad district Raigad district ( Marathi pronunciation: [ɾaːjɡəɖ] ), previously Colaba district, is a district in the Konkan division of Maharashtra, India . The headquarters of the district is Alibag . Other major cities in
5964-424: The predominant expression of Judaism. Concurrently, Christianity began to diverge from Judaism, evolving into a predominantly Gentile religion. Decades later, the Bar Kokhba revolt (132–135 CE) further diminished the Jewish presence in Judea , leading to a geographical shift of Jewish life to Galilee and Babylonia , with smaller communities scattered across the Mediterranean . Jews and Samaritans share
6048-528: The region, which included Syria , ancient Israel , and the Transjordan region . Their culture was monolatristic , with a primary focus on Yahweh (or El) worship, but after the Babylonian exile, it became monotheistic , with partial influence from Zoroastrianism . The latter decisively separated the Israelites from other Canaanites. The Israelites used the Canaanite script and communicated in
6132-460: The registering rabbi should investigate the lineage of the Indian applicant for possible non-Jewish descent, and in case of doubt, require the applicant to perform conversion or immersion. The discrimination may actually be related to the fact that some religious authorities believed that the Bene Israel were not fully Jewish because of inter-marriage during their long separation. Between 1962 and 1964,
6216-537: The southern kingdom of Judah, while those Israelites that remained in Samaria, concentrated mainly around Mount Gerizim , came to be known as Samaritans . Foreign groups were also settled by the Assyrians in the territories of the conquered kingdom. The exiled Israelites from non-Judean regions faced assimilation into the Assyrian population, unlike their counterparts from Judea. While historical records indicate
6300-407: The subject, "El rules/struggles", from sarar ( שָׂרַר ) 'to rule' (cognate with sar ( שַׂר ) 'ruler', Akkadian šarru 'ruler, king' ), which is likely cognate with the similar root sara ( שׂרה ) "fought, strove, contended". Afterwards, Israel referred to the direct descendants of Jacob and gentiles (i.e. resident aliens ) who assimilated in the Israelite community. Hebrew
6384-618: The wealthy Malabar Jewish community . Others suggest that the reference is to David Baruch Rahabi, who arrived in Bombay from Cochin in 1825. It is estimated that there were 6,000 Bene Israel in the 1830s; 10,000 at the turn of the 20th century; and in 1948—their peak in India—they numbered 20,000. Since that time, most of the population has immigrated to Israel. In 2020, the Jewish population in Mumbai numbered about 3,500, out of which 99% were from
6468-531: Was an independent socio-political entity for most of the 9th century BCE. Avraham Faust argues that there was continued adherence to the 'ethos of egalitarianism and simplicity' in the Iron Age II (10th-6th century BCE). For example, there is minimal evidence of temples and complex tomb burials, despite Israel and Judah being more densely populated than the Late Bronze Age. Four-room houses remained
6552-837: Was based on faith and adherence to sex-appropriate commandments. For men, it was circumcision. For women, it was ritual sacrifice after childbirth ( Leviticus 12:6 ). Genealogy was another ethnic marker. It was a matter of cultural self-identity rather than biological descent. For example, foreign clans could adopt the identity of other clans, which subsequently changed their status from "outsider" to "insider". This applied to Israelites from different tribes and gentiles. Saul Oylan argued that foreigners automatically became Israelite if they lived in their territory, according to Ezekiel 47:21–23 . That said, Israelites used genealogy to engage in narcissism of small differences but also, self-criticism since their ancestors included morally questionable characters such as Jacob. Both these traits represented
6636-552: Was central to early Israelite culture but currently, the number of El worshippers in Israel is unknown. It is more likely that different Israelite locales held different views about El and had 'small-scale' sacred spaces . Himbaza et al. (2012) states that Israelite households were typically ill-equipped to handle conflicts between family members, which may explain the harsh sexual taboos enforced against acts like incest , homosexuality , polygamy etc. in Leviticus 18–20 . Whilst
6720-461: Was exemplified by the absence of elaborate tombs, governor's mansions, certain houses being bigger than others etc. They followed a mixed economy , which prioritized self-sufficiency , cultivation of crops , animal husbandry and small-scale craft production . New technologies such as terraced farming , silos for grain storage and cisterns for rainwater collection were simultaneously introduced. These settlements were built by inhabitants of
6804-732: Was fully incorporated into the Roman Empire as the province of Judaea . During this period, the main areas of Jewish settlement in the Land of Israel were Judea, Galilee and Perea , while the Samaritans had their demographic center in Samaria . Growing dissatisfaction with Roman rule and civil disturbances eventually led to the First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 CE), resulting in the destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple, which ended
6888-414: Was not placed in Kolaba district until 1891. Kolaba district was later renamed as Raigad district. In July 2023, a major landslide , caused by torrential rains, resulted in at least 22 deaths, with more than 100 feared trapped under debris. Over half of the houses in the hillside village, precisely 17 out of 48, were either entirely or partially buried by the debris from the landslide. The district
6972-464: Was rooted in the culture of the Kingdom of Israel, who introduced it to the Kingdom of Judah via Ahab 's expansions and sociopolitical cooperation, which was prompted by Hazael 's conquests. Frevel has also argued that Judah was a 'vassal-like' state to Israel, under the Omrides . This theory has been rejected by other scholars, who argue that the archaeological evidence seems to indicate that Judah
7056-759: Was treated as a "permissive reality" in Babylon. Circumcision was no longer a significant ethnic marker, with increased emphasis on genealogical descent or faith in Yahweh. In 332 BCE, the Achaemenid Empire fell to Alexander the Great , and the region was later incorporated into the Ptolemaic Kingdom ( c. 301–200 BCE ) and the Seleucid Empire ( c. 200–167 BCE ). The Maccabean Revolt against Seleucid rule ushered in
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