When the State of Israel was established in 1948, waves of Jews from India’s three major centuries-old Jewish communities began to migrate to Israel, eventually resulting in a population of over 80,000 Jews of Indian heritage living in Israel today. Nonetheless, scholars from both Israel and the Indian diaspora have paid limited attention to the Indian Israeli community, and many members of the general public are likewise uninformed of the tale of the Indian Jewish migration to Israel and the contributions made by the group. In January 2022, India and Israel will mark the 30th anniversary of their formal relations, providing a chance to examine a community that exists at the crossroads of East and West.
Immigrants from various subcontinent groups began to immigrate to Israel with the founding of the State of Israel, settling primarily in the Israeli periphery rather than the urban center. Although Indian immigrants are seen as quiet and unobtrusive in the Israeli landscape, a closer look reveals a warrior community that has uniquely defined its own identity, refusing to hand over cultural assets in the name of a prevailing assimilationist ethic and ultimately contributing to the forging of strong links between two very different but increasingly friendly nations.
Source: https://www.jstribune.com/indian-jewish-community-israel/
