A virtual tour of the Jewish Heritage Museum of Monmouth County’s revolving exhibit “Jews of India: The History and Practices of the Bene Israel, Cochin, and Baghdadi Jews” is available. The contribution of books and artifacts by community members Yochanan and Sophie Perry inspired this show. Yochanan Perry leads the tour in this video, discussing the exhibit as well as his connection to the neighborhood.
The history of India’s Jews is complicated and mysterious. Bene Israel, Cochin, and Baghdadi are the three groups, each with their origin tale. The Bene Israel are the largest of the tribes, descended from seven couples who were the sole survivors of a shipwreck off the Konkan coast, south of Bombay, according to oral history. Their arrival could have occurred between the eighth and sixth centuries BCE. Later, the Cochin and Baghdadi Jews arrived in India, settling in various parts of the nation.
