Indian Jews in Israel
History
In 1962, the Indian and international press reported that European-Jewish authorities in Israel had treated the Bene Israel with racism. They objected to the Chief Rabbi of Israel ruling that, before registering a marriage between Indian Jews and Jews not belonging to that community, the registering rabbi should investigate the lineage of the Indian applicant for possible non-Jewish descent. In case of doubt, they should require the applicant to perform conversion or immersion. The blatant discrimination may be related to the fact that some religious authorities believe that the Bene Israel were not fully Jewish because of having had intermarriage during their long separation from major communities of Jews. Most Israelis thought that was a convenient cover for racially based bias against Jews who were not Ashkenazi or Sephardim. Between 1962 and 1964, the Bene Israel community staged protests, and in 1964 the Israeli Rabbinate declared that the Bene Israel are "full Jews in every respect".
Indian Jews in Israel-7