Chapter 2: The Move to Bombay
The fate of the Bene Israel community began to change after they migrated to Bombay in mid eighteenth century. The first Jewish interaction with Bombay dates back to the year 1554 when the Portuguese took over the group of island from Sultan Bahadur of Gujarat. Garciade Orta who was a Mariano Jews was one of the earliest European to whom the islands were leased. He was a famous scientist, scholar and physician.
The Bene Israel were the first to move to Bombay among the Jews in the latter half of the eighteenth century from the villages of Konkan. It was a Scottish missionary by the name of Dr. John Wilson who first recognized the Jews while they were living in the villages of Konkan and encouraged them to visit …show more content…
The first document which offered a mention of the Jewish presence in Bombay is entitled “Recruits to be chosen from particular castes” dated August 17, 1786. It was also a period where the British authorities in Bombay were engaged in many conflicts with native rulers and were therefore in need of people who were skilled in carpentry, masonry and people to join the military. The Bene Israel Jews took advantage of this opportunity and moved to Bombay. The Divekar brothers were the first recruits in the native British army of …show more content…
On the other hand were the Baghdadi Jews. Both these Jewish communities were drawn to Bombay because of the East India Company. Walter Fischel notes that both the Bene Israel and the Baghdadi Jews lived together peacefully and harmoniously. He also states that no conflict between the two communities has been recorded.
The Bene took up military services and the Baghdadi Jews were interested in the trading activities and opportunities that the new port of Bombay provided after the decline of Surat port. The Bene Israel as they were engaged in military services resided close to the native infantry lines on Palton road, which was known as Esplanade Market Road originally and till the 1980’s called Palton road. Another residential space of the Jewish community in Bombay was on Samuel Street which is a long street that runs parallel to Mohammed Ali Road. The street gets its name from Samuel Divekar who was a Bene Israel Jew and commandant of the 6th Maratha Light Infantry. The adjoining area of Issaji Street gets its name from Isaac Divekar who was Samuel Divekar’s brother and was also a part of Maratha Light Infantry. The area of Tantanpura which houses Israel mohalla and New Synagogue (Shaare Rason-Gates
The fate of the Bene Israel community began to change after they migrated to Bombay in mid eighteenth century. The first Jewish interaction with Bombay dates back to the year 1554 when the Portuguese took over the group of island from Sultan Bahadur of Gujarat. Garciade Orta who was a Mariano Jews was one of the earliest European to whom the islands were leased. He was a famous scientist, scholar and physician.
The Bene Israel were the first to move to Bombay among the Jews in the latter half of the eighteenth century from the villages of Konkan. It was a Scottish missionary by the name of Dr. John Wilson who first recognized the Jews while they were living in the villages of Konkan and encouraged them to visit …show more content…
The first document which offered a mention of the Jewish presence in Bombay is entitled “Recruits to be chosen from particular castes” dated August 17, 1786. It was also a period where the British authorities in Bombay were engaged in many conflicts with native rulers and were therefore in need of people who were skilled in carpentry, masonry and people to join the military. The Bene Israel Jews took advantage of this opportunity and moved to Bombay. The Divekar brothers were the first recruits in the native British army of …show more content…
On the other hand were the Baghdadi Jews. Both these Jewish communities were drawn to Bombay because of the East India Company. Walter Fischel notes that both the Bene Israel and the Baghdadi Jews lived together peacefully and harmoniously. He also states that no conflict between the two communities has been recorded.
The Bene took up military services and the Baghdadi Jews were interested in the trading activities and opportunities that the new port of Bombay provided after the decline of Surat port. The Bene Israel as they were engaged in military services resided close to the native infantry lines on Palton road, which was known as Esplanade Market Road originally and till the 1980’s called Palton road. Another residential space of the Jewish community in Bombay was on Samuel Street which is a long street that runs parallel to Mohammed Ali Road. The street gets its name from Samuel Divekar who was a Bene Israel Jew and commandant of the 6th Maratha Light Infantry. The adjoining area of Issaji Street gets its name from Isaac Divekar who was Samuel Divekar’s brother and was also a part of Maratha Light Infantry. The area of Tantanpura which houses Israel mohalla and New Synagogue (Shaare Rason-Gates