History of the Jews in Pakistan
| Part of a series of articles on |
| Jews and Judaism |
|---|
  |
| Who is a Jew? · Etymology · Culture |
|
Ashkenazi · Sephardi · Mizrahi
Romaniote · Italki · Yemenite African · Beta Israel · Bukharan · Georgian • German · Mountain · Chinese Indian · Khazars · Karaim • Krymchaks • Samaritans • Crypto-Jews Palestinian |
|
Jews by country · Rabbis
Population comparisons Israel · United States · Russia
Lists of JewsIraq · Spain · Portugal · Gibraltar Italy · Poland · Germany · Bosnia Latin America · France England · Netherlands · Canada Australia · Hungary · India Turkey · Greece · Africa Iran · China · Pakistan · Romania · |
|
Timeline · Leaders
Ancient · Kingdom of Judah Temple Babylonian exile Yehud Medinata Hasmoneans · Sanhedrin Schisms · Pharisees Jewish-Roman wars Christianity and Judaism Islam and Judaism Diaspora · Middle Ages Sabbateans · Hasidism · Haskalah Emancipation · Holocaust · Aliyah Israel (history) Arab conflict · Land of Israel Baal teshuva · Persecution Antisemitism (history) |
Jews (Urdu: یھودی pronounced "Yehudi") are a small religious group in Pakistan. Various estimates suggest that there were about 2,500 Jews living in Karachi at the beginning of the twentieth century. A smaller community of Jews also lived in Peshawar. The current population of Jews is not known, however estimates and recent findings in the media suggest that there may be still a small community of Jews residing in Pakistan. Many of these are Baghdadi Jews, Bukharan Jews and Bene Israel mainly from Central Asia, neighbouring Iran and Afghanistan.
Contents |
[edit] 1881-1947
According to the 1881 census, there were 153 Jews in Sindh province.[1] By 1919, this figure had risen to about 650.[2] By 1947 there were about 2,500 Jews living in Sindh with the majority residing in Karachi. Most of these Jews were Bene Israel and they lived as tradesman, artisans, poets, philosophers and civil servants. Some Baghdadi Jews and Bukharan Jews could also be found.
[edit] Karachi
A variety of associations existed to serve the Jewish community in Pakistan such as:
Built in 1893[3], by Shalome Solomon Umerdekar and his son Gershone Solomon. Other accounts suggest that it was built by Solomon David, a surveyor for the Karachi Municipal Commitee and his wife Sheeoolabai, although these may be different names for the same people. The synagogue soon became the center of a small but vibrant Jewish community. A member of this Synagogue, Abraham Reuben, became a councilor in the Karachi City Corporation in 1936.
- Young Man's Jewish Association
Founded in 1903 and whose aim was to encourage sports as well as religious and social activities of the Bene Israel in Karachi.
- Karachi Bene Israel Relief Fund
Established to support poor Jews in Karachi.
- Karachi Jewish Syndicate
Formed in 1918 and whose aim was to provide homes to poor Jews at reasonable rents.
[edit] Peshawar
Apart from the Bene Israel and the Baghdadi Jews, the two most prominent Pakistani Jewish communities Bukharan Jews (also found in neighboring Afghanistan) also formed a small community in the northern city of Peshawar in the North-West Frontier Province. Peshawar was served by two synagogues.
[edit] 1947-1968
At the time of independence, it was reported that some 2,000 Jews remained, most of them Bene Yisrale (or Bene Israel) Jews observing Sephardic Jewish rites. The first real exodus from Pakistan came soon after the creation of Israel in 1948, which triggered multiple incidents of violence against Jews in Pakistan including the synagogue in Karachi being set on fire. The Karachi synagogue became the site of anti-Israel demonstrations, and the Pakistani Jews the subject of public mistrust.[citation needed] More attacks on Jews occurred after the Arab-Israeli wars of 1956 and 1967. Though they were always seen as Pakistanis first, many organizations more often than not, funded by Saudi Arabia, began publishing articles and protesting against this previously well integrated community.[citation needed] Ayub Khan's era saw the near-disappearance of the Pakistani Jewry. The vast majority left the country, many to Israel, but some to the United States or the United Kingdom. The small Jewish community in Peshawar ceased to exist by the 1960s, and both synagogues were closed. By 1968, the Jewish population in Pakistan had decreased to only 250 people and almost all of them were living in Karachi and were being served by one synagogue. Pakistan did not establish relations with Israel out of Muslim solidarity with Arab states. Efforts to separate the political stance against Zionism vs Jews as a people have often been undermined by orthodox and often illiterate hardliner organizations operating within the country and most often financed and supported by Saudi Arabia.
[edit] 1969-1999
In his address as chair of the Second Islamic Summit in 1974, Prime Minister Z. A. Bhutto asserted: “To Jews as Jews we bear no malice; to Jews as Zionists, intoxicated with their militarism and reeking with technological arrogance, we refuse to be hospitable.” Magen Shalome, Karachi’s last synagogue, was demolished in the 1980s to make way for a shopping plaza.
[edit] 2000-Present
A tiny Jewish community still remains in Karachi, Pakistan. Most of the Karachi Jews now live in Ramla, Israel, and built a synagogue they named Magen Shalome after the Pakistani Synagogue. The numbers may be underestimated as many Pakistani Jews often pass themselves off for Parsis (Pakistanis belonging to the Zoroastrian faith). Developments in the Middle East peace process such as the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza strip led to the first high level meeting between Israeli and Pakistani foreign ministers. The foreign ministers of both countries met publicly for the first time in Istanbul, a diplomatic breakthrough brokered by Turkey. Pakistan has been protesting Israel attacks on Palestine for many years. Officially, Occupied Palestine is the one and only issue between Israel and Pakistan. In practice, the population is strongly anti-Jewish (or anti-Semitic)[citation needed].
[edit] References
- ^ W. W. Hunter, The Imperial Gazetteer of India, vol XII, Trubner and Co, London, 2nd edition, 1887. Online at: http://www.panhwar.net/rarebooks/The%20Imperial%20Gazetteer%20of%20India%20Vol%20XII%201887.pdf
- ^ Joan G. Roland, The Jewish Communities of India: Identity in a Colonial EraPg 149 Limited Preview : http://books.google.com/books?pg=PA149&lpg=PA149&dq=jews+karachi&sig=YzcQuJHDc7pllJ9pKs_lcxe2c_w&id=kHJccZ92IecC&ots=UATw6OEEDF&output=html
- ^ Israel Goldstein, My World As a Jew: The Memoirs of Israel Goldstein, Herzl Press, New York, USA, vol 2, Pg 21 Limited preview: http://books.google.com/books?id=mCU0XsXUDOYC&pg=PA21&lpg=PA21&ots=Rf8WikzBrB&dq=jews+karachi&output=html&sig=5giViHwkF4nloob2TatlYnh0k6k
 |
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2008) |
[edit] Sources
Above material is based on an article of Prof. Adil Najam of Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, published in Pakistan's newspaper The Daily Times. 1
