- Baghdadi Jews
Ethnic group|
group=Baghdadi Jews
poptime=4,000 (est.)
popplace=India 250 (chieflyMumbai ,Gujarat andCalcutta )Europe ,Australia ,Canada ,Israel and theUSA .
langs=Traditionally, Arabic, Turkish and Persian, now mostly English, Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi and Bengali.
rels=Judaism
related=Bene Israel ,Arabs ,Cochin Jews The Baghdadi Jews are one of the mainJew ish communities ofIndia .The "
Baghdad i" Jewish community of India is so called because its members were chiefly descended fromIraqi Jew ish immigrants to India who moved to that country during theBritish Raj . The name of the community derives fromBaghdad , although they do not originate exclusively from Baghdad, but from other areas ofIraq as well, in addition to otherMiddle-Eastern countries of theOttoman Empire .History
The community developed as a result of Jews fleeing religious persecution in Muslim lands to the northwest of India during the British imperial era. Unlike other Jewish communities in India whose oral tradition attest to a presence in India going back as long as 2000 years, the Baghdadi communities were established relatively recently (in the past few centuries). While the Baghdadi Jews are known primarily from their presence in India, they also established themselves in trading ports further east, notably in
Yangon (Rangoon),Singapore ,Penang , andShanghai , as well as the west.The Baghdadis have completely assimilated into Indian society. A contributing factor to their assimilation was their physical features and resemblance to the
East Indians . The Baghdadis originally came toIndia fromIraq ,Turkey ,Syria ,Iran andAfghanistan , so they had darkolive skin and black or dark brown hair, that gave them that distinctMiddle Eastern appearance and anIndia n resemblance.Clothing in the Baghdadi community is usually Western clothing for men and the
India nsari for women.Cuisine
Baghdadi cuisine is an
India n hybrid cuisine, with manyArab , Turkish, Persian andIndia n influences. Famous Baghdadi dishes include Beefcurry , BaghdadiBiryani and Baghdadi Jewishparatha s. A Baghdadi version ofTandoori chicken is also popular (using lemon juice to cook the chicken instead of cream used in the usual Indian recipe).Famous Baghdadi Jews
*
Lord Kadoorie
*Abraham Sofaer , actor
*Nadira,Bollywood actress
*J. F. R. Jacob , Indian military commander in theBangladesh Liberation War of 1971
*Anish Kapoor ,British Asian sculptor; Baghdadi Jewish mother
*David &Simon Reuben ,British Asian businessmen
*David Sassoon , merchant and founder of theSassoon family
*Albert Abdullah David Sassoon , merchant
*Sassoon David Sassoon , merchant
*Sassoon J. David , banker (founder ofBank of India ) and member of theBombay Municipal Corporation
*Brian George , Israeli-born character actor of Baghdadi-Indian Jewish descent most well-known for playing the role of a Pakistani shop owner,"Bhabu", onSeinfeld ee also
*
Jewish ethnic divisions
*Indian Jews
*Baghdad Arabic (Jewish)
*David Sassoon
*Asian Jews
*British Asians
*Indian Americans External links
* [http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=130&letter=I Indian Jews] -
Jewish Encyclopedia
* [http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=40&letter=C Calcutta Jews] -Jewish Encyclopedia
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