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The Baghdadi Jews are one of the main Jew
Jew

A Jew is a member of the Jewish people, an ethnoreligious group that traces its ancestry to the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East....
ish communities of India
India

India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
.

The "Baghdad
Baghdad

Baghdad is the Capital of Iraq and of Baghdad Governorate, with which it is also coterminous. With a municipal population estimated at 6.5 million, it is the largest city in Iraq, and the second largest city in the Arab World....
i" Jewish community of India is so called because its members were chiefly descended from Iraqi Jewish immigrants to India who moved to that country during the British Raj
British Raj

British Raj primarily refers to the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; it can also refer to the period of dominion, and even the region under the rule....
. The name of the community derives from Baghdad
Baghdad

Baghdad is the Capital of Iraq and of Baghdad Governorate, with which it is also coterminous. With a municipal population estimated at 6.5 million, it is the largest city in Iraq, and the second largest city in the Arab World....
, although they do not originate exclusively from Baghdad, but from other areas of Iraq
Iraq

Iraq , officially the Republic of Iraq , is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros Mountains, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
 as well, in addition to other Middle-Eastern countries of the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman Empire , also known by its contemporaries as the Turkish Empire or Turkey , was an empire that lasted from 1299?1923. It was Treaty of Lausanne by the Republic of Turkey, which was officially proclaimed on October 29, 1923....
.

community developed as a result of Jews fleeing religious persecution in Muslim lands to the northwest of India during the British imperial era.






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The Baghdadi Jews are one of the main Jew
Jew

A Jew is a member of the Jewish people, an ethnoreligious group that traces its ancestry to the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East....
ish communities of India
India

India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
.

The "Baghdad
Baghdad

Baghdad is the Capital of Iraq and of Baghdad Governorate, with which it is also coterminous. With a municipal population estimated at 6.5 million, it is the largest city in Iraq, and the second largest city in the Arab World....
i" Jewish community of India is so called because its members were chiefly descended from Iraqi Jewish immigrants to India who moved to that country during the British Raj
British Raj

British Raj primarily refers to the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; it can also refer to the period of dominion, and even the region under the rule....
. The name of the community derives from Baghdad
Baghdad

Baghdad is the Capital of Iraq and of Baghdad Governorate, with which it is also coterminous. With a municipal population estimated at 6.5 million, it is the largest city in Iraq, and the second largest city in the Arab World....
, although they do not originate exclusively from Baghdad, but from other areas of Iraq
Iraq

Iraq , officially the Republic of Iraq , is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros Mountains, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
 as well, in addition to other Middle-Eastern countries of the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman Empire , also known by its contemporaries as the Turkish Empire or Turkey , was an empire that lasted from 1299?1923. It was Treaty of Lausanne by the Republic of Turkey, which was officially proclaimed on October 29, 1923....
.

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
Yangon

Yangon is the largest city and a former capital of Burma. It is the capital of Yangon Division. Although the State Peace and Development Council has officially relocated the capital to Naypyidaw since March 2006, Yangon, with a population of four million, continues to be the country's largest city and the most important commercial center....
 (Rangoon), Singapore
Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country microstate located at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula. It lies 137 kilometres north of the equator, south of the Malaysian state of Johor and north of Indonesia's Riau Islands....
, Penang
Penang

Penang is a States of Malaysia in Malaysia, located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia by the Strait of Malacca. Penang is the second smallest state in Malaysia after Perlis, and the eighth most populous....
, and Shanghai
Shanghai

Shanghai is the List of cities in the People's Republic of China by population in China and one of the List of metropolitan areas by population in the world, with over 20 million people....
, 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
East Indians (ethnic group)

East Indian Catholics are a Marathi-speaking, Roman Catholic ethnic group, based in and around the city of Mumbai in the state of Maharashtra ....
. The Baghdadis originally came to India
India

India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
 from Iraq
Iraq

Iraq , officially the Republic of Iraq , is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros Mountains, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, so they had dark olive skin
Olive skin

File:Gisele Bundchen2.jpgOlive, beige, or tan skin describes a Human skin color range of some individuals. Named as such for its Olive #Olive hue, or sun tanning appearance, it usually refers to a natural skin tone, although tanned skin can also be colored as such....
 and black or dark brown hair, that gave them that distinct Middle Eastern appearance and an India
India

India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
n resemblance.

Clothing in the Baghdadi community is usually Western clothing for men and the India
India

India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
n sari
Sari

A sari or saree or shari is a female garment in the Indian subcontinent. A sari is a strip of unstitched cloth, ranging from four to nine metres in length that is draped over the body in various styles....
 for women.

Cuisine

Baghdadi cuisine is an India
India

India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
n hybrid cuisine, with many Arab
Arab

An Arab is a person who Identity as such on linguistic or cultural grounds. The plural form, Arabs , refers to the Ethnocultural group at large....
, Turkish, Persian and India
India

India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
n influences. Famous Baghdadi dishes include Beef curry
Curry

Curry is the English language description of any of a general variety of spiced dishes, best known in Asian cuisines, especially South Asian cuisine....
, Baghdadi Biryani
Biryani

Biryani, biriani, or beriani is a set of primarily South Asian rice-based foods made with spices, rice and meat/vegetables....
 and Baghdadi Jewish paratha
Paratha

A paratha is a bread that originated in the subcontinent . It is made with whole-wheat flour, pan frying in ghee or cooking oil, and sometimes stuffed with vegetables, such as boiled potatoes, radishes or cauliflower and/or paneer ....
s. A Baghdadi version of Tandoori chicken
Tandoori chicken

Tandoori Chicken is a roasted chicken delicacy that originated in the Punjab region of present-day Pakistan and India.Chicken is marinated in yogurt and seasoned with tandoori masala....
 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
    Abraham Sofaer

    Abraham Sofaer was a Burma Jewish stage actor who became a familiar supporting player on film and television in his later years. He was born in Rangoon, Burma ....
    , actor
  • Nadira
    Nadira (actress)

    Nadira was an Indian actress in Bollywood films. She is best remembered for her performance in films in the 1950s and 1960s .Nadira was born Farhat Ezekiel Nadira, to a Baghdadi Jews family....
    , Bollywood
    Bollywood

    Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Mumbai-based Hindi film industry in India. The term is often used to refer to the whole of Cinema of India....
     actress
  • J. F. R. Jacob, Indian military commander in the Bangladesh Liberation War
    Bangladesh Liberation War

    The Bangladesh Liberation WarBangladesh Liberation War/nomenclature justification was an armed conflict pitting West Pakistan against East Pakistan and India, that resulted in the secession of East Pakistan to become the independent nation of Bangladesh....
     of 1971
  • Anish Kapoor
    Anish Kapoor

    Anish Kapoor is one of the most influential sculptors of his generation. Born in Bombay , India, Kapoor has lived and worked in London since the early 1970s when he moved to London to study art, first at the Hornsey College of Art and later at the Chelsea, London School of Art Design....
    , British Asian
    British Asian

    The term British Asian is used to refer to British nationality law who are immigrants or descendants of immigrants from South Asia, or the Indian subcontinent....
     sculptor; Baghdadi Jewish mother
  • David
    David and Simon Reuben

    David and Simon Reuben are well known United Kingdom businessmen and philanthropists. The brothers moved to London as teenagers. Despite coming from an impoverished background, in the Sunday Times Rich List 2008 ranking of the wealthiest people in the UK the brothers were placed in the top ten with an estimated fortune of ?4.3 billio...
     & Simon Reuben, British Asian
    British Asian

    The term British Asian is used to refer to British nationality law who are immigrants or descendants of immigrants from South Asia, or the Indian subcontinent....
     businessmen
  • David Sassoon
    David Sassoon

    David Sassoon was the treasurer of Baghdad between 1817 and 1829 and the leader of the History of the Jews in India ....
    , merchant and founder of the Sassoon
    Sassoon

    Sassoon is the family name of several people, including:*Sassoon family, Jewish business family originating from Baghdad, Iraq.** David Sassoon ...
     family
  • Albert Abdullah David Sassoon
    Albert Abdullah David Sassoon

    Sir Albert Abdullah David Sassoon, 1st Baronet, Order of the Bath, Order of the Star of India, , a British Indian philanthropist and merchant, was born a Jew in Baghdad, a member of a family that had lived there since the beginning of the 16th century, having been expelled from Spain in the 1490s....
    , merchant
  • Silas Aaron Hardoon
    Silas Aaron Hardoon

    Silas Aaron Hardoon was a wealthy businessman and well-known public figure in the city of Shanghai in the early 20th century....
    , real estate tycoon
  • Sassoon David Sassoon
    Sassoon David Sassoon

    Sassoon David Sassoon , a British Indian merchant, was born at Bombay , a member of a family settled there since the beginning of the 16th century, and previously in Spain....
    , merchant
  • Siegfried Sassoon
    Siegfried Sassoon

    Siegfried Loraine Sassoon, Commander of British Empire Military Cross was an English poetry and author. He became known as a writer of satire anti-war poetry during World War I....
    , war poet and son of Sassoon David Sassoon
  • Sassoon J. David
    Sassoon J. David

    Sir Sassoon Jacob Hai David was a member of the community of Baghdadi Jews that lived in Bombay from the late 18th Century into the 20th Century....
    , banker (founder of Bank of India
    Bank of India

    Bank of India , established on 7 September, 1906 is a bank with headquarters in Mumbai. Government-owned since nationalization in 1969, It is one of India's leading Commercial bank, with about 2,884 branches including 27 branches outside India....
    ) and member of the Bombay Municipal Corporation
  • Brian George
    Brian George

    Brian George is a United Kingdom-Israeli actor, who typically plays guest roles for characters of South Asian descent, some more stereotypical than others....
    , Israeli-born character actor of Baghdadi-Indian Jewish descent most well-known for playing the role of a Pakistani shop owner,"Bhabu", on Seinfeld
    Seinfeld

    Seinfeld is an Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award-winning Television in the United States Situation comedy that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, lasting nine seasons, and is now in Broadcast syndication....


See also

  • Jewish ethnic divisions
    Jewish ethnic divisions

    Jewish ethnic divisions refers to a number of distinct communities within the world's ethnicity Jewish population. Although considered one single Identity ethnicity, there are distinct ethnic divisions among Jews, most of which are primarily the result of geographic branching from an originating Israelite population, and subsequent independen...
  • Indian Jews
    Indian Jews

    Indian Jews are a religious minority of India. Judaism was one of the first non-Dharmic religions to arrive in India in recorded history. The better-established ancient communities have assimilated a large number of local traditions through cultural diffusion....
  • Baghdad Arabic (Jewish)
  • David Sassoon
    David Sassoon

    David Sassoon was the treasurer of Baghdad between 1817 and 1829 and the leader of the History of the Jews in India ....
  • Asian Jews
    List of Asian Jews

    Since ancient history, a number of Jewish communities have been established in many parts of Asia migrating or fleeing eastward from their place of origin in Mesopotamia....
  • British Asians
  • Indian Americans


External links

  • - Jewish Encyclopedia
    Jewish Encyclopedia

    The Jewish Encyclopedia was an encyclopedia originally published between 1901 and 1906 by Funk and Wagnalls. It contained over 15,000 articles in 12 volumes on the history and then-current state of Judaism and the Jews as of 1901....
  • - Jewish Encyclopedia
    Jewish Encyclopedia

    The Jewish Encyclopedia was an encyclopedia originally published between 1901 and 1906 by Funk and Wagnalls. It contained over 15,000 articles in 12 volumes on the history and then-current state of Judaism and the Jews as of 1901....