Jewish Community of Mumbai

The history of the Jews in Mumbai (previously known as Bombay, but the name wasn't changed until 1995), India, began when Jews started settling in Bombay during the 18th century, due to its economic opportunities. The Jewish community of Bombay consisted of the remnants of three distinct communities: the Bene Israeli Jews of Konkan, the Baghdadi Jews of Iraq, and the Cochin Jews of Malabar.

Bombay is home to the majority of India's rapidly dwindling Jewish population. At its peak, in the late 1940s, the Jewish population of Bombay reached nearly 30,000.

The first Baghdadi Jew, Joseph Semah, moved to Bombay from Surat in 1730 and the first member of the Bene Israel community to move from the Konkan villages south of Bombay to the city arrived in 1746 part of the Divekar family. In 1796 Samuel Ezekiel Divekar (1730-1797) established "The Gate of Mercy" synagogue.

Less than 4,000 Jews live in Mumbai, formerly known as Bombay, and there are eight synagogues in the city. Today, the majority of Mumbai's Jews reside in Israel.

The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee runs a Jewish Community Center and has 500 members with classes on Hebrew and Judaism, holiday parties, youth discos and clubs for children and seniors. Also, there is an "ORT" (Organization for educational Resources and Technological training), an international Jewish organization with the mandate of helping impoverished Jews and which sells kosher wine, challah, chicken and baked goods.

Also, started in 2004 is the Hazon Eli Foundation for Jewish Life in India, based in Thane (a suburb of Mumbai where many younger Jewish families are moving to), to teach Torah, Hebrew and Jewish law to the suburban population. A Sunday school is run there for children under 13, which attracts about 25 students weekly.

...
Wikipedia