From Wikipedia:
Jews were a small religious group in Pakistan. Various estimates suggest that there were about 1,000 Jews living in
Karachi at the beginning of the twentieth century, mostly Bene Israel Jews from Maharashtra, India. A smaller community of Jews also lived in
Peshawar. Jewish communities in Pakistan included the
Baghdadi Jews,
Bukharan Jews,
Mizrahi Jews, from Central Asia, neighbouring
Iran and
Afghanistanrespectively. The
Bene Israel Jews of India were concentrated in Karachi.
1881–1947
According to the 1881 census, there were 153 Jews in
Sindh province. By 1919, this figure had risen to about 650. By 1947, there were about 1,500 Jews living in Sindh with the majority residing in
Karachi. Most of these Jews were Bene Israel and they lived as
tradesmen,
artisans, poets,
philosophers and civil servants. Some
Baghdadi Jews,
Sephardi Jews,
Mizrahi Jews and
Bukharan Jews could also be found.
Karachi
A variety of associations existed to serve the Jewish community in Pakistan including:
Built in 1893, 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 Committee and his wife Sheeoolabai. 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.
Formed in 1918 and whose aim was to provide homes to poor Jews at reasonable rents.
1947–1968
At the time of the
Partition of India and Pakistani independence, some 1300 Jews remained in Karachi, most of them Bene Israel Jews observing
Sephardic Jewish rites. The first real exodus of Jewish refugees from Pakistan to Bombay and other cities in India came just prior to the creation of
Israel in 1948 when Jew hatred spread to Pakistan. By 1953, fewer than 500 Jews were reported to be in all of Pakistan.
1969–1999
Magen Shalome, the Bene Israel's only synagogue, was demolished in 1988 to make way for a shopping plaza by order of General
Zia-ul-Haq shortly after the Bene Israel community in Israel petitioned for its maintenance and use as a historical or other community center.
2000–present
Most of the Karachi Jews now live in
Ramla,
Israel,
Mumbai, India and
Toronto,
Canada and built a synagogue they named Magen Shalome after the Pakistani Synagogue in Ramla. Developments in the Middle East peace process such as the
Israeli withdrawal from the 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.
Rachel Joseph, the last Bene Israel Jew of Pakistan, left Karachi for Israel. There are no Bene Israel Jews remaining in Pakistan.
Dan Kiesel, a Jew of German origin, was employed as a physiotherapist by the
Pakistan Cricket Board from 1995-1999. His appointment brought some controversy, as Pakistani politicians questioned the hiring an Israeli Jew in the Senate of Pakistan.
