This post is part of a series highlighting the international work our Federation is doing in partnership with the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. Learn more by joining us at Global Jewry: One People, One World on November 16th—an in-depth look at our impact and the challenges we face.
There are a staggering 1.2 billion people living in India—and just over 4,300 are Jewish. It’s not a very significant number, which is perhaps the reason so many aren’t even aware that an Indian Jewish community exists. However, a small but mighty group has been engaged in Jewish life in India for the past 2,000 years, from the central Jewish community in Mumbai to Delhi, Kolkata and beyond.
Our work in India dates back just 50 years, when, together with the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), we began paving the path to India’s Jewish future. By offering Jewish children access to Jewish education, social activities and holiday celebrations through Mumbai’s Evelyn Peters Jewish Community Center, we are strengthening the connection India’s youth have to Jewish life.
We are also introducing kids as young as five years old to Jewish lessons and values through Gan Katan Day Camp. Check out the video below to hear how the JDC’s Nissim is ensuring the Jewish future in Mumbai through his work with Gan Katan:
Our work in India does not focus solely on young children, however. We are also developing tomorrow’s Jewish leaders by fostering volunteerism and offering both leadership training and Jewish educator training to young adults.
And, with India’s population being so large, there are many Jews struggling with poverty as the country’s limited government-run social services cannot handle the volume of cases they receive. We are caring for these Jews in need by offering welfare assistance, healthcare, and meals-on-wheels programs. We also help fund monthly medical camps in remote villages and ensure that needy senior citizens are able to live with dignity at Bayiti Home for the Aged.
The work we are doing in India merely scratches the surface of the impact we are making throughout Asia and in over 70 countries around the globe. Learn more by joining us at Global Jewry: One People, One World on Sunday, November 16th!
This captivating program will offer an in-depth look at our work and the challenges we face—with opportunities to hear firsthand from our partners on the ground how we’re transforming lives throughout the Jewish world.
Register for Global Jewry: One People, One World today!
For more information, contact OnePeople@JewishLA.org.
