Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who is on his visit to India will interact with 25-30 leaders of the Jewish community in Mumbai today. The meeting is centered around conveying the community’s grievances and issues so the PM can address them efficiently.
Most likely issues which the Jewish community is likely to express to PM Netanyahu is seeking the minority status of Jews across India. Another issue which may become the centre point of the discussion will be the hiccups in getting visas.
“Since 2015, we have been demanding minority status in the entire country to avail certain benefits that every minority community receives,” said Ezra Moses, secretary of the Thane synagogue.
Although the community houses a large number of leaders, only a few community leaders will get a chance to interact with Netanyahu. The community will also discuss the Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) visa to Indian Jews who finish their three-year military training in Israel and wish to return home in India.
PM Modi also announced visa-free travel for those travelling from Israel to India. This was aimed at making the travelling between two countries smooth and hassle-free. PM Modi announced this on his visit to Israel in July 2017.
Solomon Sopher, head of the Jacob Sassoon Trust and in-charge of three synagogues in Mumbai and Pune informed that there are three sects of Jews namely Bene Israeli, Baghdadi Jews, and Cochin Jews. He said, “Several community members said that they also face difficulty with Israel consulate in getting the visa to Israel. We will discuss that problem as well.”
Currently, there are only three states which have accorded minority status to Jews. The community claims that Jews in Andhra Pradesh, Manipur, Gujarat, Goa, and Vijayawada also require minority status. As far as Maharashtra is concerned, it had accorded minority status to Jews in 2019.
