In the aftermath of the recent terror attack targeting a Hanukkah lighting ceremony hosted by Chabad in Bondi beach, Australia, reports indicated that Indian intelligence agencies had issued security advisories to Jewish communities across India, warning of possible threats to Jewish religious institutions and celebrations in the coming weeks. While such alerts may appear routine in a volatile global environment, in the Indian context they raise a far more unsettling question: is this merely a temporary precaution, or does it point to a deeper and lasting shift in India’s relationship with its Jewish communities? Similar advisories, though rare, mark a departure from India’s long-standing assumption that Jewish life within its borders does not require exceptional state protection. The very act of issuing a warning, rather than responding to a specific local incident signals a pre-emptive recognition of vulnerability that was previously absent in the Indian Jewish experience.

India occupies a unique place in Jewish historical memory. Across centuries, Jewish communities, from the Bene Israel and Cochin Jews to Baghdadi Jews and more recently, the Bnei Menashe lived in India without facing pogroms, forced conversions, or institutionalized antisemitism. This absence of hostility became a defining marker of Indian Jewish identity, often contrasted with Jewish experiences in Europe and from the Arab world. Even among Indian Jews who migrated to Israel, pride in this Indian legacy of tolerance and acceptance has remained strong.

That is precisely why........

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