On Thursday, February 27, 2020, at the Napredak Cultural Center in Zagreb, the Croatian-Indian Society organized a lecture by M.S. Julija Koš, the president of the Croatian-Israeli Society, on the history of Jews in Croatia and India.

President Koš said that the history of Jews in India started in ancient times. Judaism was one of the first foreign religions in India. The Jewish communities kept an oral tradition of their origin in the old Jewish state. Seven Jewish groups exist in India today. Some have resided since the biblical Kingdom of Judah. Others claim to be the continuation of the ten lost tribes of Israel. Indian Jews never experienced anti-Semitism. They adopted many special qualities of Indian culture. In the middle of the 1940s, these communities had about 20 000 members. The number began to wane since 1948 and the restoration of the Jewish state. Many members of the Jewish communities came back to the old homeland. Today the Indian Jewish communities number about 5000 people. Some follow the old traditions. Others accepted modern Jewish missionaries and classical orthodoxy.

The Jewish ethnic minority contributed to the Croatian economy, science and culture far beyond their population share. The roots of Jewish communities in Croatia began in Roman times. The first Jewish community settled in Salona. Jewish doctors and traders came to the mainland. Owing to the social changes of the medieval period, Jews stopped having an important role in European events. During the Renaissance, Jews settled in Dubrovnik and Split. In the 13th and 14th century, they developed the mainland trade and economy. The middle of the 15th century saw the persecution and expulsion of Jewish communities. Late in the 18th century, Jews had the permission to settle again. In 1873, they received equal civil rights. At the beginning of the 20th century, the Croatian Jewish community experienced a short golden age. Jews made up a significant percentage of the Zagreb, Osijek, Varaždin and Čakovec population. There were 11 rabbis and 4 Jewish schools. Jews entered all professions, but most were retailers and merchants. The children of the original immigrants became influential Croatian intellectuals. Although the state system prevented anti-Semitism, in 1940 Yugoslavia made the first anti-Semitic laws. From 1941 to 1945, the Independent State of Croatia committed grave crimes and persecutions against the Jews. After the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, many members of the decimated Jewish community left Yugoslavia. The rest tried to rebuild Jewish life and tradition. Today about 1700 Jews live in Croatia.

Prepared by: Robert Bulat, secretary, Croatian-Indian Society