Indian-origin Israeli Liora Itzhak will sing India's national anthem during Modi's visit

By Aimen Zaki

Indian Jews livingin different parts of Israel primarily belongto threedifferentcommunities namely Cochin Jews,ParadesiJews of Kerala and Bene Israel Jews who belong toMaharashtra. There are about 85,000 Jews of Indian-origin in Israel.

After India'sindependence, several Indian Jews immigrated to Israelwhere they could secure their identities which wassomewhat lost while they were livingin India.

Cochin Jews, also known as Malabar Jews were among the first to leave forIsrael which proclaimed itself as a nation in 1948, just months after India's independence.

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Initially, the Jews who migrated from India joined 'Moshav' which is a kind of an Israeli agricultural cooperative society built by the Labour Zionists during the second aliyah (immigration of Jews from the diaspora to the land of Israel).

However, in today's Israel Indians do not restrict themselves within the agricultural sector alone but are working in several other important sectors, like medicine, ITand they also work in the diamond trade. There are alsomany Indians who holdmilitary positions and are running their own companies in Israel.

There are few Indian-origin Israelis that should be celebrated, here are three national figures in Israel who are little known in India:

Liora Itzhak

Liora Itzhak is an Indian-origin Israeli who was born in Israel and came to India at the age of 15 in the hope of working as a singer in Bollywood. Liora hasdiverse interests, she learned Indian classical music andalso tried her hand at learning ghazals and bhajans.

Liora bagged her first break when she was invited to sing bandh darwaze khuli khidkiyanin the movie "Dil ka Doctor", after that she continued with her career as a singer in Bollywood for some time.

She has worked with severalfamous Indian singers like Sonu Nigam, Udit Narayan and Kumar Sanu. But after living in Indiafor eight longyears, she felt homesickand wanted to go back to her family in Israel.

Liora has continued with her singing in Israel's music industry ever since. She is setto sing the Indian national anthem during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Israel.

Sheikh Mohammad Munir Ansari, director Indian Hospice in Jerusalem. (Others)

Sheikh Mohammad Munir Ansari

The eldest son of late Khwaja Nazer Hassan Ansari, 90-year-oldSheikh Mohammad Munir Ansari isthe director of the 800-year-oldHospice inJerusalem.

Sheikh Mohammad Munir's father Khwaja NazerHassan Ansari was appointed to supervise and administer the Hospice whichwas established during the visit of Sufi Saint Baba Fareed in the holy land.

Khwaja Ansari was sent to Jerusalem from Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh to facilitate and look into the matter of the Hospice.

The Hospice provides shelter to pilgrims who visitthe holy sites in Israel. The Ansari family has been carrying forward their legacy of serving Indians since 1924.

Sheikh Munir Ansari received the Pravasi Bhartiya Saman Award in 2011.

Bezalel Eliahu, the game-changer in Israel's agricultural sector. (Others)

Bezalel Eliahu

Bezalel Eliahu is an Israeli floriculturist and agriculturist from the Malabari Jewish Community of Kerala-Cochin. Bezalel was born in1930 in Chendamangalam, a panchayat in Paravur Taluk in Ernakulam district in Kerala and later migrated to Israel in 1955 with his father and sister.

Hemade a huge contribution for his continuous guidance in adopting the new floriculture and horticulture techniques in Israel.

Indian-origin Bezalal learned the technique of 'fertigation' and applied his skills to show a new way of utilising land for agriculture whenwater resources were scarcein Israel.

Bezalel contribution was recognised by the USand other countries who followed his techniques.

His journey from being a shepherd to an award-winning agriculturist was highly appreciated by Indiaand he received the Pravasi Bhartiya Saman Award by India's former President late A.P.J. Abdul Kalam in 2006.

He is thefirst Indian-origin Israeli to receive the award.