00:00A statue of Chhatapati Shivaji Maharaj is set to come up in Israel.
00:03The announcement has revived the interest in the Bene Israel, a fascinating community
00:07whose story spans both Maharashtra and Israel.
00:10According to their centuries-old tradition, the Bene Israel arrived in India after a ship
00:15carrying Jewish families was wrecked off the Konkan coast more than 2,000 years ago.
00:20Only 14 people survived, 7 men and 7 women.
00:23Stranded in an unfamiliar land, they made the coast of Maharashtra their new home.
00:27What followed was a remarkable act of adaptation.
00:30The survivors and their descendants gradually adopted the language, food and customs of the region.
00:36They spoke Marathi, lived in villages across the Konkan and became woven into social fabric of Western India.
00:42Yet, they held on to their Jewish identity, passing down their beliefs and traditions through generations.
00:47For centuries, they lived largely unnoticed by the wider Jewish world.
00:51In Maharashtra, they became known as Shanivar Thales, literally Saturday oil pressers
00:56because while many worked in the oil trade, they would not work on the Jewish Sabbaths.
01:00Their history also intersects with some of the most important chapters of Western India's past.
01:05Historical accounts and community traditions suggest that members of the Bene Israel
01:09served in military and administrative roles under various powers in the region, including the Marathas.
01:14And that's why the announcement of the Shivaji Maharashtra tattoo has resonated beyond diplomacy.
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