RabbiEzekiel Isaac Malekar is the head of the Jewish community in

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Ho ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. He is the Honorary Secretary of the Judah Hyam Synagogue at the corner of Humayun road, where he works voluntarily. The Synagogue, in addition to serving the Jewish community of New Delhi, caters to the Jewish diplomats from foreign missions. It has hosted former

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

i Prime Ministers like Shimon Peres and felicitated David Danieli, the present Israeli Ambassador to

. Indian Jews also come here for important rituals like Brit milah, Bar Mitzvah and Bat Mitzvah for girls. He is

Bene Israel The Bene Israel (), also referred to as the "Shanivar Teli" () or " Native Jew" caste, are a community of Jews in India. It has been suggested that they are the descendants of one of the Ten Lost Tribes via their ancestors who had settled there ce ...

. Mr. Malekar, in addition to being a scholar of

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in t ...

, is a noted human rights activist and a Deputy Registrar (Law) with the National Human Rights Commission in India. He was a key participant in the 15th International Conference on Human Integration (inaugurated by Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj, a Sikh religious cleric and President of the World Council of Religions), at Kirpal Bagh,

on February 6, 2006. He is actively involved in inter-faith activities between the Jewish community and the

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

majority in India, as well as the Sikh community. He has praised the multicultural nature of Indian Society where

had existed for 2,000 years without ever experiencing

anti-Semitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

. Malekar has also presided over inter-faith marriages. He has asserted that his innate Indianness was infinitely more important than his consciousness of being a Jew. He quotes:

“According to Rabbi ic Hillel, the
Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the ...
can be capsulated into only one commandment: ‘What is hurtful and hateful to you, do not do to another.’ Everything else is footnote.”

He has also written on women in Judaism, saying that the New Delhi Jewish community has not had any issues with the polemics of gender. Under his influence, the Judah Hyam Synagogue has emerged as a center for religious reform in the field of women's participation. He is a recipient of the Mahavir mahatma Award for preserving

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

heritage and culture in India, and the Ambassador of Peace Award instituted by the Federation for Religious harmony and Brotherhood. He has contributed several articles in leading newspapers in

References

on how religion can contribute to a harmonious society {{DEFAULTSORT:Malekar, Isaac Ezekiel Indian Jews Indian rabbis Marathi people 21st-century rabbis Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Bene Israel

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