History of Jews in Pakistan

The Islamic Republic of Pakistan is located in South Asia and is the sixth most populous nation. The historic Jewish community in Pakistan likely arrived from India, but today there are less than 200 Jews. .At the beginning of the twentieth century, the largest city, Karachi, had about 2,500 Jews engaged as tradesmen, artisans, and civil servants. Their mother tongue was Marachi, indicating their Bene Israel origin. In 1893, the Jews of Karachi built the Magain Shalome Synagogue. In 1936, one of the leaders of the Jewish community, Abraham Reuben, became the first Jewish councilor on the city corporation. 

Under British jurisdiction, the Jews in the area became Pakistani and known as nationals and were treated with tolerance. In the early twentieth century, a variety of associations existed to serve the Jewish community: the Young Men's Jewish Association, founded in 1903, whose aim was to encourage sports as well as religious and social activities of the Bene Israel in Karachi; the Karachi Bene Israel Relief Fund, established to support poor Jews in Karachi; and the Karachi Jewish syndicate, formed in 1918, to provide homes to poor Jews at reasonable rents.

The Jews lived primarily in Karachi, but a small community served by two synagogues lived in Peshawar in the northwest frontier province. The foundation of an Islamic state immediately before the State of Israel was established. It created a rising feeling of insecurity within the Pakistani Jewish community. 

After Israel declared independence in 1948, the small Jewish community, which numbered approximately 3,000 Bene Israel Jews, became targets of violence. The synagogue in Karachi was set alight, and Jews were attacked. The plight of Jews became more precarious following disturbances and demonstrations directed against the Jews during the Arab-Israeli wars in 1948, 1956, and 1967. The persecution of Jews resulted in large-scale emigration, mainly to India, but also to Israel and the United Kingdom. The small community in Peshawar ceased to exist, and the synagogues were closed. Some Jews converted to Islam, such as the deputy head of Pakistan's mission to the UN in the 1950s, Mohammad Assad. Others kept a low profile. By 1968, the number of Jews in Pakistan had decreased to 250, almost all of whom were concentrated in Karachi, where there was one synagogue, a welfare organization, and a recreational organization.