Maharashtra will take initiatives to preserve the Jewish heritage sites in the state as it looks to promote tourism, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has said.
"The state government is planning to celebrate the year 2017 as "Visit Maharashtra" year.
"By that time we would create lot of circuits for tourism. I feel that if we could preserve the erstwhile Jewish heritage, lot of tourists could come there," Fadnavis told PTI during his visit to Israel.
The Maharashtra Chief Minister's visit has been warmly welcomed by the strong Jewish community from the Mumbai region, commonly referred to as Bene Israel, who have immigrated to Israel but still maintain strong cultural and sentimental ties with the state.
Some of the Jewish heritage sites in Maharashtra include Nariman House and Gate of Mercy Synagogue, the oldest synagogue in Mumbai.
There are about 50,000 Jews from the Mumbai region living in Israel, spread all across the country.
Noah Massil, the editor of Marathi journal Maiboli and a community leader who led the Central Organisation of Indian Jews in Israel for many decades, said that they take pride in their Indian-origins and one can see deep pockets of Indian culture alive in Israel.
"On the 30th of this month we will be celebrating the Maharashtra Day, which is an annual event celebrated here," he said.
"Thousands of Indians from the Bene-Israel community participate in it and there is an unwritten rule - all participants speak only Marathi between themselves," Massil said.
The Bene-Israel community in Israel has been also active in helping around 6000 people left in India in preserving Jewish heritage sites, contributing funds from here in renovating some of the old Synagogues.
The community is now planning to build an India-Israel Cultural Centre in Ramle, close to Tel Aviv with a strong Indian presence, and would be reaching out to Maharashtra Chief Minister for help, Massil told PTI.
