Security in Ahmedabad amped up amidst Israel war, Gujarati diaspora in distress

After a Palestine-based militant group ‘Hamas’ (Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiya) initiated a surprise attack on the homeland of Jewish people, Israel was declared at the ‘state of war’, the waves of the unrest could be seen in Ahmedabad too.

Security was heightened at Ahmedabad’s Magen Abraham Synagogue, located in the Khamasa area.

An almost nine-decade-old Jewish religious place in Ahmedabad was constructed in 1934, when Gujarat was home to 600 Jewish families.

120 Jews in Ahmedabad

Currently, the community population count in Gujarat is 140, with 120 being settled in Ahmedabad.

The community leader, Aviv Divekar said, “After the terrorist attack in Israel on Oct 7, we called our relatives in Israel and received the information. Currently, our relatives are safe. We were celebrating Simchat Torah (a Jewish festival) when we received the tragic news.”

“We are praying that the situation will improve soon, and it is important to establish peace in the world. However, in Ahmedabad, Jews say that the synagogue is located in Khamasa, which is a Muslim-majority area, but we are getting a lot of support from Muslim families. They are our friends. We are not afraid at all,” he added.

Divakar added, “All the flights to Israel have been cancelled in India, and Israeli citizens living in India have been advised to be alert. Moreover, guidelines have been issued to the Jewish families living in Ahmedabad, and we were ordered to implement the same.”

The conflict has claimed 700 lives so far, as per the local media.

Gujaratis in Israel

So far, no abductions or deaths of Indians have been reported from Israel; however, the Gujaratis stranded in Israel are gravely scared.

An Indian resident, Shankar Patel, from Rajasthan, who settled in Israel for a long time, stays 10 km away from the capital city of Tel Aviv.

Patel lives in Petah-Tikva and works there as a caretaker along with other Indians, including Sandeep Bhatiya and Dev Bhatiya from Ahmedabad, Kishan Patel, Kachru Patel, and Lokesh Patel from Rajasthan.

Shankar Patel on Oct 8 said, “No rockets were dropped in the city where we live. Today (Oct 7), on the second day, the situation inside Israel is under control, but a terrible war is going on at the border. The most affected border town is Ashkelon, 68 km away from our city.”

“There are inbuilt bunkers constructed by the government in each house; whenever the alarm raises, we are supposed to hide in those bunkers. Our biggest concern is that Hamas terrorists have infiltrated cities in Israel in large numbers and are killing people by breaking into their homes,” Patel added.

“The fear will continue until the government declares that all the terrorists have been killed. Indians resided in large numbers in the southern border city of Ashkelon, but there are no reports of any Indian deaths or abductions till now.”

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