ABSTRACT
This chapter evaluates the segregated relationship of Bombay’s Baghdadi and Bene Israel communities before India’s independence through the lens of communal sports as reported in the contemporary Jewish press. While Baghdadi and Bene Israel Jews engaged athletically with non-Jewish clubs and athletes, members of the two Jewish communities did not compete with or against each other. There is evidence that in the 1940s Bene Israel and Baghdadi youths socialized at table tennis tournaments organized by the Zionist Judean Club. The foundation of the Zionist Maccabi sports club in 1943 further opened up new space for athletes of both communities to compete together. While predominantly Baghdadi, Maccabi’s volleyball team did include a Ben Israel in its line-up. Overall, however, mutual animosity persisted and there is little evidence of Zionist sports breaking down the various barriers that separated the two communities.
