The government of the Indian state of Gujarat will grant the status of religious minority to Jews in the state and a notification to this effect is to be issued soon, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said on Thursday, fulfilling a long-pending demand of the community.
This was revealed by Rupani during his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.
During the 45-minute long meeting, Rupani told Netanyahu that “an in principle the decision has been taken to grant Gujarati Jews the status of religious minority”.
A notification to this effect shall be issued soon by the government, he said.
Gujarat has a small Jewish community comprising less than 200 members.
The main Jewish population in Gujarat has predominantly been in Ahmedabad, where the Magen Abraham Synagogue is located.
Rupani is on a six-day visit to Israel. It is his first trip abroad as chief minister and comes months after he hosted Netanyahu in Gujarat in January.
