The story of a Pakistani Jew and his historic visit to Jerusalem

Pakistani Jew Fishel BenKhald recently visited Israel along with 15 Pakistani Americans. Image Courtesy: @Jew_Pakistani/Twitter

Fishel BenKhald could not believe his eyes when he found himself praying in front of the Wailing Wall, the revered prayer site for Jews in Jerusalem. He fought for many years to make a trip to the holy city. What stopped him? The country he comes from.

Fishel is one of the few Jews from Pakistan, where every passport reads: This passport is valid for all countries of the world except Israel.

He visited Israel in May with a rare group – around 15 Pakistani-Americans. Most of them travelled on their United States passports.

The trip was organised by an American Muslim women’s activist group and sponsored by an Israeli organization, looking to expand the nation’s ties with Muslim-majority countries, reports NPR.

The story of Fishel BenKhald

Fishel was born to a Jewish mother of Iranian origin and a Muslim father in Karachi in 1987. He is registered at birth as a Muslim but considers himself a Jew. His real name is Faisal, but in 2014 he adopted his Yiddish first name, Fishel.

Fishel is a civil engineer and works at a kosher certification agency. He has been fighting to save the Bani Israel graveyard, the only Jewish cemetery in Karachi, which is in ruins. However, his biggest struggle so far has been being registered as a Jew in Pakistan and then travelling to Israel on that very passport, reports ThePrint.

The fallout of the visit

Fishel’s Israel visit has created a stir in Pakistan. A talk show host from the state-run Pakistan Television was on the trip. He was fired on 30 May.

However, the Imran Khan government knew about the trip and had okayed Fishel’s trip, according to the delegation organiser.

On that same day, Pakistan Senate passed a resolution confirming its stance against Israel. “The Resolution, moved by Senator Mushtaq Ahmad, condemning the recent atrocities and violence of Israeli forces over the innocent pilgrims and worshipers in Al-Aqsa Mosque and the decades-old blockade of Gaza by the Israeli forces was passed unanimously by the Upper House,” it wrote on Twitter.

There’s a call to ban the American Muslim and Multifaith Women’s Empowerment Council, which organised the trip, reports NPR.

The anger grew in Pakistan after Israeli President Isaac Herzog spoke about meeting the Pakistani and Pakistani American delegation. “It was an amazing experience. We haven’t had a group of Pakistani expats ever in such scope,” he said at the recently held World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Jews in Pakistan

In a nation of 220 million, Jews are a handful – around 200. Most of them have adopted a Muslim identity to blend in.

Fishel during a conversation with The Times of Israel recalled how his family spent a lot of time outside Pakistan. He also did the same for a long time. “Anti-Semitism is the reason,” he had said was the reason. The Pakistani government and media are “constantly blaming everything wrong on an imaginary Jewish/Israeli conspiracy,” he had said.

Pakistan once had a small and thriving community. At the start of the 20th century, there were 2,500 Jews in the country, mostly those who migrated from Iraq. They lived in Karachi, Quetta, Rawalpindi and Lahore.

However, in 1988, the historical Magain Shalome Synagogue in Karachi was demolished, which became a focal point of demonstrations against Israel. A majority of Jews left the country and migrated to India or Israel around the time.

The anger against Israel

Pakistan is a supporter of an independent state for Palestine and refuses to have ties with Israel. It’s a position most Muslim-majority nations take. However, in 2020 the UAE and Bahrain signed the historic Abraham Accords to maintain and strengthen peace in the Middle East. Morroco and Sudan have joined the accord brokered by the US.

While Pakistan and Israel have held dialogues on security in the past and their foreign ministers met publicity in 2005, there’s no indication of the Muslim country joining the pact.

Fawad Chaudhry, the former information minister under Imran Khan’s government, told NPR, “Our policy is absolutely no recognition or engagement with Israel until the establishment of state of Palestine.”

With inputs from agencies

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