Ezekiel Isaac Malekar

Rabbi Ezekiel Isaac Malekar is the head of the Jewish community in New Delhi, India. He is the Honorary Secretary of the Judah Hyam Synagogue at the corner of Humayun road, where he works as an unpaid volunteer. The synagogue, in addition to serving the Jewish community of New Delhi, caters to the Jewish diplomats from foreign missions. It has hosted former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres and David Danieli, the Israeli Ambassador to India. Indian Jews also go there for rites such as Brit milah (circumcision) and B'nai Mitzvah (coming of age). He is from the Bene Israel Jewish community.

Malekar, in addition to being a scholar of Judaism, is a human rights activist and a Deputy Registrar (Law) with the National Human Rights Commission in India. He was a key participant in the 15th International Conference on Human Integration (inaugurated by Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj, a Sikh religious cleric and President of the World Council of Religions), at Kirpal Bagh, New Delhi on February 6, 2006.

He said: “According to Rabbi [sic] Hillel, the Torah can be capsulated into only one commandment: ‘What is hurtful and hateful to you, do not do to another.’ Everything else is footnote.”

He is a recipient of the Mahavir mahatma Award for preserving Jewish heritage and culture in India, and the Ambassador of Peace Award instituted by the Federation for Religious harmony and Brotherhood.