| Group: | Israeli Hindus הינדים ישראלים |
| Flag: | Om symbol.svg |
| Flag Size: | 50px |
| Religions: | Hinduism Majority: Vaishnavism Minority: Shaivism |
| Languages: | Sanskrit (sacred) Hebrew, Arabic, English, Russian, French, Amharic, Tigrinya and other languages of Israel |
| Population: | < 11,500 (2020) ; 0.01% of total population |
Hinduism in Israel refers to the Hindu population in Israel. In 2020, about 0.01% of Israel's population were Hindus.[1]
A group of devotees is living in Katzir-Harish. Another Vaishnava community is in Israeli settlement in west bank in israeli-occupied territory of Ariel. It is spearheaded by Jagadish and his wife, Jugala-Priti, and serves a growing community of devotees from Russia who immigrated to Israel to escape the severe economic oppression in the CIS. Jugala-Priti joined the ISKCON center in Tel Aviv, in 1996 guided by Gunavatar and Varshabhanavi.[2]
Hindus are able to practice freely in the country. This is notably shown by the celebrations of Krishna Janmashtami. Plays are staged revolving around stories of Krishna's childhood, besides singing and dancing. The event is accompanied with a feast of 108 dishes, a number that has come to be identified as pious by the faithful.[3]
The organisers said they were inspired by Kumbh and started the event in Israel three years ago. Many of the visitors at the festival have been to India or are planning to visit. A number of youngsters could be seen taking Yoga classes and attending Hare Krishna lectures. Long queues were to be found outside the Indian ‘dhaba’ serving boiled rice and lentil soup. Middle aged couples, draped in Indian clothes, strolled the beach, young boys and girls drew circles on the soft sand while others surfed the morning sea.[4]
A Sai Organisation was officially established in Israel in 2001.[5]
The center is a branch of Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre International, founded by Swami Vishnudevananda, a direct disciple of Sri Swami Sivananda, of Rishikesh, India.
The center opened in 1971 and since then the center has been the largest and most comprehensive school in Israel for the study and practice of classical yoga in all its branches, including:
Since 1971, their activities have expanded significantly and more centers are now operating in the following cities
Thousands of Israelis have been trained as yoga teachers on behalf of the international organization and are working and teaching throughout the country.