Jewish Philanthropy in Bombay
Community Endowments
David Sassoon built the Magen David (Tent of David) synagogue in 1860 at Byculla close to his home Sans Souci. In this synagogue’s compound he also built a Jewish School for the children of his community members many of whose fathers worked for him.
Sir Jacob Sassoon School (built 1903) is in the compound of the Magen David synagogue. It was built by Sir Jacob Sassoon in place of the Jewish School built by grandfather David Sassoon. The new school was renamed after Sir Jacob then the biggest millowner in Bombay. It is a popular school today among the residents of Nagpada-Byculla, many of who are Muslim.
The Elisha Ezra Ezekiel Sassoon School or EEE Sassoon School is in the Magen David synagogue compound. There was a time when the Sir Jacob Sassoon School could not accommodate all Jewish students which necessitated the building of this school.
The Shaar Ha Rahamim (Gate of Mercy) synagogue (est. 1796) is the oldest synagogue in Mumbai. It was built as a thanksgiving by Samuel Ezekiel Divekar, a Bene Israel commandant in the English East India Company’s native regiments, after his life was spared by Tipu Sultan. He was captured by Tipu’s army during the Second Anglo-Mysore War.
The Sir Elly Kadoorie School in Mazagaon was the former Israelite School established in 1875 by Haeem Samuel Kehimkar, a Bene Israel educationist who is famous for writing the first comprehensive history of the Bene Israel. This school was renamed after the famous Shanghai and Hong Kong Baghdadi Jewish merchant Sir Elly Kadoorie after his substantial donation of 1933 that helped finance a new school building.
Keneseth Eliyahoo (Elijah’s Assembly Hall) synagogue in Fort (1884) was endowed and built by Sir Jacob Sassoon to cater to the Jewish employees of the many Sassoon offices located in the Fort precinct, and many Baghdadi families who now resided in nearby Colaba precinct.
Civic Philanthropy
The David Sassoon Mechanical Institute & Library (now David Sassoon Library) was endowed by David Sassoon during his lifetime but was completed later after his death in 1870. This library is located in Kala Ghoda – a precinct that takes its name from an equestrian statue of Prince Edward VII gifted to Mumbai by his eldest son Sir Albert Sassoon to mark the visit of the Prince of Wales to the city in 1872.
Sassoon Docks at Colaba was built by Sir Albert Sassoon in 1875. The city’s first private dock and a wet dock that enabled large ships to anchor alongside its pier. Sassoon Dock serviced the nearby Colaba Cotton Green from where bales of cotton from Bombay’s hinterland were brought to be exported overseas. It is today a major fishing dockyard from were big exporters, hotels and restaurants in the city source their fish.
The Elphinstone Technical High School at Dhobi Talao is housed in the grand Sassoon building that was financed by a donation of Rs 10 lakhs by Sir Albert Sassoon. It is today a government run institute for technical education.
The Gateway of India at Apollo Bunder was built to commemorate the visit of King George V and Queen Mary to Bombay in 1911. It was completed in December 1924. One of the biggest donors of this iconic city landmark was Sir Jacob Sassoon.
The Institute of Science (formerly Royal Institute of Science) building completed in 1924, also had Sir Jacob Sassoon as its biggest donor. It has recently come under the umbrella of the Dr. Homi Bhabha State University