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The Last Jews of Kerala: The 2,000 Year History of India's Forgotten Jewish Community
Two thousand years ago, trade routes and the fall of Jerusalem took Jewish settlers seeking sanctuary across Europe and Asia. One little-known group settled in Kerala, in tropical southwestern India. Eventually numbering in the thousands, with eight synagogues, they prospered. Some came to possess vast estates and plantations, and many enjoyed economic privilege and political influence. Their comfortable lives, however, were haunted by a feud between the Black Jews of Ernakulam and the White Jews of Mattancherry. Separated by a narrow stretch of swamp and the color of their skin, they locked in a rancorous feud for centuries, divided by racism and claims and counterclaims over who arrived first in their adopted land. Today, this once-illustrious people is in its dying days. Centuries of interbreeding and a latter-day Exodus from Kerala after Israel's creation in 1948 have shrunk the population. The Black and White Jews combined now number less than fifty, and only one synagogue remains. On the threshold of extinction, the two remaining Jewish communities of Kerala have come to realize that their destiny, and their undoing, is the same.
The Last Jews of Kerala narrates the rise and fall of the Black Jews and the White Jews over the centuries and within the context of the grand history of the Jewish people. It is the story of the twilight days of a people whose community will, within the next generation, cease to exist. Yet it is also a rich tale of weddings and funerals, of loyalty to family and fierce individualism, of desperation and hope.
The Last Jews of Kerala narrates the rise and fall of the Black Jews and the White Jews over the centuries and within the context of the grand history of the Jewish people. It is the story of the twilight days of a people whose community will, within the next generation, cease to exist. Yet it is also a rich tale of weddings and funerals, of loyalty to family and fierce individualism, of desperation and hope.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2008
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May 2, 2019
I have a small connection to this book. My father was engaged to an Indian Jewish woman whose father was the only importer of Tampax into that country! (But he married my mother instead). The premise of the book is that of the several Jewish communities in India, some of which have been there since the time of King Solomon and are documented in the bible, and who have lived entirely peacefully and as equal Indian citizens for thousands of years, are now disappearing because of the racism by the white Jews towards the older community of black jews in two particular communities - the Jews who live in the state of Kerala.
This part of the book is very interesting. The history of Haile Selassie's visit, the story of the 'kingship' and lands awarded to the Jews, the building of the town by a Rajah, where equidistant from his central palace there were holy buildings of the four religions, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Judaism and the peace with which all four religions coexisted from time immemorial to this day. Apart, that is, from the hiccup when the Portuguese came and conquered Goa after the Inquisition and foisted their particular anti-semitism on the local Jews (including the ones who had fled from the Inquisition) and then the Moors, whose brand of Islam was not the same as the Indian one, and they too were anti-semitic.
The main part of the book concerns the European Jews who fled the Inquisition and settled in India and then rewrote history declaring themselves the original community and that their whiteness proved their religious purity. Religious purity to Hindu India is the be-all and end-all of mortal and immortal life. These Jews tried for five centuries to get rabbis from different countries to lend their stance legitimacy, but failed but still persisted with their devise and revisionist stance. This is all very interesting.
But the whole premise fails because the Jews in these communities are dying and leaving their synagogues as tourist attractions because of the migration to Israel and also by migration to the cities by the young, not for any other reason. It happened in my own community - growing up in the South Wales valleys there were many tiny communities but one by one they have all gone or are dying as the children, myself included, left for the metropolises and Israel. Only the cities have vibrant communities now, in Wales and in India.
The last part of the book concerns the success or otherwise of some of the Kerali Jews who emigrated to Israel. It wasn't well-written, the stories were recited in a somewhat maudlin' fashion and there were factual errors (again!) about the religion. A better editor could have helped Fernandez to write a really cracking book and so perhaps its more the fault of the publishing house than of the author that the book was so flawed. Great cover though, and great cover art is always a plus to me.
This part of the book is very interesting. The history of Haile Selassie's visit, the story of the 'kingship' and lands awarded to the Jews, the building of the town by a Rajah, where equidistant from his central palace there were holy buildings of the four religions, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Judaism and the peace with which all four religions coexisted from time immemorial to this day. Apart, that is, from the hiccup when the Portuguese came and conquered Goa after the Inquisition and foisted their particular anti-semitism on the local Jews (including the ones who had fled from the Inquisition) and then the Moors, whose brand of Islam was not the same as the Indian one, and they too were anti-semitic.
The main part of the book concerns the European Jews who fled the Inquisition and settled in India and then rewrote history declaring themselves the original community and that their whiteness proved their religious purity. Religious purity to Hindu India is the be-all and end-all of mortal and immortal life. These Jews tried for five centuries to get rabbis from different countries to lend their stance legitimacy, but failed but still persisted with their devise and revisionist stance. This is all very interesting.
But the whole premise fails because the Jews in these communities are dying and leaving their synagogues as tourist attractions because of the migration to Israel and also by migration to the cities by the young, not for any other reason. It happened in my own community - growing up in the South Wales valleys there were many tiny communities but one by one they have all gone or are dying as the children, myself included, left for the metropolises and Israel. Only the cities have vibrant communities now, in Wales and in India.
The last part of the book concerns the success or otherwise of some of the Kerali Jews who emigrated to Israel. It wasn't well-written, the stories were recited in a somewhat maudlin' fashion and there were factual errors (again!) about the religion. A better editor could have helped Fernandez to write a really cracking book and so perhaps its more the fault of the publishing house than of the author that the book was so flawed. Great cover though, and great cover art is always a plus to me.
June 19, 2022
Fading Memories of a Once-Thriving Jewish Community
A brilliant portrait of India’s oldest Jewish community, which is believed to have descended from the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel. With a rich history dating back almost three thousand years ago to the arrival of King Solomon’s merchant seamen on the shores of South India, the Jewish community of Kerala had not only survived but also flourished in their newfound homeland. It’s laudable to note that unlike their diaspora counterparts in other parts of the world, the Jews of Kerala never faced persecution or antisemitism and lived in harmony with their neighbors of other faiths while maintaining a distinct religious identity and acclimatizing to the changing political shifts from the Cochin royal family to the Portuguese, Dutch, and British colonial powers, thereby enjoying a gilded existence with political and economic privileges. It’s fascinating to learn that the Jews excelled as traders, soldiers, farmers, carpenters, oil pressers, among other professions, and stayed close to Kerala’s kings until India’s princely states were incorporated into the newborn Republic of India in 1947.
British-Indian journalist Edna Fernandes immerses the reader into the world of the Jews of Kerala and wonderfully depicts their history, culture, cuisine, traditions, among other aspects of their lives. She takes us back in history to the times of Joseph Rabban, the oldest recorded ancestor of the Jews in Kerala, who was held in high regard by the local king and eventually was gifted a kingdom of his own. Edna then carefully dissects the centuries-old intra-religious tensions between the two feuding ethnic groups, the “Black” Malabari Jews, who arrived first, and the “White” Paradesi Jews, who immigrated after they were expelled from Spain. The distinction, which was based on skin color and had been a marker of religious purity, reflected the indigenous caste system of the Kerala Hindus (though such divisions violated Halakha) and engendered endogamy and discriminatory policies, gradually leading to the decline of the communities. It is rather unfortunate that the White Jews looked upon the Black Jews as “an inferior race and as not of a pure caste.” The irony is that the White Jews claimed racial superiority and created a split with their fellow Jews out of their desire for money and power, when, in reality, they themselves had come to India fleeing persecution in Europe. As the author notes, in the predominantly caste-ridden Hindu society of India, “purity was paramount and bestowed ascendancy in the social hierarchy as well as political and economic privilege.” Hence, it’s no surprise that the White Jews were favored by the Brahmin elite, who formed Cochin’s ruling class. While reading about this, it is inevitable to spot the parallels between the bitter rift between the Paradesi and the Malabari Jews in Kerala and the one between the Ashkenazi and the Mizrahi Jews in Israel.
Another way in which the Jews of Kerala differed from their coreligionists elsewhere was the fact that Zionism was branded on their collective consciousness even before the Holocaust. Although they were well integrated into the Indian society and respected, they lived as exiles and considered Kerala to be their “interim homeland” till their return to Israel. Regardless of this, the Jewish community had become an indelible part of the diverse fabric of India over two thousand years.
The author sheds light on Abraham Barak Salem, who was both a fervent Indian nationalist and a Zionist. Aptly called the “Jewish Gandhi,” he sought justice, using nonviolent means, for his fellow Black Jews who weren’t allowed to sit on the benches of the Paradesi Synagogue in Cochin’s Jew Town for four hundred years. It’s also worth noting that the 16th-century synagogue has the unique distinction of being visited by likes of Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, the Dalai Lama Lord Mountbatten, and other icons. Salem’s campaign for religious equality proved fruitful, breaking the color barrier and giving the Black Jews their due civil rights. He is indeed worthy of admiration, as he did not pursue political ambitions despite being lured into politics by none other than Jawaharlal Nehru himself, who was impressed by the former’s work.
Furthermore, the book discusses how the population of Cochin Jews had drastically dwindled over time, especially after the reestablishment of the State of Israel in 1948, which triggered a mass exodus. This, however, was not only due the collective zest of the Jews to return to Israel “after nourishing the dream of Jerusalem for millennia”, but also because of the poor economic prospects in the postcolonial milieu of India. Where the Jews once numbered in the thousands, only an abysmal few remained behind, being a reminder of what once was.” What is surprising is that the Jews of Kerala never gave up their unique culture and customs even after they made the Aliyah, wherein they left the rich natural environment of Kerala and settled in moshavs across the desert landscape of Israel. However, as the author points out, the old Cochin life of the Jews had been diluted and “absorbed into the pan-Israeli national identity.” Intriguingly, the Cochin Jews made significant contributions to build Israel and sowed the seeds to the horticultural industry, which is among the country’s major industries.
Edna Fernandes briefly discusses other Indian Jewish communities, including the Bene Israel and the Baghdadi Jews, who were spread across the cities of Bombay and Calcutta. The book also features interviews with Cochin Jews who have their own stories to tell — bittersweet stories that evoke a range of emotions. Those who still live in Cochin express sadness over their diminishing numbers while those who had immigrated to Israel are nostalgic about the good old days in India. Migrating from a country where they lived secured lives, the Jews were disenchanted by the perpetual insecurity and conflict in Israel’s siege-like atmosphere. India, for all its faults, had offered the community a peaceful sanctuary for millennia. In stark contrast to the Cochin Jews, who had maintained good relations with the Muslims back in India, most of the Israeli Jews had tumultuous relations with their Muslim compatriots and neighbors. Moreover, Israel’s secular Westernized society, where religion often took a backseat and Jewish observances were ignored, was culturally different from the Jewish way of life in India, where religion permeated everyday life.
Overall, The Last Jews of Kerala is an exceptionally researched historical account that documents the rise and eventual decline of a lesser-known Jewish community. Though only a remnant of their once-glorious past remains, the legacy of the Jews of Kerala lives on.
A brilliant portrait of India’s oldest Jewish community, which is believed to have descended from the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel. With a rich history dating back almost three thousand years ago to the arrival of King Solomon’s merchant seamen on the shores of South India, the Jewish community of Kerala had not only survived but also flourished in their newfound homeland. It’s laudable to note that unlike their diaspora counterparts in other parts of the world, the Jews of Kerala never faced persecution or antisemitism and lived in harmony with their neighbors of other faiths while maintaining a distinct religious identity and acclimatizing to the changing political shifts from the Cochin royal family to the Portuguese, Dutch, and British colonial powers, thereby enjoying a gilded existence with political and economic privileges. It’s fascinating to learn that the Jews excelled as traders, soldiers, farmers, carpenters, oil pressers, among other professions, and stayed close to Kerala’s kings until India’s princely states were incorporated into the newborn Republic of India in 1947.
British-Indian journalist Edna Fernandes immerses the reader into the world of the Jews of Kerala and wonderfully depicts their history, culture, cuisine, traditions, among other aspects of their lives. She takes us back in history to the times of Joseph Rabban, the oldest recorded ancestor of the Jews in Kerala, who was held in high regard by the local king and eventually was gifted a kingdom of his own. Edna then carefully dissects the centuries-old intra-religious tensions between the two feuding ethnic groups, the “Black” Malabari Jews, who arrived first, and the “White” Paradesi Jews, who immigrated after they were expelled from Spain. The distinction, which was based on skin color and had been a marker of religious purity, reflected the indigenous caste system of the Kerala Hindus (though such divisions violated Halakha) and engendered endogamy and discriminatory policies, gradually leading to the decline of the communities. It is rather unfortunate that the White Jews looked upon the Black Jews as “an inferior race and as not of a pure caste.” The irony is that the White Jews claimed racial superiority and created a split with their fellow Jews out of their desire for money and power, when, in reality, they themselves had come to India fleeing persecution in Europe. As the author notes, in the predominantly caste-ridden Hindu society of India, “purity was paramount and bestowed ascendancy in the social hierarchy as well as political and economic privilege.” Hence, it’s no surprise that the White Jews were favored by the Brahmin elite, who formed Cochin’s ruling class. While reading about this, it is inevitable to spot the parallels between the bitter rift between the Paradesi and the Malabari Jews in Kerala and the one between the Ashkenazi and the Mizrahi Jews in Israel.
Another way in which the Jews of Kerala differed from their coreligionists elsewhere was the fact that Zionism was branded on their collective consciousness even before the Holocaust. Although they were well integrated into the Indian society and respected, they lived as exiles and considered Kerala to be their “interim homeland” till their return to Israel. Regardless of this, the Jewish community had become an indelible part of the diverse fabric of India over two thousand years.
The author sheds light on Abraham Barak Salem, who was both a fervent Indian nationalist and a Zionist. Aptly called the “Jewish Gandhi,” he sought justice, using nonviolent means, for his fellow Black Jews who weren’t allowed to sit on the benches of the Paradesi Synagogue in Cochin’s Jew Town for four hundred years. It’s also worth noting that the 16th-century synagogue has the unique distinction of being visited by likes of Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, the Dalai Lama Lord Mountbatten, and other icons. Salem’s campaign for religious equality proved fruitful, breaking the color barrier and giving the Black Jews their due civil rights. He is indeed worthy of admiration, as he did not pursue political ambitions despite being lured into politics by none other than Jawaharlal Nehru himself, who was impressed by the former’s work.
Furthermore, the book discusses how the population of Cochin Jews had drastically dwindled over time, especially after the reestablishment of the State of Israel in 1948, which triggered a mass exodus. This, however, was not only due the collective zest of the Jews to return to Israel “after nourishing the dream of Jerusalem for millennia”, but also because of the poor economic prospects in the postcolonial milieu of India. Where the Jews once numbered in the thousands, only an abysmal few remained behind, being a reminder of what once was.” What is surprising is that the Jews of Kerala never gave up their unique culture and customs even after they made the Aliyah, wherein they left the rich natural environment of Kerala and settled in moshavs across the desert landscape of Israel. However, as the author points out, the old Cochin life of the Jews had been diluted and “absorbed into the pan-Israeli national identity.” Intriguingly, the Cochin Jews made significant contributions to build Israel and sowed the seeds to the horticultural industry, which is among the country’s major industries.
Edna Fernandes briefly discusses other Indian Jewish communities, including the Bene Israel and the Baghdadi Jews, who were spread across the cities of Bombay and Calcutta. The book also features interviews with Cochin Jews who have their own stories to tell — bittersweet stories that evoke a range of emotions. Those who still live in Cochin express sadness over their diminishing numbers while those who had immigrated to Israel are nostalgic about the good old days in India. Migrating from a country where they lived secured lives, the Jews were disenchanted by the perpetual insecurity and conflict in Israel’s siege-like atmosphere. India, for all its faults, had offered the community a peaceful sanctuary for millennia. In stark contrast to the Cochin Jews, who had maintained good relations with the Muslims back in India, most of the Israeli Jews had tumultuous relations with their Muslim compatriots and neighbors. Moreover, Israel’s secular Westernized society, where religion often took a backseat and Jewish observances were ignored, was culturally different from the Jewish way of life in India, where religion permeated everyday life.
Overall, The Last Jews of Kerala is an exceptionally researched historical account that documents the rise and eventual decline of a lesser-known Jewish community. Though only a remnant of their once-glorious past remains, the legacy of the Jews of Kerala lives on.
August 15, 2012
This is my second time reading this book. Some may find it a bit opinionated others will love the history that is relayed to the reader in this book. Big question here is what causes a community or society to fold. The author points to community dissension and an apartheid type apparatus operating in the Cochini Jewish community. There are two groups of Jews in Kerala, one is a darker skinned almost Indian looking Jew and another one which hail form Europe is of lighter complexion. The lighter complected Jews find themselves feeling superior to the other Jews and have excluded them from participating in the synagogue, will not eat from their restaurants and intermarriage between the two groups is absolutely forbidden. Jewish racism against other Jews is not something new. White Jews or European Jews have been been constantly discriminating against darker Jews since god knows how long.For poignant example one need look at how the Yemenite Jews were treated or the Moroccan Jews were treated. The Israeli Government had the audacity to kidnap 5,000 Yemenite babies and sell them abroad. Moroccan Jews were subjected to radiological experiments. Look up "Ringworm children" on the internet. The Bene Israel Jews have been at many times called "non Jews"despite several thousands of years of practice. The racism goes on.
Jews first came to India in the time of King Solomon. Traders settled there and took on Indians wives and had children with them . This was the nucleus of one of the Indian Jewish communities. This community would later be supplemented by refugees from the Babylonian Exile an the Roman exile in 70 CE. The Paradesi Jews from Spain arrived during the inquisition. Later on they would proclaim themselves the original community and would look down upon their darker brethren . Joseph Rabban who both Jews claim descent from was sort of like a Jewish governor. He helped one on the Rajas in battle and was given control over several villages. The copper tablet are held in a Paradesi synagogue. The darker Jews claim it was stolen from them. This is a major sticking point between the two communities.
Barriers started to break down during the Ghandi years when Avo Salem turned down a lucrative career in politics and fought a battle on behalf of his brethren. Against the Paradesi. He started slowly to enter the synagogue little bit by little bit until his community gain full recognition and were given a place. Avo's sons Balfour and Gamy would also marry Paradesi women. The women were ostracized to be sure. Some fought back really hard while others just went with the flow.
Edna Flores visited this community while she was pregnant with her child. The community was dwindling in India and was in it's last days. But in Israel those that went there in most cases thrived. They were building profitable businesses in the Negev desert. One guy name Abraham did want to move back to India as the spiritual life in Israel was some what lacking.
Jews first came to India in the time of King Solomon. Traders settled there and took on Indians wives and had children with them . This was the nucleus of one of the Indian Jewish communities. This community would later be supplemented by refugees from the Babylonian Exile an the Roman exile in 70 CE. The Paradesi Jews from Spain arrived during the inquisition. Later on they would proclaim themselves the original community and would look down upon their darker brethren . Joseph Rabban who both Jews claim descent from was sort of like a Jewish governor. He helped one on the Rajas in battle and was given control over several villages. The copper tablet are held in a Paradesi synagogue. The darker Jews claim it was stolen from them. This is a major sticking point between the two communities.
Barriers started to break down during the Ghandi years when Avo Salem turned down a lucrative career in politics and fought a battle on behalf of his brethren. Against the Paradesi. He started slowly to enter the synagogue little bit by little bit until his community gain full recognition and were given a place. Avo's sons Balfour and Gamy would also marry Paradesi women. The women were ostracized to be sure. Some fought back really hard while others just went with the flow.
Edna Flores visited this community while she was pregnant with her child. The community was dwindling in India and was in it's last days. But in Israel those that went there in most cases thrived. They were building profitable businesses in the Negev desert. One guy name Abraham did want to move back to India as the spiritual life in Israel was some what lacking.
March 19, 2016
Judaism is one of the world’s oldest religions, but it is also one which is persecuted the most. Without sounding anti-Semitic, a plausible reason for this prejudice is the fierce religious zeal of many of its adherents and the belief that they are the only chosen people of god. With a history stretching to the time of Pharaohs, the Jews suffered at the hands of every bigot, every dictator and every psychotic ruler. The Holocaust, in which nearly six million Jews were exterminated in Europe during the Second World War is very recent episode, when compared to the long Jewish history on earth. There was only one place in the globe where they were not discriminated against, and in fact was encouraged to stay and prosper. India is the only country where the Jews were welcomed and absorbed into its multi-pointed society. Kerala is a small coastal state in the south-western periphery of India, where Jewish presence is attested even before Christ. After a prosperous life spanning three millennia, the society decided to transplant themselves to the desert soil of the new state of Israel when it was formed in 1948. This book tells the sad story of the Jews remaining in Kerala, who are members of a society whose doom is sure to materialize in the near future. There are not sufficient men and women of marriageable age and the lack of partners drive many youngsters to emigrate to Israel. The aged have decided to stay put in their homeland for the duration of their lives. Among a slew of people intent on occupying their possessions once the last one of them dies, this set of octogenarians live on peacefully in Cochin. It also tells the story of the strife and discrimination within the Jewish community itself, between Whites and Blacks. It ends with a survey on the lives of people who had taken domicile in Israel and how they feel now, after a few decades in the land where milk and honey flow. Edna Fernandes is a British writer who was born in Nairobi and grew up in London. A former foreign correspondent for the Financial Times and political correspondent for Reuters in London, her articles have been reproduced in newspapers around the world.
There were many streams of Jewish immigration to Kerala. Trade relations existed between Malabar coast and ancient Palestine under king Solomon. Descendants of such traders lived in Kerala for a long time. Their habitat was Cranganore (present-day Kodungallur) on the western coast in medieval times. Cranganore’s provenance as a major port suffered a devastating blow in 1341, when the great monsoon floods silted up the harbour and the course of the Periyar river altered to the south. Cochin (present-day Kochi) shot up in reputation as a natural harbour after this event. The Jews migrated south to Kochi, Chennamangalam and Parur. The community reveres an ancient patriarch named Joseph Rabban, who is considered the founding father of the community in Kerala. The book claims that Rabban was acknowledged to be the king of Anjuvannam village according to a copper plate granted by king Bhaskara Ravi Varma, now stored in the Mattanchery Synagogue. This is alluded to be the Jewish kingdom of Shingly. However, Anjuvannam is a trade guild as can be seen from other historical texts catering to this period and its leadership implies only that the Jewish patriarch was a merchant leader. A great exodus from Palestine took place after 70 CE, when the second temple at Jerusalem was destroyed by Roman troops as a consequence of crushing a Jewish uprising. The author claims that a section of the Jews migrated also during the destruction of the first temple in 586 BCE by Nebuchadnezzar.
One of man’s basic instincts seems to discriminate among his brethren. How can such an unhealthy custom develop otherwise among the Jews of Kerala, who differentiated into two groups: the white-skinned ones called Paradesi (foreigner) and the blacks being called Malabari (Keralites). Such discrimination was against the basic tenets of Judaism, scrupulous though the Whites were, in observing rituals ordained by custom. Another outrageous fact was that the Whites arrived in Cochin only in the 16th century CE to escape the persecution in Europe ordained by the Inquisition. These were fair skinned – being Europeans – and usurped the legacy of their native born co-religionists whose skin colour and physique was exactly matching with other Keralites, since the community was living in Kerala for three millennia, and they mingled with the indigenous population. White Jews claimed the legacy of Joseph Rabban, and their clever ploys could hoodwink the Raja of Cochin and imperial administration by making false claims that the blacks were the descendants of slaves attached to merchant vessels which plied in the Arabian sea. They set in motion a form of apartheid that put the South African variety to shame. And this was when the Jewish community was widely persecuted everywhere! Intermarriage between the two communities was strictly prohibited. The Black Jews were not even allowed to pray in the main hall of the Mattanchery Synagogue, which was under the Whites’ effective control. While the Paradesis sat on benches, the Malabaris were relegated to an anteroom, where they were allowed to sit on the floor and pray! Rebellion flared up among the oppressed, under the leadership of Abraham Barak Salem, also called ‘Jewish Gandhi’ as he was a lawyer and worked in the Congress party, having close ties with Gandhi and Nehru, which prompted him to adopt non-violent passive resistance to bring about the downfall of apartheid by one Jewish community against another. When Israel was formed in 1948, it allowed brotherhood of Jews of all races, without insisting on skin tone as a qualifying parameter. This definitely ended the practice of segregation even though Fernandes narrates the story of a couple who married across the communities and had to face ostracism from their white neighbours. Kerala Jews had adopted many of the customs prevalent in their adopted homeland like wearing dhotis, use of Malayalam language, Kerala cuisine and even the use of tali, a piece of gold locket tied by the groom around his bride’s neck as a marriage ritual. The author hints that along with all these, the communities might have imbibed the spirit of untouchability which was all pervading in Hinduism, where people with pale complexion were regarded as upper-castes having superior privileges.
The book depends heavily on other books on Kerala Jewry in its narrative. True to the vocation of the author, it demonstrates narration skills inalienable to a journalist, rather than displaying profound analytical insight of a thinker. Even though an Indian, the author exhibits typical characteristics of foreign authors when describing the Indian countryside and society. Surprisingly for the readers stationed in Kerala, the author’s development of scenic background of events is not honest enough. It is as if she had prepared the description beforehand. The book describes the unloading of cargo from the backs of mules in Ernakulam market (pitiful mules bent low beneath their parcels like put-upon husbands, p.72). Considering the fact that Fernandes’ visit to the city was in 2006, this account is simply a lie, and incorporated to satisfy somebody’s mental picture of how an Indian city should look like, even in the 21st century. Draught animals are not being used in Ernakulam for nearly five decades now. Similar is the case of the sentry at Mattanchery police station near the synagogue, who is said to be dozing off at 11 am on most days. Anyone who is familiar with the area knows that the station is a rather busy one, and there is no question of an officer sleeping in daytime in broad public view. This is another case of stereo typifying Indian ideas. The entire narrative in the book is worn out, without rising to the level of evoking feelings in readers’ minds. The custodians of the synagogue even deny permission to her to make an interview! Anyway, her visit to Israel to meet the Cochin Jews migrated there, is the only saving grace of the work. Nevatim settlement is the biggest cluster of Kerala Jews, but many are stationed in Jerusalem also. The author successfully elicits emotions of both kinds in the immigrants. All of them moved to the Jewish homeland sharing a lofty, though partisan ideal of setting up a theocratic state there. Subtle discrimination on the basis of skin colour is prevalent there too, but Kerala’s Jews know how to manage it effectively. Many of them are however disillusioned with the model of a secular society, whereas almost all of the Cochin Jews were very devoted to their faith. Added to that is the security concerns associated with everyday life in Israel. The Jews were never discriminated against in Kerala, even though we read about a few occasions in which they were the aggressors. A part of the emigrants wants to come back to India, and their experience on reaching Indian soil is touching – “Even though it’s my holy land, I was happy to be coming home. You know that smell when you step off the plane in India? That dirty diesel smell! I can’t tell you how happy I was to breathe my country into my lungs. I’m Jewish, but I’m also Indian” (p.90).
The book is recommended.
There were many streams of Jewish immigration to Kerala. Trade relations existed between Malabar coast and ancient Palestine under king Solomon. Descendants of such traders lived in Kerala for a long time. Their habitat was Cranganore (present-day Kodungallur) on the western coast in medieval times. Cranganore’s provenance as a major port suffered a devastating blow in 1341, when the great monsoon floods silted up the harbour and the course of the Periyar river altered to the south. Cochin (present-day Kochi) shot up in reputation as a natural harbour after this event. The Jews migrated south to Kochi, Chennamangalam and Parur. The community reveres an ancient patriarch named Joseph Rabban, who is considered the founding father of the community in Kerala. The book claims that Rabban was acknowledged to be the king of Anjuvannam village according to a copper plate granted by king Bhaskara Ravi Varma, now stored in the Mattanchery Synagogue. This is alluded to be the Jewish kingdom of Shingly. However, Anjuvannam is a trade guild as can be seen from other historical texts catering to this period and its leadership implies only that the Jewish patriarch was a merchant leader. A great exodus from Palestine took place after 70 CE, when the second temple at Jerusalem was destroyed by Roman troops as a consequence of crushing a Jewish uprising. The author claims that a section of the Jews migrated also during the destruction of the first temple in 586 BCE by Nebuchadnezzar.
One of man’s basic instincts seems to discriminate among his brethren. How can such an unhealthy custom develop otherwise among the Jews of Kerala, who differentiated into two groups: the white-skinned ones called Paradesi (foreigner) and the blacks being called Malabari (Keralites). Such discrimination was against the basic tenets of Judaism, scrupulous though the Whites were, in observing rituals ordained by custom. Another outrageous fact was that the Whites arrived in Cochin only in the 16th century CE to escape the persecution in Europe ordained by the Inquisition. These were fair skinned – being Europeans – and usurped the legacy of their native born co-religionists whose skin colour and physique was exactly matching with other Keralites, since the community was living in Kerala for three millennia, and they mingled with the indigenous population. White Jews claimed the legacy of Joseph Rabban, and their clever ploys could hoodwink the Raja of Cochin and imperial administration by making false claims that the blacks were the descendants of slaves attached to merchant vessels which plied in the Arabian sea. They set in motion a form of apartheid that put the South African variety to shame. And this was when the Jewish community was widely persecuted everywhere! Intermarriage between the two communities was strictly prohibited. The Black Jews were not even allowed to pray in the main hall of the Mattanchery Synagogue, which was under the Whites’ effective control. While the Paradesis sat on benches, the Malabaris were relegated to an anteroom, where they were allowed to sit on the floor and pray! Rebellion flared up among the oppressed, under the leadership of Abraham Barak Salem, also called ‘Jewish Gandhi’ as he was a lawyer and worked in the Congress party, having close ties with Gandhi and Nehru, which prompted him to adopt non-violent passive resistance to bring about the downfall of apartheid by one Jewish community against another. When Israel was formed in 1948, it allowed brotherhood of Jews of all races, without insisting on skin tone as a qualifying parameter. This definitely ended the practice of segregation even though Fernandes narrates the story of a couple who married across the communities and had to face ostracism from their white neighbours. Kerala Jews had adopted many of the customs prevalent in their adopted homeland like wearing dhotis, use of Malayalam language, Kerala cuisine and even the use of tali, a piece of gold locket tied by the groom around his bride’s neck as a marriage ritual. The author hints that along with all these, the communities might have imbibed the spirit of untouchability which was all pervading in Hinduism, where people with pale complexion were regarded as upper-castes having superior privileges.
The book depends heavily on other books on Kerala Jewry in its narrative. True to the vocation of the author, it demonstrates narration skills inalienable to a journalist, rather than displaying profound analytical insight of a thinker. Even though an Indian, the author exhibits typical characteristics of foreign authors when describing the Indian countryside and society. Surprisingly for the readers stationed in Kerala, the author’s development of scenic background of events is not honest enough. It is as if she had prepared the description beforehand. The book describes the unloading of cargo from the backs of mules in Ernakulam market (pitiful mules bent low beneath their parcels like put-upon husbands, p.72). Considering the fact that Fernandes’ visit to the city was in 2006, this account is simply a lie, and incorporated to satisfy somebody’s mental picture of how an Indian city should look like, even in the 21st century. Draught animals are not being used in Ernakulam for nearly five decades now. Similar is the case of the sentry at Mattanchery police station near the synagogue, who is said to be dozing off at 11 am on most days. Anyone who is familiar with the area knows that the station is a rather busy one, and there is no question of an officer sleeping in daytime in broad public view. This is another case of stereo typifying Indian ideas. The entire narrative in the book is worn out, without rising to the level of evoking feelings in readers’ minds. The custodians of the synagogue even deny permission to her to make an interview! Anyway, her visit to Israel to meet the Cochin Jews migrated there, is the only saving grace of the work. Nevatim settlement is the biggest cluster of Kerala Jews, but many are stationed in Jerusalem also. The author successfully elicits emotions of both kinds in the immigrants. All of them moved to the Jewish homeland sharing a lofty, though partisan ideal of setting up a theocratic state there. Subtle discrimination on the basis of skin colour is prevalent there too, but Kerala’s Jews know how to manage it effectively. Many of them are however disillusioned with the model of a secular society, whereas almost all of the Cochin Jews were very devoted to their faith. Added to that is the security concerns associated with everyday life in Israel. The Jews were never discriminated against in Kerala, even though we read about a few occasions in which they were the aggressors. A part of the emigrants wants to come back to India, and their experience on reaching Indian soil is touching – “Even though it’s my holy land, I was happy to be coming home. You know that smell when you step off the plane in India? That dirty diesel smell! I can’t tell you how happy I was to breathe my country into my lungs. I’m Jewish, but I’m also Indian” (p.90).
The book is recommended.
August 15, 2015
This book tells the story of a disappearing Jewish community in southern, tropical India, with sensitivity and attention to different historical narratives. The last chapter is also an interesting glimpse into the different experiences of Jews living in Israel, and the conflict between religious homeland v.s. India as home, as well as religious coexistence v.s. conflict. I enjoyed this book, which serves as a reminder of the complexities of religious and cultural diversity in different parts of the world, as well as the surprising connections you can find between places and people. I will definitely try to visit Kerala.
January 26, 2016
Interesting subject but not brilliantly written
July 9, 2022
I currently live in India (Mumbai) and have visited Israel many times, yet I had little idea about the vanishing Jewish community in India (I haven’t been to Kochin yet) and was not aware of the Indian community in Israel. I learned quite a bit about both through this book, which I quite randomly came across in a bookstore in Scotland!
I agree with other reviewers that there was some repetition among chapters - almost as if each were written as a separate essay and then put together in a book. Yet it was only a minor distraction.
The jump to Israel felt more abrupt than the author intended, yet it provided a valuable perspective. However, it seemed much less researched and more purely anecdotal (aside from a bit of historical background) than the accounts of life in India.
I also recently read “The Girl from Foreign,” (about the Bene Israel, mentioned in this book). I recommend reading both.
I agree with other reviewers that there was some repetition among chapters - almost as if each were written as a separate essay and then put together in a book. Yet it was only a minor distraction.
The jump to Israel felt more abrupt than the author intended, yet it provided a valuable perspective. However, it seemed much less researched and more purely anecdotal (aside from a bit of historical background) than the accounts of life in India.
I also recently read “The Girl from Foreign,” (about the Bene Israel, mentioned in this book). I recommend reading both.
January 8, 2022
"The Malabar coastline has long been a thriving commercial centre. It was in this place that the first merchant Jews made their permanent home. The Black Jews, those of darker complexion and mixed ethnic lineage after intermarrying with the Indians, are said to date back to Solomon's time and today they are settled on the mainland of Ernakulam. The White Jews, of more recent ancestry mostly dating to the early sixteenth century and hailing from Europe, eventually settled in Mattancheri." (Fernandes)
This book was an interesting discovery that gave me insight into a part of the world and population movements that I did not know much about. It reads easily and delves into the lives, trials and tribulations of the last Jews of Kerala, in India, a dying (or perhaps now defunct?) community imbued with rituals, religiosity and racial issues. The context and the interactions with the local population, the geography and historic events are what makes this work appealing to me. The author follows a few families and characters and we sit in their homes or their synagogue as their millennial saga develops watching them describe their day to day life, passions, loves and frustrations across the years. It is not what I would call an academically well researched book, and relies on many a prior sources extensively. Still, it is a good introduction to the subject and a pleasant read as it is clear the author is very passionate about it herself.
This book was an interesting discovery that gave me insight into a part of the world and population movements that I did not know much about. It reads easily and delves into the lives, trials and tribulations of the last Jews of Kerala, in India, a dying (or perhaps now defunct?) community imbued with rituals, religiosity and racial issues. The context and the interactions with the local population, the geography and historic events are what makes this work appealing to me. The author follows a few families and characters and we sit in their homes or their synagogue as their millennial saga develops watching them describe their day to day life, passions, loves and frustrations across the years. It is not what I would call an academically well researched book, and relies on many a prior sources extensively. Still, it is a good introduction to the subject and a pleasant read as it is clear the author is very passionate about it herself.
December 24, 2021
The Last Jews of Kerala: The 2,000 Year History of India’s Forgotten Jewish Community, lives up to its title but not the subtitle. Journalist Edna Fernandes reflects her primary career by creating a book that is primarily a collection of interviews of Kerala Jews with about two chapters that provide a Wikipedia sized amount of historical context. The interviews thus were the core of the book and while these personal narratives could have been the book’s strength, they too fell short. Fernandes usually painted her subjects in a negative light making most of them come off as pessimistic, prejudicial and petty. Only her last few chapters, especially the one on the Negev Desert, were good at showing likable individuals with interesting stories, which reflect on the story of the Kerala Jews. On top of that the book was highly repetitive and just poorly written. My hope is it could encourage someone to write a more comprehensive history on the subject, or a more passionate narrative on the last Jews of Kerala.
April 14, 2022
The last Jews of Kerala by Edna is highly informative, descriptive and heartbreaking; history, lineage and the current dire plight of the Jews in Kerala. It is the sad story of the meagre number of the last remaining Jews of Kerala.
I read the book with a regret of not knowing anything about the story or history of a community that was so close to me by location.
We are such ignorant people.
I got goosebumps while reading about them being the last. As the author rightly says about the unavoidable epithet – last to them and their environment
I felt at times the facts were stated randomly and repetitively.
I read the book with a regret of not knowing anything about the story or history of a community that was so close to me by location.
We are such ignorant people.
I got goosebumps while reading about them being the last. As the author rightly says about the unavoidable epithet – last to them and their environment
I felt at times the facts were stated randomly and repetitively.
June 19, 2022
The premise of this book really caught my attention as I love history. However this book was not well written and by chapter three I was pretty much done with the writer repeating the same old spiel about how many were left how all of them old or unmarried. Could not stomach having to sift through much of the same content for the interesting tid bits. I felt like the writer needed to make a word count and just repeated the same info numerous times.
May 23, 2009
Poorly written, poorly copy edited; as story research it was fluffy.
March 18, 2022
Very detailed. Amazingly in depth personal stories, showcasing different standings within a secluded community.
February 17, 2023
The Last Jews of Kerala is a bittersweet book. I will admit that I knew little about the Jewish communities in India. I think I had heard something about them, but I didn't remember any details. To find out that there had been large communities of Jews in India that were thoroughly ingrained in Indian culture and daily life was surprising. It made me a little sad that the community in Kerala was dying, but I kept reminding myself that those Jews who moved to Israel were going back to the Promised Land of their forefathers after a long exile.
The experiences of a few of those Cochin Jews who moved to Israel are included in the last couple of chapters. I actually found those to be the most fascinating. Some loved it and blended into their new life. Others were homesick for India to the point of returning to Cochin. I wish more of the experiences of the Cochin Jews in Israel had been included. I think it might have made the book a little more hopeful. But, the overall feeling is one of melancholy. The synagogue in Kerala will remain as a reminder of the important part the Jewish community played in the history of the city, but it will be a museum devoid of the centuries of religious services that were the center of the life for so many people.
The explanations of how the caste system in India forced the "white" Jews and "black" Jews to be separate so the "white" Jews could retain their higher status was interesting. I don't think that I realized that lighter skin was one of the signs of a higher caste in India. I associate that more with Europeans and Americans, so I wasn't expecting skin color to be the focus of so much of the book. But, the story of how love and steadfast determination broke down the barriers to allow the "black" Jews to pray in the "white" synagogue is the best part of the book.
Overall the book was less academic that I expected, so it was more of a story that an anthropology exercise. That made it a more pleasant read, but there are parts that are painful and I did have to pause every so often. The Last Jews of Kerala is definitely worth reading, but it is may not be for everyone.
The experiences of a few of those Cochin Jews who moved to Israel are included in the last couple of chapters. I actually found those to be the most fascinating. Some loved it and blended into their new life. Others were homesick for India to the point of returning to Cochin. I wish more of the experiences of the Cochin Jews in Israel had been included. I think it might have made the book a little more hopeful. But, the overall feeling is one of melancholy. The synagogue in Kerala will remain as a reminder of the important part the Jewish community played in the history of the city, but it will be a museum devoid of the centuries of religious services that were the center of the life for so many people.
The explanations of how the caste system in India forced the "white" Jews and "black" Jews to be separate so the "white" Jews could retain their higher status was interesting. I don't think that I realized that lighter skin was one of the signs of a higher caste in India. I associate that more with Europeans and Americans, so I wasn't expecting skin color to be the focus of so much of the book. But, the story of how love and steadfast determination broke down the barriers to allow the "black" Jews to pray in the "white" synagogue is the best part of the book.
Overall the book was less academic that I expected, so it was more of a story that an anthropology exercise. That made it a more pleasant read, but there are parts that are painful and I did have to pause every so often. The Last Jews of Kerala is definitely worth reading, but it is may not be for everyone.
September 2, 2022
This is no doubt, an interesting book about a thrilling subject - the tiny pocket of Jews in the deep South of India and on the corner of the Western Coast. The prose has a Dalrymple-like ring to it - excited and inviting. However the issue with the book for me was the repetition that it succumbs to: at the core is a superb, tragic, but at the same barely surprising conflict and it is of the two kinds of Jews within Kerala (and within the urban limits of Kochi), the black Jews and white Jews named primarily for their colour. They are divided on origin stories, economic power, geographical location today, and larger social relations (the line between them gets mapped on to the caste system; what to me was particularly intriguing is the exact parallel story to do with the two kinds of Thomas Christians who also have bought into caste fully). However within a few anecdotes in, we are given a sufficient glimpse of the world of the Pardesi Synagogue and the deeper Ernakulam (the narrative about the Gandhian of Jew Town is inspiring also) and I was left asking for deeper probing from the author. There is sadly hence not too much the reader can learn after a point.
This of course takes a turn when the question of Israel comes up - not surprisingly the Black Jews only yearn for their time back on the other side of the Sea. One can also not help but once again fall in love with Kerala.
This of course takes a turn when the question of Israel comes up - not surprisingly the Black Jews only yearn for their time back on the other side of the Sea. One can also not help but once again fall in love with Kerala.
March 21, 2021
The last Jew of Kerala discuss regarding present and past of Jewish history of Kerala. History of Jew in kerala dates back from King Solomon. Raw materials for Temple Mount was Procured from Cranganore (Kodungalor) which was famous for port Muzaris. These Jews who come during era of King Solomon and married locals and settled in Kerala as merchants where known as Black Jews or Malabari jews.Following expulsion from Iberia in 1492 Jews from Portugese and Spain migrated to Cochin and settled as Paradesi Jews (Foreign jews).
There was Appartied between these community and they followed strict doctrine. They even didn't marry from other communities which made the population to shrink.
After Indian Independence and formation of Israel. These communities moved back to Israel leaving some people only in Kerala.Similiar to Operation Magic Carpet in Yemen, Kerala Jews also immigrated to Israel which made Jews in Kerala less than 1000 peoples.
There was Appartied between these community and they followed strict doctrine. They even didn't marry from other communities which made the population to shrink.
After Indian Independence and formation of Israel. These communities moved back to Israel leaving some people only in Kerala.Similiar to Operation Magic Carpet in Yemen, Kerala Jews also immigrated to Israel which made Jews in Kerala less than 1000 peoples.
February 12, 2018
This is an interesting book about two small Jewish remnant communities who live in Cochin, Kerala, India but are divided by their supposed racial differences. The communities have lived in India since Biblical times but the Black Jews and the White Jews have less than 100 members each. We find out the history of the communities, personalities in the communities and how this animosity started despite no prejudice against them from the non-Jewish Indian population. After bringing out the personalities and the history, she finishes the book in Israel where the majority of the Kerala Jewish population has migrated. There she finds that while they feel at home religiously in Israel, many long to return to their beautiful former homes in Kerala. The story is told in an easy and relaxed style, which I enjoyed, but many may find less scholarly.
May 20, 2025
Highly readable. I particularly like Fernandez's approach to interviewing living elders of the surviving Kerala Jews of various communities, focused on those in the Cochin (Kochi) region. It gives the reader a more intimate take on a 2000-year history of living in India through their eyes. Having lived in Kerala over 50 years ago, I enjoyed this visit back to this lively coastal state where a number of faiths have co-existed peacefully for centuries. Unfortunately, it has been the internal divisions barring intermarriage between communities that originated from different in-migrations as much as the draw of the aliyah, the return to Israel, that has led to the decline of their population in Kerala.
September 1, 2023
India is a land of diversity which has accepted people of different faiths over a period of time. Jews came to India in two trenches: 1) Two thousand years back for trading 2) Some five hundred years back to save themselves from the persecution. Kerala, a southern state of India, used to have a vibrant Jewish community once upon a time. (Mumbai still has some thousands of Baghdadi and Bene Israel Jews.)But, after the creation of Israel, many of the Jews of Kerala chose to do aliyah and go back to Israel, their promised land.
The local Jewish community in India was already segregated and following apartheid inside themselves. White Jews (Paradesi) have Middle Eastern complexion and claimed purity. Whereas Black Jews (Malabari) are the ones having Indian complexion. The White Jews didn't allow their children to marry the Black Jews, didn't allow Black Jews to enter in their synagogue, and practised many such discriminatory rituals. Abraham Salem, the Jewish Gandhi as he was called, fought against it.
The migration and the apartheid caused the population decline of Jews in Kerala. Only the last few are remaining. The book is an account of interviews of the last days of the survival of this distinct community in India. The author stayed with them in Kerala, did a detailed discussion, interviewed most of them, and narrated their perspectives in this book.
Though some details are repeated, and the structure is vague sometimes, the book is an excellent read to know the history and sociology of a unique community that got blended into this land of seven rivers.
The local Jewish community in India was already segregated and following apartheid inside themselves. White Jews (Paradesi) have Middle Eastern complexion and claimed purity. Whereas Black Jews (Malabari) are the ones having Indian complexion. The White Jews didn't allow their children to marry the Black Jews, didn't allow Black Jews to enter in their synagogue, and practised many such discriminatory rituals. Abraham Salem, the Jewish Gandhi as he was called, fought against it.
The migration and the apartheid caused the population decline of Jews in Kerala. Only the last few are remaining. The book is an account of interviews of the last days of the survival of this distinct community in India. The author stayed with them in Kerala, did a detailed discussion, interviewed most of them, and narrated their perspectives in this book.
Though some details are repeated, and the structure is vague sometimes, the book is an excellent read to know the history and sociology of a unique community that got blended into this land of seven rivers.
December 7, 2021
This was a slow book to read, but very fascinating to read about: the history of Judaism within Kerala, to see the warring factions of both the black and white Jews, to see the rich history Judaism has within Kerala and how the local population embraced the Jewish people as part of the culture, and to see what has happened now that most have left India to settle in Israel, while also telling the heartbreaking stories of war and enmity after settling in Israel.
The fascinating thing about this book, is it does quite a good job of finding nuances within a community that is refreshing ton
The fascinating thing about this book, is it does quite a good job of finding nuances within a community that is refreshing ton
October 29, 2018
An opinion about a Jewish community written by a non-Jew who chose to visit the community on it’s most solemn holy day. After knocking on doors and windows and calling repeatedly as the Jews kept their holy day traditions, the temple president finally saw her and was curt with her. I wondered how a person with such little knowledge and empathy for f her subject could write a fair description. And she didn’t.
January 12, 2023
Really interesting to hear multiple perspectives on the dwindling Jewish diaspora in Kerala, particularly the issues facing those who made aliyah, as well as the success stories. Bit weird that the author says 'blood' a lot when she means ancestry and definitely some biases come through, but over all still informative and worth reading.
August 2, 2018
A disappointing mediocrity of a book. Poor writing and shallow research result in a bland and uninformative book about what should be a fascinating subject. Neither ethnography, history nor biography, this book is a boring melange of ill-digested material.
October 29, 2018
I listened to this book on Audible. Overall, I was satisfied with what I learned. I appreciated that Fernandes cited other books/papers. She provided factual information on The Last Jews of Kerala but also shared stories about the last few who remained.
April 2, 2020
What could have been a fascinating read, let down by author's desire to play to the gallery.All the goods parts are courtesy her secondary research (for instance she heavily borrows from Mandelbaum's works) but her contribution is passable at best.
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February 3, 2021This book was really interesting. I listened to it on audible and I have one slight criticism, the narrator mispronounced so many things!!!!! I don’t even understand how this got published as is. Don’t listen on audible
June 6, 2021
An intriguing book that combines current stories and ancient history. They are woven together well. Ultimately a sad story of apartheid that ended the community. I do however now want to visit Kerala as it sounds both beautiful and tolerant.
August 21, 2022
I wanted to love this book, but there are some important details the author seems to be unaware of, and fundamental misunderstandings in regards to jewish belief (like ummm we don’t say “yaweh” holy crap). So… I hope there are better books about the subject out there bc this one ain’t it.
May 25, 2018
A very interesting read on a truly remarkable group of communities. I thoroughly enjoyed the authors style.
August 5, 2018
I had such high hopes for learning so much from this book... alas, so poorly written that I could not make it past page 38. :(
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