Who Are the Jews of India? (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780520213234)

Of all the Diaspora communities, the Jews of India are among the least known and most interesting. This readable study, full of vivid details of everyday life, looks in depth at the religious life of the Jewish community in Cochin, the Bene Israel from the remote Konkan coast near Bombay, and the Baghdadi Jews, who migrated to Indian port cities and flourished under the British Raj. Who Are the Jews of India? is the first integrated, comprehensive work available on all three of India's Jewish communities.

Using an interdisciplinary approach, Nathan Katz brings together methods and insights from religious studies, ritual studies, anthropology, history, linguistics, and folklore, as he discusses the strategies each community developed to maintain its Jewish identity. Based on extensive fieldwork throughout India, as well as close reading of historical documents, this study provides a striking new understanding of the Jewish Diaspora and of Hindu civilization as a whole.

Author: Nathan Katz
ISBN-10: 0520213238
ISBN-13: 9780520213234
Publisher: University of California Press
Language: English
Published: 11/18/2000
Pages: 220
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.10lbs
Size: 9.32h x 6.34w x 0.91d
Award: National Jewish Book Award - Nominee

Review Citation(s):
Choice 04/01/2001 pg. 1478