The Last Jews of Kerala: The 2,000 Year History of India's Forgotten Jewish Community

#490
Title: The Last Jews of Kerala: The 2,000 Year History of India's Forgotten Jewish Community
Author: Edna Fernandes

Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing

Year: 2008
248 pages

Unfortunately, Fernandes takes an interesting topic, the long-term Jews of India, and muddies it considerably with factual errors and a thesis that her book does not support. I leave aside the complaint that she discomfited members of the community by publishing her book, which is between her and the people she interviewed. I also leave aside the book's repetitiveness and meandering, which are annoying but not critical. The factual errors include some about Judaism, which decreases her credibility as a reporter-historian. The thesis problem, however, is more serious because it is the rationale for writing her book rather sticking with previous books on the Jewish communities of Kerala. Fernandes's contention is that racism on the part of the "white" Jews, and their failure to intermarry with the "black" Jews, has caused the death of the community. However, by both the communities' and Fernandes's report, it was the establishment of the state of Israel that caused a return from diaspora. Given these concerns, I recommend the interested reader to the books Fernandes cites rather than to hers.