The Last Jews of Kerala

The Two Thousand Year History of India’s Forgotten Jewish Community

By: Edna Fernandes

Narrated by: Leslie Bellair

When a people die out, can their story survive?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.

©2008 Edna Fernandes (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Last Jews of Kerala - General eval

Commendable work on data collection !
Particularly enjoyed the “composition” took you to the actual time & place !!
Downside: narrator read TOO FAST !

A sad but informative narrative

The Jews of Kerala built a community that was at peace with the Hindus, Muslims and Christians around them. Internal strife and the actions of invading Portuguese and British forces, then damaging decisions by their own state's government, finally led all but a few to leave. Edna Fernandes provides us with a rich and sensitive narrative of this community in its final years.

Interesting

An eye-opening story about Jews in India - and the unfortunate prejudice that exists among light skinned Jews toward Jews with darker skin. The narrator speaks too quickly. A good narrator does not rush. Overall, an interesting history.

Mispronunciation

Someone needed to instruct the narrator on the pronunciation of the Hebrew words in this book. B’nai Yisrael, Magen David...it’s really annoying to hear it. Story is great, reader not so great.

INTERESTING PART OF JEWISH HISTORY

So glad I listened to this book. It is a part of Jewish history I was not familiar with.
Time and again when I read about the Jews I find that they are such a strong people.
I highly recommend listening and it is “included” for now.
The narrator has just the right voice.
My thanks to all, JK.