Salaam shalom. The Jews of India

Description

This colorful film about the Jews of India brings to life a remarkable history dating back two millennia. A microscopic minority living within a vast, varied and densely populated nation, they co-existed for all those years in an environment of tolerance and pluralism. But a watershed was reached in 1947 with the declaration of Indian independence and in 1948 with the creation of Israel. Many of the Jews of India decided to "leave their home to find their home: their religious loyalty stronger than their national loyalty to India." The filmmaker travels to the cities of the fascinating subcontinent of India where the remainingJews have made their homes, to Goa, Bombay, Cochin, Calcutta. There she finds those Jews studying the Talmud, adhering to religious custom, wearing yarmulkah. In many ways, they seem even more observant than Western Jews.

Runtime

50 min

Creator

Laufer, Vanessa C

Subjects

Geography

Genre

Date of Publication

2001

Database

Alexander Street

Direct Link