The Children of Israel: The Bene Israel of Bombay by Schifra Strizower; Oxford University Press, 1971; pp xiv + 176; Rs 20, BY any reckoning, the Jews are a most interesting people in the world. There is a Jewish identity within each nation; there is a national identity of the Jews, according to the nation-state in which they live; and, there is an international Jewish identity. While one can think of other groups like the Christians and the Muslims in such context, these do not really compare with the Jewish situation. Except in Israel, the Jews are a minority in every other society, which is not true of the Christians or the Muslims, and it has been so perhaps throughout history. A consistent minority status in every society and yet linked to an international Jewry is certainly a unique social phenomenon, not shared by any other group; at any rate, not to the same extent When the number of the Jews is as microscope as in India (26,000 in 1940s: 16,000 now) and when they have lived in the country for as long as they have done (2000 years), it is interesting beyond comparison.
