Indian Jewish Wedding

Tragedy in Chennai

While Americans are busy deciding which restaurant to eat inside at and planning parties, COVID-19 is raging at its highest levels ever worldwide. Tragedy, in particular, is unfolding day after day in India, which is struggling to vaccinate and care for its people, including its approximately 6,000 Jews. In order to bring much needed attention to this crisis, Moment is publishing a letter from Nancy Brim about how COVID-19 has affected her Jewish family living in Chennai, in the southern state of Tamil Nadu.

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Something From Nothing: Ressurecting Global Jewish Communities

By Ariana Siegel The Jerusalem Post reported that a synagogue in Parur, a city in the southern state of Kerala, is currently undergoing a "massive restoration." The effort is funded principally by the government of local South-Indian state called Kerala, with some help from the national Indian government in Delhi. Dr. Venu V. Ias, the Kerala district government’s secretary of tourism, told the Post that, "The restoration work of the Parur synagogue symbolizes the eagerness of Kerala’s people to celebrate their multi-religious heritage.” It would be wonderful to note that the Indian government was taking an interest in the Jews, if in fact there were Jews in Kerala to take an interest in. Sadly, however, the vibrant community of around 3,000 Jews in southern India that existed a century ago has largely disappeared, as all but about...

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