These two works provide richly illustrated descriptions of the varied and fascinating history of India’s extremely small Jewish populations. Both merely give a cursory mention to the two groups with the longest histories, the Bnei Israel and the Jews of Cochin. Kenneth X. Robbins and Marvin Tokayer’s book Western Jews in India focuses on the diverse contributions of Western Jews, the majority of whom were sojourners or made contributions without really living in India for long periods. They were mostly dispersed and did not form long-term communities, and they either assimilated or converted to Christianity, Islam, or Hinduism. Refugees from the Spanish and Portuguese expulsions were among the first. The role of Jewish soldiers and officials from the British Empire in India is described in Western Jews in India. Three Jewish architects (Lewis Kahn, Moshe Safdie, and Sidney Epstein) created notable structures in the subcontinent recently. Many photographs from Dr. Robbins’ extensive collection are included in the book, and he penned the majority of the individual essays.
