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With vibrant photographs and intricate stories Scattered Among the Nations tells the story of the world’s most isolated Jewish communities in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Former Soviet Union and the margins of Europe.
Over 2,000 years ago, a shipwreck left seven Jewish couples stranded off India’s Konkan Coast, south of Bombay. Those hardy survivors stayed, built a community, and founded one of the fascinating groups described in this book—the Bene Israel of India’s Maharasthra Province. This story is unique, but it is not unusual. We have all heard the phrase “the lost tribes of Israel,” but never has the truth and wonder of the Diaspora been so lovingly and richly illustrated. To create this amazing chronicle of faith and resilience, the authors visited Jews in 30 countries across five continents, hearing origin stories and family histories that stretch back for millennia.
Sixteen chapters featuring photographs and stories of the world’s most isolated Jewish communities, from:
- The hills of northeastern India, on the border of Myanmar
- Sub-Saharan Africa, in Ghana, on the border of Ivory Coast
- The last Jewish villages in Eastern Europe and Central Asia
- Jews at the heart of the Amazon
- Marranos coming out of hiding in Portugal and Mexico
- Jewish gauchos and ostrich barons, in the Argentine pampas and the South African veld
A foreword from Tudor Parfitt, and over 500 full color photographs and illustrations accompany these beautiful stories, and many more. The culmination of 16 years of collaboration between writers and photographers, Scattered Among the Nations is a stunning work of research and storytelling, and a rich visual documentation of the planet’s most isolated and unusual Jewish communities. Above all, it is a testament to the power of the Jewish people, and the connection that binds such different groups into one great tribe.
