The Washington Star, in a cable from New Dalhi, India, today reports that a “forgotten colony” of Indian Jews, with a history more than eight centuries old, has been rediscovered and resuscitated by an American Army chaplain, Rabbi Abraham Dubin of Flushing, Long Island.
“Rabbi Dubin is one of a group of American chaplains,” the cable says, “who are working with American armed forces in India and China. Arriving in India, he discovered that some 15,000 Jews in this country had no rabbi, had practically lost contact with world Jewry, and were fast being assimilated by other Indian sects.
“The Indian Jews,” the cable continues, “are mostly chocolate-skinned, like their fellow-countrymen, and show few Semitic characteristics. Most of them are laborers and miserably poor. Almost none are in business. Rabbi Dubin’s efforts to revive the self-respect of this Jewish community have been strikingly successful. Frequently he conducts joint services between Indian Jews and Jewish, American and British soldiers. One of Rabbi Dubin’s most striking meetings was the July 4 service when an international congregation of 700 prayed for rain for the drought-ridden area of India. Rain fell in bucketfuls five days later.”
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
