Updates etc

It's been some time since I have put a post on this blog. I have returned to Australia and am awaiting confirmation about my Sri Lankan citizenship. G-d willing, all will be well. Speak of which, I have been unwell since contracting dysentery in the June Colombo floods, one thing after another. I have been asked about my research on Jews in SL up until 1949. The article was sent to 2 Jewish journals and REJECTED ... I am used to sending in pieces and so was surprised. Usually one is asked to undertake revisions. I believe that there is a level of politics involved here. One aspect involves possible claims to another lost group of Jews in Sri Lanka (we all are aware of the Indian controversies), the other concerns "evidence", "proofs" etc - a very difficult point for underground communities and the destruction of historical materials, which I might add is not unusual in the Sri Lankan situation. Another fine point is that my piece is not arguing for the existence of a community as such, but it about identifying Jewish "presence" - these are not the same. Enough of gripes, I will submit the piece in modified form to an intercultural journal. Meanwhile Chabad Sri Lanka have kindly hosted the paper on their web site.