"The history of Judaising movements has been largely ignored by historians of religion; this is the first monograph devoted to the subject. These movements are examined in Italy, New Zealand, Japan, India, Burma and various parts of Africa. The 'centre' of these movements, proselytising trends in Palestine/Israel in the 1940s and 1950s which conceived of the mass conversion to Judaism of certain populations in Africa and Asia and involved various well-known Jewish personalities, are also examined, as are Judaising movements among Black communities in the United States.". "This volume analyses the interplay between colonialism, a Judaism not traditionally viewed as 'proselytising' but which at certain points was struggling to heed the Prophets and become 'a light unto the Gentiles', and the attraction for many different peoples of the rooted historicity of Judaism."--BOOK JACKET.