>>> COMING UP, AS DONALD TRUMP TRIES TO CONSOLIDATE REPUBLICAN BACKING, EVANGELICALS ARE DIVIDED OVER WHETHER TO SUPPORT HIM.

>>> ALSO, LUCKY SEVERSON ON THE SAGEBRUSH REBELLION IN THE MOUNTAIN WEST.

>>> AND, FRED DE SAM LAZARO ON JEWS IN INDIA.

>>> WELCOME, I'M BOB ABERNETHY.

IT'S GOOD TO HAVE YOU WITH US.

DONALD TRUMP AND REPUBLICAN LEADERS IN CONGRESS MET THIS PAST WEEK HOPING TO FIND UNITY IN THEIR DIVIDED PARTY.

NEW DATA SHOW TRUMP FACES BIG CHALLENGES AMONG A CORE GOP CONSTITUENCY -- EVANGELICALS.

WHILE SOME EVANGELICALS GIVE TRUMP STRONG SUPPORT, SEVERAL NEW SURVEYS HAVE FOUND SIGNIFICANT NUMBERS OF THEM WHO SAID THEY WOULD NEVER VOTE FOR TRUMP.

VOTE FOR A THIRD-PARTY OR WRITE-IN CANDIDATE.

MEANWHILE, THIS WEEK, TRUMP GOT INTO A SOCIAL MEDIA WAR OF WORDS WITH PROMINENT SOUTHERN BAPTIST LEADER RUSSELL MOORE.

MOORE HAS BEEN CRITICAL OF TRUMP'S CHARACTER AND RHETORIC.

TRUMP TWEETED THAT MOORE IS "A NASTY GUY WITH NO HEART."

JOINING ME NOW WITH MORE ON ALL OF THIS IS OUR MANAGING EDITOR KIM LAWTON.

KIM, WELCOME.

yOU'VE BEEN TALKING TO A LOT OF EVANGELICALS.

WHAT'S THE BIG PROBLEM?

IS IT TRUMP'S CHARACTER?

>> FOR MANY OF THEM, IT IS HIS CHARACTER, NOT JUST HIS MARITAL BACKGROUND AND HIS CASINO OWNERSHIP.

BUT FOR SOME OF THEM, IT'S HOW HE HAS TALKED ABOUT RELIGION.

THIS IS A MAN WHO HAS SAID HE DOESN'T HAVE TO ASK GOD FOR FORGIVENESS, WHO HAS REFERRED TO COMMUNION AS A LITTLE CRACKER, AND SO THERE IS SOME OF THAT.

SOME OF HIS POSITIONS IN THE PAST ON ISSUES, FOR EXAMPLE, ABORTION, HAVE EVOLVED AND THAT MAKES SOME OF THEM UNEASY.

SOME OF THEM ALSO DON'T LIKE HIS RHETORIC -- HIS RHETORIC ABOUT IMMIGRANTS AND WOMEN AND MUSLIMS.

AND FOR SOME EVANGELICALS, THAT'S AN ISSUE AS WELL.

>> AND SOME I'VE READ SEE HIM AS EVIL.

>> WELL, SOME OF IT HAS BEEN CHARACTERIZED AS, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A CHOICE OF VOTING FOR THE LESSER OF TWO EVILS.

MANY OF THESE PEOPLE ARE ALSO NOT FANS OF HILLARY CLINTON.

AND SO FACED WITH THAT KIND OF A DECISION, THAT'S A BIG DEBATE.

AND A VERY INTERESTING DEBATE TO ME THAT I'M SEEING ON SOCIAL MEDIA AND SOME OF THE EVANGELICAL BLOGS, PEOPLE TALKING ABOUT WHAT DO WE DO.

WE DON'T REALLY WANT TO SUPPORT HILLARY CLINTON, ALTHOUGH SOME PEOPLE SAY THEY WILL.

SO THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT MAYBE VOTING FOR A THIRD PARTY CANDIDATE, MAYBE WRITING IN A VOTE, OR MAYBE JUST STAYING HOME FROM THE ELECTION ALTOGETHER.

NOW THERE ARE SOME WHO ALSO HAVE MADE A DECISION SOMEWHAT RELUCTANTLY, THEY WILL SUPPORT TRUMP.

SO IT'S ALL OVER THE MAP, WHICH MAKES IT VERY INTERESTING.

>> AND THIS A VERY IMPORTANT CONSTITUENCY FOR ANYBODY ON THE RELIGIOUS RIGHT, ISN'T?

>> FOR THE REPUBLICAN PARTY, THE EVANGELICAL CONSTITUENCY HAS BEEN A CORE GROUP.

NOT JUST BECAUSE THEY VOTE RELIABLY REPUBLICAN.

THE MAJORITY OF THEM VOTE REPUBLICAN.

BUT MANY OF THEM HAVE BEEN VERY ACTIVE IN THE TRENCHES AS WELL.

GETTING OUT THEIR NEIGHBORS TO VOTE, TALKING ABOUT THINGS IN THEIR CHURCHES, VOLUNTEERING IN THE CAMPAIGNS, AND THIS HAS ALWAYS BEEN A BIT OF A PROBLEM FOR THE GOP ESTABLISHMENT.

ON THE ONE HAND, THEY NEED THESE PEOPLE.

SOMETIMES THEY WISH THE EVANGELICALS WEREN'T SO VOCAL.

SO IT'S ALWAYS BEEN A LITTLE BIT OF A TOUGH ISSUE FOR THEM.

BUT NONETHELESS, THEY HAVE NEEDED THIS COMMUNITY IN ORDER TO PUT TOGETHER A WINNING COALITION.

>> KIM LAWTON, MANY THANKS.

>>> THIS WEEK, TRUMP ALSO GOT INTO A PUBLIC DISPUTE WITH THE NEW MAYOR OF LONDON, SADIQ KHAN, WHO IS A MUSLIM.

KHAN WAS SWORN IN LAST WEEKEND AS LONDON'S FIRST MUSLIM MAYOR.

TRUMP HAS CALLED FOR A TEMPORARY BAN ON FOREIGN MUSLIMS ENTERING THE U.S.

HE WAS ASKED IF KHAN WOULD BE INCLUDED.

TRUMP ANSWERED THAT THERE WOULD ALWAYS BE EXCEPTIONS TO HIS POLICY.

IN RESPONSE, KHAN SAID THE ISSUE IS LARGER THAN JUST HIMSELF.

HE SAID, "DONALD TRUMP'S IGNORANT VIEW OF ISLAM COULD MAKE BOTH OUR COUNTRIES LESS SAFE."

>>> DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE HILLARY CLINTON REAFFIRMED HER OPPOSITION TO THE BOYCOTT, DIVESTMENT AND SANCTIONS MOVEMENT, OR BDS, AN INTERNATIONAL EFFORT TO PRESSURE ISRAEL ECONOMICALLY OVER THE PALESTINIAN ISSUE.

SHE TOLD JEWISH LEADERS THAT THE MOVEMENT "IS NOT A PATH TO PEACE" BUT "SEEKS TO PUNISH ISRAEL."

THE UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST, PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH U.S.A. AND OTHER SMALLER DENOMINATIONS ARE ACTIVE IN THE EFFORT.

BDS SEEKS TO DIVEST FROM COMPANIES THAT PROFIT FROM THE ISRAELI OCCUPATION AND TO BOYCOTT PRODUCTS FROM ISRAELI SETTLEMENTS.

>>> CLINTON'S ANNOUNCEMENT CAME JUST AS HER DENOMINATION, THE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH, IS EXPECTED TO VOTE ON ITS INVOLVEMENT IN THE BDS MOVEMENT.

THE DENOMINATION BEGAN ITS TEN-DAY CONFERENCE IN PORTLAND, OREGON, THIS WEEK.

THE CONFERENCE IS HELD EVERY FOUR YEARS.

DELEGATES WILL ALSO BE REVISITING THE DECADES-LONG CONTENTIOUS DEBATE ON WHETHER TO LIFT PROHIBITIONS ON PRACTICING GAY CLERGY AND SAME-SEX WEDDINGS.

>>> NORTH CAROLINA IS FIGHTING TO KEEP IN PLACE A NEW LAW THAT REQUIRES TRANSGENDER PEOPLE TO USE PUBLIC RESTROOMS THAT CORRESPOND WITH THEIR SEX AT BIRTH.

LAST WEEK, THE U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT SAID THE LAW VIOLATES THE CIVIL RIGHTS OF THE TRANSGENDER COMMUNITY.

FEDERAL OFFICIALS ALSO MADE CLEAR THAT BILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN FEDERAL AID COULD BE WITHHELD IF NORTH CAROLINA DIDN'T ABANDON THE LEGISLATION.

IN RESPONSE, GOVERNOR PAT McCRORY SUED THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, AND THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT QUICKLY FILED ITS OWN SUIT.

RELIGIOUS LEADERS ARE ACTIVE ON BOTH SIDES OF THE DEBATE.

ON FRIDAY, CONTROVERSY ERUPTED OVER THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION'S PLANS TO REQUIRE EVERY PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT IN THE COUNTRY TO ALLOW TRANSGENDER STUDENTS TO USE RESTROOMS THAT CORRESPOND WITH THEIR GENDER IDENTITY.

>>> POPE FRANCIS SAID HE WILL SET UP A COMMISSION TO LOOK INTO WHETHER THE CATHOLIC CHURCH SHOULD ALLOW FEMALE DEACONS.

FRANCIS MADE THE STATEMENT WHILE MEETING WITH LEADERS OF WOMEN'S RELIGIOUS ORDERS.

CATHOLIC DEACONS CAN PREACH AND PERFORM SOME RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES SUCH AS BAPTISMS AND FUNERALS, BUT THEY ARE NOT PRIESTS.

CURRENTLY, ONLY MALES CAN BE DEACONS.

SENIOR VATICAN SPOKESMAN FEDERICO LOMBARDI, HOWEVER, DESCRIBED FRANCIS' COMMENTS AS "SPONTANEOUS" AND SAID IT WAS TOO EARLY TO TELL EXACTLY WHAT THE POPE HAS IN MIND.

>>> HUMANITARIAN GROUPS ARE URGING KENYA NOT TO CLOSE THE WORLD'S LARGEST REFUGEE CAMP.

ALMOST 350,000 PEOPLE, MOSTLY SOMALIS, LIVE AT THE DADAAB CAMP.

KENYA ANNOUNCED PLANS TO CLOSE IT ALLEGING THAT IT HARBORS EXTREMISTS AND TERRORISTS.

BUT AID LEADERS SAY THOUSANDS OF INNOCENT FAMILIES WILL HAVE NOWHERE TO GO AND NO SOURCE OF HELP IF THE CAMP IS CLOSED.

>>> THIS PAST WINTER IN OREGON, THERE WAS AN ARMED STANDOFF BETWEEN THOSE REPRESENTING LOCAL LANDOWNERS, MANY OF THEM MORMON, AND AGENTS OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.

ONE MAN WAS KILLED.

LUCKY SEVERSON REPORTS TODAY ON THE ONGOING SAGEBRUSH REBELLION - FARMERS, RANCHERS AND WOULD-BE DEVELOPERS INSISTING THAT HOW THEIR BEAUTIFUL LAND IS USED SHOULD BE UP TO THEM, NOT WASHINGTON.

>> THIS IS UTAH STATE LEGISLATOR MIKE NOEL ON HIS ATV, HIS FOUR-WHEELER, CHECKING CATTLE ON HIS RANCH IN SOUTHERN UTAH.

HE ALSO HAS HORSES TO GET AROUND ON.

>> 6590 POUND CALF LAST YEAR WAS $1,500 A HEAD, SO, YEAH, IT'S THE BEST IN HISTORY.

>> NOEL IS A LEADER IN THE SO-CALLED "SAGEBRUSH REBELLION," A DECADES-LONG BATTLE TO TAKE BACK FEDERAL PUBLIC LANDS AND PUT THEM IN THE HANDS OF LOCAL GOVERNMENTS.

THE REBELLION SEEMED TO HAVE FADED UNTIL THE RECENT ARMED CONFRONTATIONS IN OREGON AND NEVADA.

IT IS AN EPIC STRUGGLE OVER WHO CONTROLS THE VAST, SCENIC LANDS IN THE AMERICAN WEST, AND IT IS A BATTLE WITH RELIGIOUS OVERTONES.

>> THE SAGEBRUSH REBELLION TRACES ITSELF DIRECTLY BACK TO THE FIERY SERMONS OF BRIGHAM YOUNG IN THE ADOBE TABERNACLE IN UTAH IN THE 1850s.

>> WILL BAGLEY IS A HISTORIAN WHO HAS WRITTEN MORE THAN 20 BOOKS ABOUT THE WEST AND THE CHURCH, WHOSE PIONEERS SETTLED SO MANY COMMUNITIES THROUGHOUT THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN STATES.

>> I'VE FOUND SEVEN DISTINCT SIMILARITIES BETWEEN WHAT SAGEBRUSH REBELS BELIEVE AND WHAT FRONTIER MORMONS BELIEVE.

BOTH PARTIES BELIEVE STATE'S RIGHTS ARE SECOND ONLY TO SCRIPTURE.

THE GOVERNMENT PERSECUTES THEM BECAUSE THEY'RE RIGHTEOUS, AND THEY'RE THE ONLY TRUE PATRIOTS.

THEY LOVE THE CONSTITUTION, BUT THEY HATE THE GOVERNMENT.

>> SHAWNA COX FITS THAT DESCRIPTION.

SHE IS FROM KANAB, BUT JOINED THE PROTESTORS IN OREGON.

>> PUBLIC LAND IS FOR THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE HERE, OKAY?

IT'S NOT FOR PEOPLE FROM NEW YORK WHO COME OUT INTO UTAH, AND THAT'S THEIR PUBLIC LAND.

THEY DON'T LIVE HERE.

>> IT'S HARD TO FIGHT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, LUCKY.

IT REALLY IS.

THERE'S A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT SUPPORT US.

ARIZONA SUPPORTS US.

NEVADA SUPPORTS US.

WYOMING SUPPORTS US.

IDAHO SUPPORTS US.

>> NOEL'S RANCH IS JUST OUTSIDE OF KANAB, UTAH, A SMALL CITY SURROUNDED BY RUGGED BEAUTY THAT MAY SEEM FAMILIAR FROM FILM AND TELEVISION.

>> MY FATHER NICKNAMED US CHILDREN AFTER MOVIE STARS, BECAUSE WE ALL WORKED IN THE MOVIES.

>> THIS IS FRED ALLEN, THE KANAB BARBER NAMED AFTER THE FAMOUS HOLLYWOOD COMEDIAN.

MORE THAN 100 FILMS HAVE BEEN SHOT HERE -- CLASSIC WESTERNS THAT EMBODIED THE AMERICAN IDEAL OF RUGGED, HEROIC COWBOYS LIVING ON THE LONELY WESTERN FRONTIER.

NOW IT'S MUCH MORE DIFFICULT TO BE LONELY.

TOURISTS ARE EVERYWHERE.

TO CONTROL THE CROWDS, BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT RANGERS NOW MUST CONDUCT A LOTTERY, BECAUSE ONLY A FEW AT A TIME CAN BE ALLOWED INTO SOME PRISTINE PARTS LIKE THE WAVE, A REMOTE AND EXQUISITE PLACE.

IT WAS THE BEAUTY THAT BROUGHT RETIRED PSYCHOLOGY PROFESSOR SKY CHANEY AND HIS WIFE TO THIS AREA TEN YEARS AGO.

>> I'M CONCERNED THAT IF THE STATE GAINS OWNERSHIP AND STARTS SELLING OFF, THERE WILL BE BEAUTIFUL PLACES LIKE WHERE WE'RE STANDING RIGHT NOW THAT ARE GOING TO BE DEVELOPED.

>> FOR THE CHANEYS, MOVING TO KANAB WAS AN ADJUSTMENT.

>> I'D NEVER LIVED IN A TOWN THAT WAS MORE THAN 50% MORMON OR ANY ONE RELIGION.

>> CHANEY WAS SHOCKED TO LEARN THAT THE COUNTY WAS USING SO MUCH TAXPAYER MONEY FIGHTING THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.

SO HE FOUNDED THE TAXPAYERS ASSOCIATION OF KANE COUNTY.

IS IT JUST OUTSIDERS LIKE YOURSELF THAT ARE THE TROUBLEMAKERS HERE AS FAR AS THEY'RE CONCERNED?

>> I THINK SO.

I THINK THAT THE LOCAL MORMON COMMUNITY THAT'S BEEN HERE LONGER HAS A FEAR THAT OUTSIDERS ARE GOING TO TAKE OVER THEIR TOWN.

>> KANAB IS VERY CONSERVATIVE AND VERY MORMON.

ANOTHER PROTESTOR IN THE RECENT OREGON REFUGE STANDOFF WAS ORIGINALLY FROM HERE AND CLAIMED MORMON TEACHINGS INFLUENCED HIS ACTIONS.

LAVOY FINNICUM ENDED UP BEING SHOT AND KILLED WHEN THE STANDOFF ENDED.

THE MORMON CHURCH PUBLICALLY CONDEMNED THE TAKEOVER AND THE MILITIA MEMBERS' JUSTIFICATION THAT IT WAS BECAUSE OF MORMON SCRIPTURE.

>> THAT'S A VERY, VERY, VERY IMPORTANT POINT FOR ME AS AN ACTIVE MEMBER OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS.

ONCE THE BRETHREN SPEAK AND SAY THAT'S NOT -- YOU SHOULDN'T BE UP THERE, YOU SHOULD HAVE COME HOME.

>> MANY OF THE PROTESTERS IN OREGON AND NEVADA CARRY COPIES OF THE U.S. CONSTITUTION IN THEIR SHIRT POCKET.

THERE ARE APPARENTLY ABOUT 15 MILLION OF THESE IN PRINT.

THEY'RE CALLED POCKET CONSTITUTIONS, AND THEY'VE BECOME LIKE A BIBLE FOR THE SAGEBRUSH REBELLION.

>> WE BELIEVE STRONGLY THAT THE CONSTITUTION WAS DIVINELY INSPIRED, AND EVEN THE FOUNDERS OF IT WERE INSPIRED TO WRITE THE CONSTITUTION.

>> SHAWNA COX WAS ONE OF THE PROTESTORS IN OREGON ARRESTED.

SHE WAS WITH LAVOY FINNICUM WHEN HE WAS SHOT.

SHE IS NOT ALLOWED TO SPEAK ABOUT THE CASE.

>> IF YOU WANT TO CALL A MILITIA PERSON A BAD PERSON BECAUSE THEY WANT TO PROTECT THEMSELVES OR THEIR NEIGHBORS, THEN I KNOW THAT THAT'S WRONG, BECAUSE THE CONSTITUTION AFFORDS US THAT RIGHT.

>> PAT SHEA IS A FORMER DIRECTOR OF THE BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT, NOW A RESEARCH PROFESSOR OF BIOLOGY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF UTAH.

HE SAYS THE FIRST ROUND OF THE SAGEBRUSH REBELLION BEGAN IN 1976, WHEN CONGRESS APPROVED A LAND MANAGEMENT ACT.

>> THE SECOND ROUND HAPPENED REALLY IN THE MID-1990s WHEN PRESIDENT CLINTON DECLARED THE GRAND STAIRCASE ESCALANTE, AND THERE WAS AN OUTRAGE AGAIN THAT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT WAS USURPING LOCAL AUTHORITY AND STATE GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY.

>> THE GRAND STAIRCASE ESCALANTE IS CALLED A NATIONAL MONUMENT.

IT IS THE COUNTRY'S LARGEST, COVERING 3,000 SQUARE MILES.

THERE ARE NOW SEVEN SUCH NATIONAL MONUMENTS IN UTAH, BUT ENOUGH IS ENOUGH AS FAR AS GARFIELD COUNTY COMMISSIONER LELAND POLLOCK IS CONCERNED.

A GOOD PORTION OF THE GRAND STAIRCASE IS IN GARFIELD COUNTY.

>> TO COME INTO THESE AREAS AND DO IT BY WAY OF A PRESIDENT STAMPING DOWN A STAMP AND SAYING THIS IS A MONUMENT, AND TYING UP LAND AND DOING IT THAT WAY -- THAT'S NOT THE AMERICAN WAY TO CHANGE TO CULTURE.

>> IN FACT, PRESIDENTS DATING BACK TO TEDDY ROOSEVELT HAVE SET ASIDE MANY NATIONAL MONUMENTS.

ROOSEVELT CHAMPIONED PRESERVING AMERICA'S WEST AGAINST COMMERCIAL EXPLOITATION.

BUT THE COMMISSIONER SAYS THE STAIRCASE LOCKS UP TOO MUCH OF HIS COUNTY.

>> IF YOU TAKE GRAZING OUT OF GARFIELD COUNTRY, YOU HAVE CHANGED A CULTURE.

MULTIPLE USE IS A CULTURE.

>> I THINK MULTIPLE USE -- THAT COULD BE SUSTAINED.

IF YOU USE UP ALL THE WATER, YOU CAN'T SUSTAIN IT.

IF YOU USE UP ALL GRAZING AREA, YOU CAN'T SUSTAIN IT.

>> BUT EVEN THOUGH TOURISM IS OFTEN THE STATE'S NUMBER ONE INDUSTRY, MUCH BIGGER THAN RANCHING AND FARMING, IT'S THE IDEA THAT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT CONTROLS SO MUCH LAND THAT CAUSES SUCH RIGHTEOUS INDIGNATION AND VIOLATES THEIR RELIGIOUS BELIEFS.

>> THERE'S TOO MUCH OF AN ABILITY FOR INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE UNELECTED TO BE ABLE TO TAKE CONTROL OF THE LANDS AND THEN TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR LIFE, REALLY.

>> I KNOW THAT THIS IS A WAR BETWEEN GOOD AND EVIL.

>> I THINK THE THING THAT WE NEED TO DO IS TONE DOWN THE RHETORIC, WHICH IS BECOMING VERY DANGEROUS.

>> WHILE THE CONSENSUS AROUND HERE IS THAT THE GOVERNMENT HAS BEEN HEAVY HANDED, THE TOURISM BUSINESS IS BETTER THAN EVER, AND EVEN SOME CRITICS HAVE GROWN WEARY OF THE FIGHT, LIKE FRED ALLEN, THE BARBER, WHO TAKES THE LONGER VIEW.

>> WHEN THE MILLENNIUM HAPPENS AND THE SAVIOR COMES AGAIN, ALL THIS COAL THAT'S ON PUBLIC LAND, IT'S STILL HERE.

ALL THIS PUBLIC LAND IS STILL HERE.

IT'S NOT GOING ANYWHERE.

IT WILL JUST BE ADMINISTERED BY THE SAVIOR, RATHER THAN BY A GOVERNMENT ENTITY.

>> THE NEXT BIG HURDLE COULD COME LATER THIS YEAR WHEN AND IF PRESIDENT OBAMA DESIGNATES A NEW NATIONAL MONUMENT, ALSO PROJECTED FOR SOUTHERN UTAH NOT FAR FROM THE GRAND STAIRCASE.

FOR RELIGION AND ETHICS NEWS WEEKLY.

>>> NOW, JEWS IN COCHIN, INDIA.

ON SOUTHWEST INDIA'S MALIBAR COAST, FOR NEARLY 900 YEARS, A SMALL COMMUNITY OF JEWS LIVED IN PEACE WITH THEIR HINDU, MUSLIM AND CHRISTIAN NEIGHBOR.

BUT AS FRED DE SAM LAZARO REPORTS, MANY FORMER RESIDENTS HAVE EMIGRATED TO ISRAEL, AND NOW THERE ARE TOO FEW JEWISH RESIDENTS LEFT TO KEEP UP THE SYNAGOGUE.

>> IN ITS NEARLY 900-YEAR HISTORY, THIS SYNAGOGUE HAD NEVER SEEN AN OBSERVANCE LIKE THIS ONE.

THEY CAME FROM FOUR CONTINENTS TO THIS UNLIKELY LOCATION -- THE COASTAL INDIAN CITY OF COCHIN, FOR THE FIRST SABBATH SERVICE IN DECADES, AND POSSIBLY THE LAST ONE EVER.

A ONCE THRIVING JEWISH COMMUNITY OF SEVERAL THOUSAND HAS MOSTLY FADED INTO A BITTERSWEET HISTORY IN THE AGE OF MODERN-DAY ISRAEL.

>> I'M VERY SAD TO SEE COMMUNITIES DISAPPEAR.

ON THE OTHER HAND, I'M VERY HAPPY TO SEE THAT AFTER ALL THESE YEARS OF DISPERSION, THE PROPHECY OF THE RETURN TO THE LAND OF ISRAEL IS IN MY TIME -- I'M PART OF IT -- IS BEING REALIZED.

AT LEAST WE SEE THE SYNAGOGUES, WE SEE THE STREETS, WE SEE HOW LIFE WAS ONCE HERE.

>> JEWISH LIFE ALONG INDIA'S MALABAR COAST DATES BACK TO THE ANCIENT SPICE TRADE THAT DREW EXPLORERS FROM ACROSS THE SEA.

THEY COME NOW AS TOURISTS, BUT THEY CAME TO TRADE IN ANCIENT TIMES AND, IN THE CASE OF SOME JEWS, TO SETTLE -- FROM YEMEN, MESOPOTAMIA, AND LATER A FEW FROM SPAIN AND PORTUGAL AFTER THE INQUISITION.

AWAY FROM TOURIST ENCLAVES, THERE'S A STRUGGLE TO PRESERVE WHAT REMAINS OF THE JEWISH HERITAGE HERE.

I'M STANDING IN WHAT WAS THE WOMEN'S SECTION OF A SYNAGOGUE IN MALA, ABOUT FOUR OR FIVE MILES IN FROM THE COASTLINE.

THERE WAS A THRIVING JEWISH COMMUNITY HERE UNTIL 1955, WHEN THEY DECIDED, ALL OF THEM EN MASSE, TO EMIGRATE TO ISRAEL.

AND THEY TURNED THIS BUILDING OVER TO LOCAL MUNICIPAL AUTHORITIES.

>> THEY WERE VERY GOOD FRIENDS, THEY WERE VERY GOOD NEIGHBORS, THEY WERE VERY GOOD TRADERS.

>> THEY LEFT IN SOME CASES FOR RELIGIOUS FULFILLMENT IN THE NEW JEWISH HOMELAND, SAYS RETIRED PROFESSOR C. KARMACHANDRAN, WHO HEADS A LOCAL HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMITTEE.

OTHERS THOUGHT ISRAEL HAD BETTER ECONOMIC PROSPECTS, HE ADDS.

BUT NONE LEFT IN FEAR.

SCHOLARS AGREE THERE'S NO HISTORY OF ANTI-SEMITISM IN INDIA.

>> THEY WERE GIVEN ALL THE PROTECTION BY THE RULERS AS WELL AS THE LOCAL PEOPLE TO MAINTAIN THEIR CULTURE, THEIR RELIGION, THEIR BELIEF AND THEIR PRACTICES, AND THIS IN FACT IS THE LIVING SYMBOL OF THAT PARTICULAR LOFTY TRADITION.

>> BUT EVEN LOFTY TRADITIONS COME UNDER DEVELOPMENT PRESSURE OR SUFFER NEGLECT.

ALREADY HALF THE OLD JEWISH CEMETERY HAS BEEN APPROPRIATED FOR A STADIUM, KARMACHANDRAN COMPLAINS.

THE REST IS OVERGROWN WITH WEEDS, WHERE LIVESTOCK GRAZE.

THERE'S GENERAL INDIFFERENCE, HE SAYS, AS FEWER AND FEWER PEOPLE REMEMBER THEIR JEWISH NEIGHBORS.

BUT IT'S CRITICAL TO PRESERVE THE HERITAGE.

>> TO KEEP IT UP FOR POSTERITY.

>> FOR POSTERITY!

>> THE COMING GENERATION MUST KNOW THAT THERE WAS A JEWISH COMMUNITY HERE.

>> THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO WOULD SAY THAT INDIA HAS SO MANY MORE PRESSING PROBLEMS THAN PRESERVING A SYNAGOGUE.

WHAT DO YOU SAY TO THAT?

>> ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT CRITICISMS THAT INDIA FACES AT PRESENT IS THE RELIGIOUS INTOLERANCE BETWEEN SEGMENTS OF SOCIETY, AND THIS IS A LESSON OF TOLERANCE.

>> 60-YEAR-OLD ELIAS JOSEPHAI WAS MADE CARETAKER OF THE SYNAGOGUE IN COCHIN AS THE COMMUNITY DWINDLED, NUMBERING NO MORE THAN A HANDFUL TODAY.

THIS IS WHERE SCHOOL CHILDREN SAT?

IN THIS SPACE, WHERE CHILDREN ONCE STUDIED ON THE SABBATH, HE RUNS A NURSERY AND AQUARIUM SUPPLY BUSINESS.

THE SYNAGOGUE PROPER SERVED AS A DUSTY WAREHOUSE WHEN I FIRST VISITED JOSEPHAI.

AND THE SCROLLS FROM HERE?

>> IN ISRAEL.

>> ITS SACRED SCROLLS WERE DONATED YEARS AGO TO A MUSEUM IN ISRAEL.

LACKING THE MINYAN OR QUORUM OF TEN MEN REQUIRED FOR A SABBATH SERVICE, THERE HADN'T BEEN ONE SINCE 1972.

>> I CRY EVERY SABBATH, EVERY HOLIDAY, I CRY IN MY HEART.

>> ABOUT A YEAR AGO, JOSEPHAI SHARED THAT LAMENT WITH SOME ISRAELI TOURISTS WHO STOPPED BY.

>> AND I SAID "SHALOM" IN HEBREW, YOU KNOW, HELLO, AND HE ANSWERED ME, "SHALOM," LIKE A FRIEND, AND I SAID CAN I COME IN AND SEE THE SYNAGOGUE, AND HE SAID SURE.

IT WAS 9:00 AT NIGHT, I WAS SO SURPRISED, AND WHEN HE TOLD US THAT THEY HADN'T PRAYED IN THAT SYNAGOGUE SINCE 1972, I SAID TO MYSELF, I'VE GOT TO COME BACK WITH A GROUP OF TEN MEN.

>> BROOKLYN NATIVE ARI GREENSPAN, A DENTIST AND AMATEUR CHEF NOW IN ISRAEL, DID INDEED ORGANIZE A RETURN TOUR OF INDIA'S JEWISH COMMUNITIES, COMPLETE WITH A KOSHER MENU.

>> SO HERE WE HAVE A TRADITIONAL JEWISH COOK AND A TRADITIONAL INDIAN COOK, RAVI, WHO'S BEEN TRAVELING WITH US ALL WEEK MAKING SURE WE HAVE BOTH STRICTLY KOSHER AND AMAZINGLY TASTY KOSHER INDIAN FOOD.

>> AS THEY PREPARED THE SABBATH MEAL, SOME OF THE 35 VISITORS TOOK TIME FOR PRE-SABBATH PRAYERS.

MOST CAME HERE UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE U.S. AND ISRAEL-BASED ORTHODOX UNION, WHICH ENCOURAGES JEWISH HERITAGE TOURS.

>> I LIVE IN HIGHLAND PARK, NEW JERSEY, IN THE UNITED STATES.

I CAME HERE OUT OF INTEREST TO SEE THE VARIOUS WAYS JEWS HAVE LIVED THROUGHOUT THE WORLD.

WITH THE CHANGING SITUATION, THERE ARE FEWER AND FEWER JEWISH COMMUNITIES AS THINGS BECOME MORE CENTRALIZED.

>> MOST OF THE JEWISH WORLD HAS BEEN CENTERED AROUND THE MIDDLE EAST AND EUROPE AND NORTH AMERICA, AND WE'RE GETTING A CHANCE TO SEE THE ASIAN FLAVOR.

>> IT'S WONDERFUL TO GO INTO A BUILDING WHICH HASN'T BEEN USED IN A VERY LONG TIME.

AT LEAST YOU'RE ABLE TO HAVE IT FUNCTION AGAIN FOR THE PURPOSE A SYNAGOGUE WAS MEANT, NAMELY TO HOLD A PRAYER SERVICE.

IT'S KIND OF A REVITALIZATION, EVEN FOR A SHORT TIME.

>> FOR JOSEPHAI, IT WAS A DREAM 44 YEARS IN THE MAKING, AS THE VISITORS ENTERED A SANCTUARY THAT HAD BEEN SPIFFED UP.

THEY HEAPED PRAISE ON THEIR HOST.

>> THE PEOPLE HERE FEEL AND LIVE THIS JEWISH HISTORY.

YOU'RE SORT OF ON THE CUSP, BECAUSE WHEN HE GOES -- HE SHOULD LIVE TO BE 120 YEARS OLD WHEN HE GOES, THAT'S IT.

2,000 YEARS OF COCHIN IS GONE.

>> JOSEPHAI ACTUALLY PLANS TO BE GONE IN FOUR YEARS, RETIRING AND DOING WHAT THOUSANDS OF HIS FELLOW MALABAR JEWS HAVE DONE OVER THE YEARS -- MAKE ALIYAH OR SETTLE IN ISRAEL.

BUT IT'S A WRENCHING DECISION, LEAVING A LAND HE HOLDS DEAR AND A PLACE SO INFLUENTIAL IN FORMING WHO HE IS.

>> I'LL KEEP MY HEART OVER HERE AND THEN GO.

ALWAYS, I LOVE INDIA, BUT IT IS INEVITABLY -- ONE DAY, TODAY OR TOMORROW, I HAVE TO LEAVE THE COUNTRY, NOT BECAUSE OF THE DISCRIMINATION, BUT AS A JEW, TO LIVE AS A JEW.

♪ >> THERE'S A YEARNING INSIDE EVERY OBSERVANT JEW TO RETURN TO THE LAND OF ISRAEL, SAYS JOSEPHAI, WHO MAY WELL BE THAT LAST JEW -- THE ONE WHO'LL TURN OUT THE LIGHTS ON NEARLY A MILLENNIUM OF HISTORY IN THIS PLACE.

♪ >> YOU HAVE A NICE VOICE.

FOR "RELIGION & ETHICS NEWSWEEKLY," THIS IS FRED DE SAM LAZARO, IN COCHIN, INDIA.

>>> FINALLY, ON OUR CALENDAR, SUNDAY IS PENTECOST FOR WESTERN CHRISTIANS -- 50 DAYS AFTER EASTER.

ACCORDING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT, ON PENTECOST, THE HOLY SPIRIT CAME TO JESUS' FOLLOWERS IN THE FORM OF TONGUES OF FIRE.

>>> THAT'S OUR PROGRAM FOR NOW.

I'M BOB ABERNETHY.

YOU CAN FOLLOW US ON TWITTER AND FACEBOOK AND WATCH US ANYTIME ON THE PBS APP FOR iPHONES AND iPADS.

THERE IS MUCH MORE ON OUR WEBSITE.

JOIN US AT PBS.ORG ELIGIONETHICS.

AS WE LEAVE YOU, SCENES FROM AN OUTDOOR CEREMONY RE-OPENING AN HISTORIC MOSQUE IN BOSNIA THAT WAS DESTROYED DURING THE WAR THERE MORE THAN 20 YEARS AGO.

INTERFAITH LEADERS HOPE IT CAN BE A NEW SYMBOL OF RECONCILIATION.