Jewish community that settled in the Kingdom of Cochin in modern-day Kerala, India
Not to be confused with Paradesi Jews (White Jews) of Cochin who immigrated from Spain/Portugal during the 15th century.
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Cochin Jews
יְהוּדֵֽי־קוֹצִֽ׳ין കൊച്ചിയിലെ ജൂതന്മാർ
A Malabar Jewish family (1900)
Regions with significant populations
Israel
7,000–8,000 (estimated)[1]
India
15[2]
Languages
Hebrew, Judeo-Malayalam
Religion
Judaism
Related ethnic groups
Paradesi Jews, Knanaya, Sephardic Jews, Bene Israel, Baghdadi Jews, Mizrahi Jews, Saint Thomas Christians, Dravidian people
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Cochin Jews (also known as Malabar Jews or Kochinim from Hebrew: יְהוּדֵֽי־קוֹצִֽ׳ין, romanized: Yehudey Kochin) are the oldest group of Jews in India, with roots that are claimed to date back to the time of King Solomon.[3][4] The Cochin Jews settled in the Kingdom of Cochin in South India,[5] now part of the present-day state of Kerala.[6][7] As early as the 12th century, mention is made of the Jews in southern India by Benjamin of Tudela.
Following their expulsion from Iberia in 1492 by the Alhambra Decree, a few families of Sephardi Jews eventually made their way to Cochin in the 16th century. They became known as Paradesi Jews (or Foreign Jews). The European Jews maintained some trade connections to Europe, and their language skills were useful. Although the Sephardim spoke Ladino (Spanish or Judeo-Spanish), in India they learned Judeo-Malayalam from the Malabar Jews.[8] The two communities retained their ethnic and cultural distinctions.[9] In the late 19th century, a few Arabic-speaking Jews, known as Baghdadis, also immigrated to southern India from the Near East.[citation needed][10]
After India gained its independence in 1947 and Israel was established as a nation, most of the Cochin Jews made Aliyah and emigrated from Kerala to Israel in the mid-1950s.
In contrast, most of the Paradesi Jews (Sephardi in origin) preferred to migrate to Australia and other Commonwealth countries, similar to the choices made by Anglo-Indians.[11]
Most of their synagogues still exist in Kerala, with a few being sold or adapted for other uses.
Among the 8 synagogues that survived till the mid-20th century, only the Paradesi synagogue still has a regular congregation. Today it also attracts tourists as a historic site.
The Kadavumbhagam Ernakulam Synagogue was restored in 2018, it houses a sefer torah with occasional services, managed by one of few remaining Cochin Jews of the ancient Malabar Jewish tradition. A few synagogues are in ruins and one was even demolished and a two-storeyed house was built in its place.
The synagogue at Chendamangalam (Chennamangalam) was reconstructed in 2006 as Kerala Jews Life Style Museum.[12]
The synagogue at Paravur (Parur) has been reconstructed as Kerala Jews History Museum.[13][14]
^"Jews from Cochin Bring Their Unique Indian Cuisine to Israeli Diners", Tablet Magazine, by Dana Kessler, 23 October 2013
^"Ancient Indian Jewish community holds on to customs despite shrinking numbers". 13 September 2022.
^The Jews of India: A Story of Three Communities by Orpa Slapak. The Israel Museum, Jerusalem. 2003. p. 27. ISBN 965-278-179-7.
^Weil, Shalva. "Jews in India." in M. Avrum Erlich (ed.) Encyclopaedia of the Jewish Diaspora, Santa Barbara, USA: ABC CLIO. 2008, 3: 1204-1212.
^Weil, Shalva. India's Jewish Heritage: Ritual, Art, and Life-Cycle, Mumbai: Marg Publications, 2009. [first published in 2002; 3rd edn] Katz 2000; Koder 1973; Menachery 1998
^Weil, Shalva. "Cochin Jews", in Carol R. Ember, Melvin Ember and Ian Skoggard (eds) Encyclopedia of World Cultures Supplement, New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2002. pp. 78-80.
^Weil, Shalva. "Cochin Jews" in Judith Baskin (ed.) Cambridge Dictionary of Judaism and Jewish Culture, New York: Cambridge University Press, 2011. pp. 107.
^Katz 2000; Koder 1973; Thomas Puthiakunnel 1973.
^Weil, Shalva. "The Place of Alwaye in Modern Cochin Jewish History", Journal of Modern Jewish Studies, 2010. 8(3): 319-335.
^Weil, S. 2019 (ed.) The Baghdadi Jews in India: Maintaining Communities, Negotiating Identities and Creating Super-Diversity, London and New York: Routledge.
^Weil, Shalva. From Cochin to Israel, Jerusalem: Kumu Berina, 1984. (Hebrew)
^Weil, Shalva (with Jay Waronker and Marian Sofaer) The Chennamangalam Synagogue: Jewish Community in a Village in Kerala. Kerala: Chennamangalam Synagogue, 2006.
^"The Synagogues of Kerala, India: Architectural and Cultural Heritage." Cochinsyn.com, Friends of Kerala Synagogues, 2011.M
^Weil, Shalva. "In an Ancient Land: Trade and synagogues in south India", Asian Jewish Life. 2011. [1]
CochinJews (also known as Malabar Jews or Kochinim from Hebrew: יְהוּדֵֽי־קוֹצִֽ׳ין, romanized: Yehudey Kochin) are the oldest group of Jews in India...
CochinJews Desi Jews Meshuchrarim Paradesi Jews Sephardic Jews in India Christianity in India History of the Jews in Afghanistan History of the Jews...
of Israel. Indian Jews who live in Israel include thousands of CochinJews and Paradesi Jews of Kerala; thousands of Baghdadi Jews from Mumbai and Kolkata;...
flourishing Paradesi Jewish community in Kochi. CochinJews were composed mainly of the much older Malabari Jews and the newly arrived Sephardic refugees from...
preserving some Jewish traditions and customs. CochinJews, also called Malabar Jews, are the oldest group of Jews in India, with possible roots that are claimed...
Tamil and Konkani as well as Judeo-Malayalam from the CochinJews, also known as Malabar Jews.[full citation needed] After India gained its independence...
Kochi (/ˈkoʊtʃi/; Malayalam: [koˈtːʃi] ), also known by its former name Cochin (/ˈkoʊtʃɪn/ KOH-chin), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India...
commonly found among Iranian and Iraqi Jews and also present among Italian Jews, and the MtDNA of CochinJews also has some similarities to MtDNA lineages...
of Ashkenazi Jews, Sephardic Jews, and Mizrahi Jews, as well as many smaller Jewish communities, such as the Beta Israel, the CochinJews, the Bene Israel...
Nevatim was re-established at a slightly different location in 1954 by CochinJews, who had immigrated from Kochi, India.[citation needed] About half of...
settled there. CochinJews, also called Malabar Jews, are the descendants of Israelites who settled in the South Indian port city of Cochin. They traditionally...
Mountain Jews from the Caucasus, Indian Jews including the Malabar Yehuddim (CochinJews), Bene Israel, Bnei Menashe and Bene Ephraim, the Afghan Jews and...
while a Cochin Jewish folk song describes Ruth dressed and groomed like a Malayali girl or Cochin Jewish bride. For both the Knanaya and CochinJews, these...
created, most Desi Jews immigrated mainly to Israel. Baghdadi Jews Bene Ephraim Bene Israel Bnei Menashe CochinJews History of the Jews in Bangladesh History...
Bukharan Jews of Central Asia. Some Jews migrated to India, establishing the Bene Israel, the Baghdadi Jews and the CochinJews of India (Jews in India);...
restricted to, Indian Jews such as the Bene Israel, Bnei Menashe, CochinJews, and Bene Ephraim; the Romaniotes of Greece; the Italian Jews ("Italkim" or "Bené...
distinct Jewish groups—the ancient CochinJews, and Bene Israel communities as well as the more recent Baghdadi Jews. The Jews in India had very peaceful existence...
Shalva (1982). "Symmetry between Christians and Jews in India: The Cananite Christians and CochinJews in Kerala". Contributions to Indian Sociology. 16...
"Shanivar Teli" (lit. 'Saturday oil-presser') or "Native Jew" caste, are a community of Jews in India. It has been suggested that they are the descendants...
Bearys of Kanara region and the Mappilas along Malabar region, and the cochinjews and Syriac Nasranis along the southernmost region of South India. The...
cosmopolitan, and have been home to some of the first groups of Jews (known today as CochinJews), Syrian Christians (known as Saint Thomas Christians), Muslims...
during the time of King Solomon. They are called CochinJews or Malabar Jews and are the oldest group of Jews in India. There was a significant Jewish community...
and Zionist, a lawyer and politician, and one of the most prominent CochinJews of the twentieth century. Popularly known by his epithet of "Jewish Gandhi"...
The grant is or was cherished by both "Black Jews" and the "White Jews" (the Spanish Jews) of Cochin as a historical document and their "original" settlement...
from the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula and the Malabari and CochinJews from Kerala . Many of these groups have developed differences in their...
the centre of life in the Jewish Quarter. In addition to the CochinJews and Paradesi Jews, Mattanchery is also home to Konkanis and Gujaratis, with the...
became known as the CochinJews. The European Jews were also referred to as the Paradesi Jews (associated with foreigners) or White Jews, given their European...