Two recent incidents in Kochi — an attempted arson near the Kadavumbhagam Synagogue in Ernakulam Market on Monday (October 12) and a fire at Fort Kochi’s heritage structure Koder House on September 29 — have brought the tiny community of Keralam’s Jews into focus.From what was a bustling community of close to 2,400 at its peak in the 1950s, there remain only a handful of Jews across the state. So, who are the Jews of Keralam, also called the Cochin Jews? And how did they arrive and settle in the region? We explain.Different historical narratives exist as to when the Jewish people first arrived on Keralam’s shores.By some accounts, Keralam’s unique geographical location — sandwiched between the Arabian Sea to its west and the Western Ghats to its east — made it ideal for growing spices. Their high demand in ancient times meant that trade with different parts of the Old World (spanning regions across Europe, West Asia, and North Africa) flourished across the coast, particularly the Malabar region. This thriving spice trade first drew the Jews to Keralam’s ports all the way from West Asia. The Jew town in Mattanchery (Abhinav Chakraborty)“One narrative holds that they were part of the fleet of King Solomon (r. 970-931 BCE), which is believed to have brought materials from South India (as in, the Malabar coast) to build his temple. Items like ivory, gold, and peacocks mentioned in the Hebrew Bible have Dravidian linguistic origins. Some of his fleet may have settled on the Malabar coast centuries before the advent of Christ,” Prof. Shalva Weil, senior researcher at the Seymour Fox School of Education, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, told The Indian Express.But the earliest tangible documentary evidence comes from the famous copper plates dated around 1000 CE, Weil said. Gifted to Joseph Rabban — recognised as the leader of the Jews — by King Bhaskara Ravi Varma of Cranganore (present-day Kodungallur), these plates conferred 72 specific royal privileges, such as riding an elephant and collecting taxes, for “as long as the sun and the moon endure”. It also granted land around a village called Anjuvannam, where Keralam’s first-recorded Jewish settlement was established.In the following years, Anjuvannam prospered under Rabban’s rule and even came to be known as “Jerusalem of the East”. But this only lasted a few centuries before disaster — both natural and man-made — struck.Story continues below this adThe ancient port town of Kodungallur, located on the Periyar River close to the Malabar coast, had been a major source of Jewish prosperity until then. But the floods of 1341 brought ill fortune: according to historians, it created new land masses, altered the river’s course, and caused heavy silting of the port region, which led to its disappearance altogether. It also resulted in Cochin (now Kochi) emerging as the most accessible port on the Malabar coast, compelling the royal family to shift base. Many Jews soon followed suit.Also Read | In Fort Kochi, a blaze eats into a Jewish legacy: what the Koder House heldBut there was another reason that triggered this mass relocation: in-fighting. What began as a property dispute between two descendants of Rabban soon escalated and divided the entire community, eventually leading to fratricide and destruction of the Anjuvannam settlement. The subsequent resettlement resulted in the community gaining the name “Cochin Jews” over time.The different Jewish communitiesHaving immigrated from various parts of the world, the Jews in the state have identified themselves based on their proclaimed origins. Stamp issued in 1968 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the Cochin Synagogue in Mattanchery (Abhinav Chakraborty)Broadly, the state’s Jews are divided into two distinct communities — the Malabari or “black” Jews and the Paradesi or “white” Jews. The Malabari Jews are the descendants of those Jews who arrived from ancient West Asia, but upon arrival, intermarried with the natives. According to Weil, the Malabaris favour the “biblical narrative” of the Jews first arriving in Keralam as part of King Solomon’s fleet, or at least early in history — long before the Paradesi Cochin Jews arrived.Story continues below this ad“Although they claimed at one point that they arrived in the fourth century CE, the Paradesi Jews in fact arrived later as traders following the 1492 expulsion from Spain, the expulsion from Portugal, and movements from places like Syria and Yemen. Modern consensus places their arrival primarily in the 15th and 16th centuries from Europe and the Ottoman Empire,” Weil said. The Paradesis (comes from the word paradesi, meaning foreigner), however, considered themselves of “pure” European blood and refused to mix with the indigenous peoples or even the Malabari Jews, marrying within their own community.In her 2008 book The Last Jews of Kerala, the British writer Edna Fernandes noted: “Keen to distinguish themselves, the Paradesis claimed they had never been polluted by non-Jewish blood. They claimed to have a deeper understanding of the Torah and Jewish knowledge and sought to distance themselves in order to win a higher place in the caste-based society of Cochin. Just as the higher caste members of the Kerala Hindu society segregated themselves from others on the basis of religious purity, so the Paradesis distanced themselves from the Malabari Jews.”Today, the Malabar Jews have synagogues in Ernakulam, Fort Kochi’s Mattancherry, Chendamangalam, Paravur, and Mala, while the Paradesis have only one in Mattancherry’s Jewish quarter or “Jew Town” — established in 1568, it remains the oldest active synagogue in the Commonwealth of Nations (a group of over 50 countries that were formerly part of the British Empire). Synagogues such as those in Chendamangalam and Paravur have been renovated and preserved as heritage museum sites under the Archaeological Survey of India.But how were relations between the Malabaris and Paradesis? “They really didn’t mix too much. They maintained separate synagogues, and the Paradesi Synagogue did not call the Malabar Jews up to read from the Torah. Until the 20th century, at least, the two communities remained separate and did not intermarry, although social relations were often cordial. Relations were exclusive within the broader framework of India’s caste society,” Weil said.Story continues below this adAlso Read | The two October revolutions and how they shaped our modern worldThere were two other smaller but significant Jewish communities in Cochin. The Arab-speaking Baghdadi Jews, who arrived in the 18th and 19th centuries from places in present-day Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan, gradually came to be considered as “white” Jews.And there were the “Meshuchrarim” (literally, “the freed people”), a term used to refer to a group who were part of the Paradesi community, and included freed slaves brought from parts of Europe (such as Spain, Portugal, and the Netherlands) as well as converts and their descendants. Considered inferior and denied any special rights, they were neither allowed to enter the synagogue nor allowed to have their own synagogues.“However, internal dynamics shifted when Abraham ben Barak Salem (from the Meshuchrarim) led a social movement demanding equal ritual rights within the Paradesi Synagogue. His rebellion succeeded, Paradesi intermarried with Meshuchrarim, and that is why the Paradesi community today includes people of darker colour,” Weil said.From colonial rule to IndependenceHistorical accounts suggest that when the Jews first arrived on the Malabar coast, the local rulers were quite welcoming. These kings granted them tracts of land that were often close to their own palaces and allowed them autonomy and freedom to practise their faith.Story continues below this ad Paradesi Synagogue in Mattanchery, Kochi (Abhinav Chakraborty)“Relations with local rulers were really excellent. For instance, the Paradesi Synagogue’s clock tower points directly towards the Maharaja’s Palace, reflecting the protection provided by local rulers. Relations were exceptionally good between the Jews and their neighbours, including Muslims,” Weil said.But the colonial period has a mixed record, especially the Portuguese rule (1503-1663). “Under the Portuguese, it was a very difficult period. The Portuguese set up an Inquisition in Goa as well as an Inquisition in Cochin. Conversos (Jews who had converted to Catholicism but maintained Jewish practices) were persecuted by the Portuguese in Cochin itself. Many Jews fled,” Weil said. The Inquisition refers to a judicial system that the Roman Catholic Church institutionalised between the 15th and 17th centuries to investigate and punish people who didn’t agree with its beliefs.Conditions were better under the subsequent colonisers, according to Weil. “Under the Dutch (1663-1795) and the British (late 18th century until Independence), everything was fine. For instance, David Rahabi, a Paradesi Jew, served as the chief principal officer of the Dutch East India Company in South India.”In 1947, India gained independence, and the following year, the State of Israel was formed. Weil said that Cochin Jews viewed the declaration of the State of Israel as the “fulfilment of their prayers”. Although Cochin Jews numbered around 2,400 at its peak in the early 1950s, practically all Malabari Jews undertook “aliyah” — the act of immigration from the diaspora to the State of Israel — in 1954 and settled in agricultural communities. “The Paradesi Jews, who were smaller in number (around 600 to 800), migrated to Israel gradually,” Weil said.Story continues below this adNewsletterFollow our daily newsletter so you never miss anything important. On Wednesday, we answer readers' questions.SubscribeWeil also pointed out that once these Cochin Jews moved to Israel, their relations also improved substantially. “In Israel today, relations between the Malabar and Paradesi communities are very good, and people understand past historical acrimonies within their historical context,” she said.In the years following Independence, the “Jew Town” in Mattancherry gained an outsized reputation, especially among tourists visiting Fort Kochi. In 1968, the Paradesi Synagogue marked its quatercentenary celebrations — the event was attended by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and the government even issued a commemorative postage stamp. And even though members of the community continued to migrate abroad, the symbols of Jewish heritage have persisted.Today, only a few remain: prominent Cochin Jews include Keith Hallegua, the lone Paradesi Jew in Fort Kochi’s Mattancherry, and Elias Joseph, the last Malabari Jew in Ernakulam who also serves as caretaker of the Kadavumbhagam Synagogue. But despite their dwindling numbers, the community has managed to leave a lasting imprint on Keralam’s society and culture.