A History of the Jews of Cochin

Description

The story of the Jews of Cochin, a tiny community on the Spice Coast of southwest India, spans at least two thousand years. According to legend, the apostle Thomas found a Jewish presence in this area, and the sandalwood in Solomon's temple at Jerusalem may well have come from Cochin. The earliest extant record is an inscription, dated 1000 AD, in Malayalam on copper plates, by which Indian princes granted exemption from taxation and other privileges to one Joseph Rabban. At about the same time a largely autonomous Jewish principality was set up at Shingli (Cranganur) near Cochin. After the arrival of the Portuguese in about 1500, their antipathy forced the Jews to abandon Shingli to settle at Cochin under the protection of the Rajah. There they maintained a vigorous Jewish life in spite of the terror of the Inquisition initiated at Goa in 1560. The Jewish community at Cochin probably never numbered more than 2000, divided, under the Indian caste system, between those of full Jewish descent and the 'black' offspring of intermarriage with the indigenous population. Dutch rule from 1663 heralded a period of prosperity, but the coming of the British in 1795 led to a decline in the fortunes of the Jews. Finally, as Indian independence was closely followed by the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, most of the community emigrated en masse to the Jewish homeland, and today only a handful of Jews remain in Jew Town, Cochin, to testify to this colourful saga of Jewish loyalty and courage.