Over three decades later,Jewish family retraces Kochi roots

Jewish population in Kerala down to 48; most have migrated to Israel

The synagogue here,among the oldest in the Commonwealth countries,is testament to the slow death of a community. However,last week,the Jewish Synagogue,as it is called,got some unusual visitors: 73-year-old Sara Shabat and her children,grandchildren and great grandchildren,who are here from Israel to trace their family roots.

On Friday,they went house to house on the weather-beaten Jews Street,looking for acquaintances and bursting into tears on seeing a face or hearing a name that the elder among them could recall. They also joined the weekly Sabbath prayers with the dwindling number of Jews at the 442-year-old synagogue.

It was the familys elder son Hoor Japheth who was the first to decide to leave for Israel at the age of 17,in 1972. A rebel,I wanted to get away after Class XII. Israel was the only choice for me. My father had one demand,that I take my sister Bat Sheva,aged 15. The reason was that it was difficult to get eligible bridegrooms for her in the shrinking Jewish community in Kochi, says Hoor.

What finally decided matters for him,he says,was the massacre of Israeli sportspersons during the Munich Olympics of 1972. Impressed with the way Israel reacted to that incident,I realised that it was the nation where I should be. In October,a month after the massacre,I flew to Israel, recalls Hoor,now a director with the Israeli Ministry of Immigrant Absorption.

Hoor took brother Shlomo and sister Sheva with him to Jerusalem. Their mother Sara joined them in 1978 along with husband Japheth,who died later,and youngest daughter Palo Mira. Except for Hoor,this is the first visit for the others since migrating to Israel. Shlomo is now an inspector with the Internal Population and Border Authority in Jerusalem.

Hoor says around 100 Jewish families who migrated from Kerala are settled in a suburban area of Jerusalem. At least once a year,migrants from Kerala meet to reinforce their bond.

However,he doesnt believe many of them would come back to Kochi. I do not expect they would do so,just so to keep the Jewish history in Kerala moving forward. The migrants have developed a deep bond with Israel. Those who are staying back in Kochi are doing so because of their old age, says Hoor.

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During the prosperous days,the community in Kerala had a strength of 2,500. After the creation of the state of Israel in 1948,the exodus began. Now the Jewish population in Kerala is all of 48,a majority of them old.

Sara Shabats family,in fact,wanted to hold a feast to mark their historic journey back to their roots,but couldnt because of this. Says Shlomo: We faced several problems. The local members are very old. We would not get meat as per Jewish custom. The community did not have enough hands to cook the food.