India is a place where people of many religions and communities live. You must have heard about Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Christian, Jain, Parsi etc., but do you know that Jews also live in one place in Kochi, India. Many Jews live in a place called Mattancherry in Kochi. Now these Jews are making a place named Jew Town in Mattancherry in such a way that this place will look like a mini Israel. That is, now this market is being made giving a touch of Israeli culture.
In such a situation, today we tell you what is the story of this area and the people of which community live there now. Along with this, know how this area has an important contribution in a country of unity in diversity.
What’s special in Jew Town?
Jew Town is a place where many Jewish families live. Although a large number of Jewish families have moved to Israel, Malabari Jews in Mattancherry are carrying on the Jewish heritage at the Pardesi Synagogue and the Kadavumbhagam Synagogue. It is said that about 460 years ago, the Pardesi Synagogue was established in Mattancherry. The Kadavumbhagam Synagogue is believed to have been constructed much earlier. Earlier Jews used to do spice business here, but slowly now people started working related to handicrafts.
Let us tell you that the oldest Jewish community in the world came to India two and a half thousand years ago and settled as a businessman near Kochi on the Malabar Coast. He used to speak a mixture of Hebrew and Malayalam language. According to reports, now only 100 Kochi Jews are left, while more than 7,000 Israelis have fled.
How is Jew Town?
Jew Town is near Mattancherry Bus Stand and here is the Jewish Synagogue. This synagogue was built in 1568 AD by the Malabar Jews or the Cochin Jewish community. As you walk towards this synagogue in Jew Street, you start seeing its white walls. Walking on Jew Street in Fort Kochi, one can see the spice market, where once a large number of Jewish people engaged in the spice trade lived. Most of the Jews settled here have now returned to their homeland of Israel. Evidence of the presence of the Jewish community in Mattancherry is the nearby Jewish cemetery with inscriptions in both Malayalam and Hebrew on used tombstones.
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