Source: IE
Context: The recent death of the last Paradesi Jewish woman in Kerala, marks a significant moment in this community’s history.
- Kerala’s Jewish community, once thriving, has dwindled to near extinction.
- From a peak population of 20,000-50,000 in the 1940s, India’s Jewish population is now estimated at 4,000-5,000, mostly Marathi-speaking Bene Israel on the Konkan coast.
Kerala had two main Jewish communities: the Malabar Jews, who trace their origins back to the time of King Solomon, and the Paradesi Jews, who migrated from the Iberian Peninsula in the 15th and 16th centuries.
The Paradesi Jews, once active in Kerala’s spice trade, became a distinct group, adopting local customs but eventually separating themselves from the older Malabar Jewish community.
Kerala’s Jewish communities rarely faced persecution and many thrived under Dutch, Hindu, and later British rule.
However, since the 1950s, most Kerala Jews have migrated to Israel, leaving only a handful of Malabar and Paradesi Jews in Kerala today.
