Emigration, mainly to Israel, is drawing the final curtain on the 1,900-year-old Jewish community of Cochin in the Indian State of Kerala. There are now only 350 Jews left of the community, which dates its settlement in India from the time of the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem by Rome. Elders of the community recently petitioned authorities for permission to transfer its assets – holy scrolls, books, liturgical objects, synagogue fixtures and religious ornaments – to Israel. Their petition noted that the transfer would permit the Cochin Jews to continue living as a community in Israel.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
