Paradesi Jews
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Paradesi Jews refer to Jewish immigrants to the Indian subcontinent during the 15th and 16th centuries following the expulsion of Jews from Spain and Portugal. Paradesi means foreign in Malayalam and
Portrait of David Henriques De Castro, by Gabriel Haim Henriques De Castro (1838-1897)
The 1921 Census of British India shows 45 Jews living in Madras.
Rabbi Salomon Halevi (Last Rabbi of Madras Synagogue) and his wife Rebecca Cohen (Najran Jew)
Mr. Cohen (Najran Jew), his German wife, and children, Paradesi Jews of Madras
Cochin Jews
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Cochin Jews are one of the oldest groups of Jews in India, with roots that are claimed to date back to the time of King Solomon. The Cochin Jews settled in the Kingdom of Cochin in South India, now pa
Paradesi Jews
…and antisemitism. The Paradesi Jews of Cochin traded in spices. They are a community of Mizrahi Jews and Sephardic Jews settled among the larger Cochin Jewish community located in Kerala, a coastal southern state of India. Paradesi Jews of Madras (now Chennai) traded in Golconda diamonds, precious stones, and…
A Malabar Jewish family (1900)
Arrival of the Jewish pilgrims at Cochin, 71 CE
Jewish couple depicted in 16th century Portuguese Códice Casanatense
Photo identified as "White Jew town", Cochin, 1913