Jewish Legacy in India: One Man’s Mission 🇮🇳✡️

A shop in Kochi, India, continues a decades-long tradition of Jewish embroidery, now run by a Muslim man who inherited the business from his Jewish friend and mentor. Thaha Ibrahim is preserving the legacy of Sarah Cohen and, in doing so, keeping alive a piece of the city’s dwindling Jewish history.

A Lasting Friendship in Jew Town

Thaha Ibrahim’s shop, marked with a sign reading “Sarah Cohen’s Home,” is located in Jew Town, a narrow cobbled lane in Kochi that was once home to a thriving Jewish community. Today, only one Jewish resident remains in the area.

Thaha, 55, was often found stitching a kippah, the traditional Jewish skullcap, when American tourists visited the shop on a recent afternoon. He frequently points out a photograph on the wall depicting Prince Charles meeting residents of Jew Town in 2013, identifying a woman with short white hair as Sarah Cohen.

“This was Sarah Cohen’s home and embroidery shop,” he tells visitors.

Sarah Cohen was a member of a close-knit Jewish population that settled in Kochi centuries ago, when the city was a major port and spice trade center. Thaha has run the shop since 2000, initially on Sarah’s behalf and then fully taking over after her death in 2019 at the age of 96.

“I was like a son to her. I spent more time looking after her than my own mother,” Thaha said. He regularly purchased kosher food and fish for her and remained at the shop until closing time.

Their unusual friendship spanned nearly four decades, bridging religious and economic differences. When Sarah died, she bequeathed the shop to Thaha, who promised to preserve her memory and the legacy of the Jewish community in Jew Town, which once had a population of 2,500 in the 18th century.

“In a way, I’m also trying to make sure the Jewish community here is not forgotten,” Thaha stated.

A History of Settlement

The arrival of Jews in Kerala is traditionally dated back 2,000 years to the reign of King Solomon. They arrived as traders on the Malabar coast near Cranganore (now Kodungallur) and later moved to Kochi, becoming known as the Malabari Jews.

Further arrivals came with Sephardic Jews fleeing Spanish persecution in 1492. Traveling through Portugal, Turkey, and Baghdad, they settled in Kochi and became known as the Paradesi (foreign) Jews. Together, they formed the Cochin Jews.

The community thrived in Kochi, a long-standing trading hub, under the protection of the Cochin king, ensuring their safety.

Sarah Cohen was born in the early 20th Century, during the height of Jew Town’s prosperity. She married Jacob, also born in the town, in 1944.

An Unexpected Connection

Thaha met the Cohens in the early 1980s after dropping out of school at age 13. He earned a living selling postcards to tourists visiting the Paradesi synagogue, built in 1568.

When a warehouse owner failed to provide storage space for his postcards one Sunday, Jacob offered space in their home. Sarah initially disapproved, and barely spoke to Thaha for three years.

Thaha occasionally ran errands for Jacob and would watch cricket on their television. Eventually, Sarah asked Thaha to help stitch a cushion cover for the synagogue. He discovered a natural talent for embroidery, likely inherited from his tailor father.

“I didn’t know I could draw patterns and stitch,” he said.

Thaha, then 19, helped Sarah open “Sarah’s Hand Embroidery” from her living room, selling kippahs, challah covers, and menorahs.

“She taught me everything I know,” Thaha said.

He described their friendship as unique, noting that Jews and Muslims in Jew Town rarely interacted. “But Sarah aunty and Jacob uncle never made me feel like an outsider, despite our different backgrounds.” His parents supported the friendship, believing the Cohens were helping their son find purpose.

A Community Lost

As Thaha and the Cohens grew closer, the Jewish population of Jew Town dwindled, falling from 250 in the 1940s to 20 in the 1990s. Today, only 67-year-old Keith Hallegua remains.

Many families emigrated to Israel after its establishment in 1948. According to Anna Zacharias, a doctoral candidate studying the Jews of Kerala, the move was driven by a desire to return to their homeland and economic opportunities, as well as a lack of marriage partners in Kerala.

However, religious persecution was not a factor in the Jews’ departure from multicultural Kochi, which had welcomed them for centuries. The Cohens, being childless, remained.

Before Jacob’s death in 1999, he asked Thaha to care for Sarah. Thaha moved his family closer to Jew Town to assist her. He ensured she was buried with a casket cover bearing the Star of David and continues to visit her grave.

Thousands of tourists, including many Jews, visit Kochi annually, drawn by a sense of belonging. Zacharias noted that the Jews of Kochi maintained their identity for centuries while also integrating into the local culture, speaking Malayalam and participating in the community.

Zacharias is also impressed by Thaha’s dedication to preserving Sarah’s legacy, calling their relationship “exemplary” and praising his commitment to maintaining Jewish traditions, such as closing the shop on Shabbat and lighting a lamp to mark the start of the day.

“To me, it’s not about religion but about humanity,” Thaha said.