Jew with roots in Kerala loses grandson in Israel-Hamas war

Thiruvananthapuram: A Jewish who had migrated from Kerala to Israel during the 1950s reportedly lost his grandson in the ongoing war with Hamas.

Yosi Oran, who migrated to Israel from Chendamangalam near Kochi during his childhood in 1950s, reportedly lost his grandson Amit Most, who was serving in the Israeli military. Oran, who is secretary of a forum of  Jews from Kochi in Israel, had shared his grief on the social media page.

As per local media reports, Oran was born in Chendamangalam in 1945 and he later migrated to Israel.

Chendamangalam, which is around 35 kilometres from Kochi, was a place in Kerala where Jews lived. Some still own properties in the region. The Chendamangalam Synagogue is one of the oldest known synagogues built by the Malabar Jews.

Fasal Rahman, a local ward member, told DH that at present there are no Jews left in the region. All of them migrated by 1970s.

One person who still maintained a strong bond with Kerala was Eliahu Bezalel, who still owns a house here. Till a few years back Bezalel, who is a farmer, used to spend around two months annually in Kerala. But now he is around 90 thus, unable to travel.

Rahman also said that Chendamangalam might be the only place where a temple, church, synagogue and a mosque are situated within a distance of 200 metres. 

The centuries old synagogue is now a tourist attraction.