India

Last Paradeshi  Jewish woman passes away

By Our Special Correspondent.  

Kochi, Aug 14 (IVC)   The  last of the Paradeshi Jewish women  in Kochi, Queenie  Hallegua, 89 years,  passed away here  on Aug 11.  She  was  the  daughter of late S Kodor who  was  considered  the iconic member of the Jewish community in the city.

                Ms Hallegua’s two children, who are now in the US, were  at  her bedside when she  died  peacefully. She  was  the  warden  and managing trustee of the Pardeshi Synagogue from 2012 to 2018.  She  was  the  managing  partner  of S Koder Private Limited until 2011.

                Her  father Mr  Koder , was  the first electricity  distributor in Kochi and at one time , operated he Kochi boat services.  She  was  born in the landmark Koder house  in Fort Kochi and went to Mattancherry after  marriage  to  Smuel Hallegua.

                She  is survived by her  children , Fiona and David Hallegua and their spouses  Alan nd Cici and her grandchild Eliana  who lives in the USA.  Her  last rites  were  conducted at the  Jew  Street   in Mattancherry  in the presence of  a large number of Jewish community  members, according to  Taha  Ibrahim . He  has  been  closely associated with  the Jewish community for  several decades. The  only  Jew   now in Kochi   is Keith Hallegua , nephew  of  Samuel Hallegua.

                Though Jewish traders are   believed  to have  frequented Kochi during  the   time of King  Solomon ( Son of David,10th Century B C , King of Israel)  who  established trade  relations with  India, the  ancestors of  the  extant Sephardic Jewish community here  arrived after  expulsion from the Iberian peninsula following the Alhambra Decree in 1742.  Jews  were  ordered under  the  decree either  to leave Spain or  convert  to Catholics.  Many chose to flee ,reached  port  townsin India  and the Jews of Kochi were among them.

                The  community was  trated well in Kochi, where the kings  gave them land   to settle nd they prospered.

                The  coming into being  of Israel in 1948 triggered a wave of  migration of the Jews  from different parts of  the  world  into Israel  and Paradeshi  Jews  were among them, though  some of  them migrated  to other  countries as  well. There  were  over 15,000  Jews were in Kochi at the  time  of the birth of Israel in 1948.

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