After centuries in India, the last Cochin Jews try to keep their history alive

KOCHI, India (AP) — As the sun set over Kochi’s historic Jew Town neighborhood, Keith Hallegua donned a gray kippah and began a solitary walk to the synagogue at the end of his cobbled street.

It was Shavuot, the Jewish holiday commemorating God giving the Torah to Moses. Hallegua reached the 458-year-old Paradesi Synagogue where he knew he would pray alone — without a minyan, the quorum of 10 males required for a communal service.

Hallegua is the synagogue's last local congregant — the only Jew left in Jew Town.

Across the city at the centuries-old Kadavumbagam Synagogue, Elias “Babu” Josephai remembered the “chukkunda" — fried dough balls his grandmother used to make for Shavuot.

“It wasn’t much,” he said, wiping away tears. “But at that time, it was everything."

They ache for what’s already gone and work to preserve what's left.

In the 1950s, much of the Jewish community in Kochi (historically known as Cochin), a seaport on India’s southwestern coast, immigrated to Israel, leaving behind their homes, synagogues and cemeteries.

Hallegua and Josephai stayed. Now they represent the final chapter for the Cochin Jews who have lived peacefully — and without fear of antisemitism — for centuries alongside Hindu, Muslim and Christian neighbors. There are now fewer than 5,000 Jews in all of India, the world's most populous country.

But the Cochin Jewish community's complex history includes both religious freedom and internal divisions over class and colorism. Hallegua is a Paradesi Jew, the once-dominant group whose fair-skinned, Sephardic ancestors from Spain and Portugal fled the Spanish Inquisition in the 16th century. They brought enslaved people with them, and their freed descendants, known as the Meshuchrarim Jews, were relegated to a lower social status and had to fight for religious equality.

Josephai is a Malabari Jew. The group's darker-skinned ancestors trace their roots back more than 2,000 years, to King Solomon’s time. They also faced past discrimination from the Paradesi community. While these divisions didn't survive after the Cochin Jews migrated to Israel and elsewhere, the bitter remnants still haunt the community's legacy.

Though Hallegua and Josephai rarely meet, both are intensely proud of their ancient heritage.

Josephai spent years resurrecting Kadavumbagam Synagogue, the last functioning Malabari house of worship. Services are rare; it's up to Josephai to light the lamps and keep the prayers going, often alone. He weeps for the past, when the synagogue was filled with people, prayers and songs.

“That will never come back,” he said.

Hallegua is the last local member of Paradesi Synagogue, which now relies on tourists and visitors to have a quorum for services.

“Quite often, I walk to the synagogue and I ask HaShem (God), why have you done this?” Hallegua said. “I never hear a response.”

On a recent morning, tourists crowded the Paradesi Synagogue and Synagogue Lane, the street it anchors. Former homes are now occupied by spice warehouses and stores selling antiques and handicrafts. Historically, the Jewish community played a major role in the spice trade in Kochi, a hub for black pepper, cardamom and nutmeg.

The synagogue’s entryway leads to a main hall with blue and white Chinese porcelain tile floors. Nineteenth century Belgian crystal chandeliers and colorful glass lanterns adorn the sanctuary. A carved teakwood Torah ark stands at the western wall facing Jerusalem. As in other Kochi synagogues, the women’s section is upstairs. Visitors slip off their shoes, in keeping with regional etiquette.

Synagogue trustee M.C. Praveen says his life's mission is protecting Cochin Jewish history. Praveen, a Hindu, spent his childhood in Jew Town, attending school with Hallegua's family members, eating Shabbat dinners, playing cricket near the synagogue.

“I want to make sure future generations know the history of this town and the people who lived here,” said Praveen, who seeks guidance from the community's former residents and their far-flung children.

The connections transcend geography. Trustee Shulamit Kotzer, 55, was born in Jew Town and spent vacations there after moving to Israel at age 2. She dreams of opening a hotel in the neighborhood.

“I consider Cochin not a second home, but my home,” she said.

Earlier this year, synagogue leaders opened a museum showcasing Kochi's Jewish history. It features the settlement's original deed: two copper plates bearing a Hindu king's charter from 1000 CE granting the community religious freedom.

Praveen is not the only non-Jew trying to ensure the community's culture survives.

Thaha Ibrahim, a Muslim, forged a profound connection with the late Sarah Cohen, one of the neighborhood's Jewish matriarchs. He now runs her embroidery shop on Synagogue Lane. Cohen, or “Sarah aunty” as he calls her, taught him how to do Cochin Jewish embroidery.

“I'm teaching my son to do this embroidery so he can continue Sarah aunty's legacy,” he said.

Ibrahim lights Shabbat candles on Fridays and closes his shop on Saturdays. Muslim-Jewish tensions elsewhere in the world are not a deterrent, he says.

“This is not about religion, it's about human connection."

Across the city in Ernakulam, Josephai shoulders the preservation of Malabari Jewish heritage. The 12th century Kadavumbagam Synagogue, which he saved after vandals destroyed it, is tucked behind the store where he sells aquarium fish and plants. The renovated interior features hand-crafted tile and a red-and-gold Torah ark.

Josephai is proud that people of different faiths helped him rebuild. A Muslim donated the lamps, a Christian gave a Ten Commandments plaque, a Hindu foundation paid for the chandeliers.

An oil lamp hangs in front of the ark, its flame kept burning by Josephai. He also keeps the synagogue prayers going, a promise made to his grandmother after his siblings moved to Israel in 1972.

“Every Jew has a dream that his last breath should be in Israel," he said. “I believe my last breath should be inside this synagogue.”

Josephai, 70, hopes a Jewish organization will take over the synagogue, along with the library and museum he is building.

“Once I’m gone, there is no one who can tell these stories,” he said. “But this is our fate and that’s how it is.”

Thapan Dubayehudi, a Malabari Jew who moved to Vienna in 2022, called Josephai “a one-man army” keeping the history alive. He remembers sitting with Josephai as they assembled and lit hundreds of lamps in the sanctuary during Hanukkah.

“I’d carry that memory with me if God gives me 90 years of life,” he said.

Keith Hallegua also stayed to fulfill family responsibilities.

“Never did I ever think that I would be the last Jew in Jew Town,” said Hallegua, who remained to care for his brother and mother.

His mind teems with memories. Singing the Paradesi Jewish tunes that blended Sephardic chants with local folk elements. The aroma of his mother's chili chicken. His grandmother's frantic cleaning ahead of Passover, Hallegua’s favorite season. The new clothes for Rosh Hashanah.

“That’s never going to come back,” Hallegua said.

He realizes his memories will vanish with him. It's deeply painful, and some days he wants to leave Jew Town. But he is grounded by his homeland and its history.

As he once explained, “I was born a Jew in India and I shall die in India, a Jew.”

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

An iron stand with a message at the entrance to the historic Jew Town neighborhood of Kochi, India, Wednesday, May 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

Elias Josephai, a Malabari Jew, speaks to The Associated Press at the 12th-century Kadavumbagam Synagogue in Ernakulam, mainland district of Kochi, India, Thursday, May 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

Elias Josephai, a Malabari Jew, wipes away tears while speaking to The Associated Press at the 12th-century Kadavumbagam Synagogue in Ernakulam, mainland district of Kochi, India, Thursday, May 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

Keith Hallegua, center, walks past a handicrafts store toward the 458-year-old Paradesi Synagogue in the historic Jew Town neighborhood of Kochi, India, Thursday, May 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

An Indian man prostrates himself in a traditional Hindu gesture of obeisance to the Torah ark during his visit to the 12th-century Kadavumbagam Synagogue in Ernakulam, mainland district of Kochi, India, Thursday, May 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

Keith Hallegua, a Paradesi Jew, speaks to The Associated Press at his home in the historic Jew Town neighborhood of Kochi, India, Wednesday, May 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

Visitors walk past a sign featuring a map of Kochi and details about the Paradesi Synagogue and the Jewish cemetery in the historic Jew Town neighborhood of Kochi, India, Thursday, May 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

A nun walks through the main hall with its blue-and-white Chinese porcelain tile floor at the 458-year-old Paradesi Synagogue in the historic Jew Town neighborhood of Kochi, India, Wednesday, May 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

Elias Josephai, a Malabari Jew, speaks to his guests at the 12th-century Kadavumbagam Synagogue in Ernakulam, mainland district of Kochi, India, Thursday, May 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

Keith Hallegua, a Paradesi Jew, stands next to his dining table as his cat walks past at his home in the historic Jew Town neighborhood of Kochi, India, Thursday, May 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

Visitors view photos displayed inside a museum showcasing Cochin's Jewish history next to the 458-year-old Paradesi Synagogue in the historic Jew Town neighborhood of Kochi, India, Wednesday, May 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

PRAHOVO, Serbia (AP) — Water levels on the Danube River, the second longest in Europe, have dropped so low because of drought that the hulks of dozens of World War II German warships are emerging into view.

They are a curious distraction from the summer heat crisis. The Danube’s record low water levels also have forced power plants to the brink of shutting down, and governments across Central and Eastern Europe are taking steps to conserve electricity.

In the middle of the river separating Serbia and Romania near the Serbian port of Prahovo, a rusty hull is now visible along with a broken mast where the Nazi flag used to fly.

The ships, some still laden with weapons, belonged to Nazi Germany’s Black Sea fleet that the Germans deliberately sank as they retreated from Romania and as Soviet forces advanced deeper into Europe near the end of the war.

Historians say up to 200 German warships were scuttled in September 1944 near Prahovo in the Danube gorge as they came under Soviet fire. The idea behind the deliberate sinking was to slow down the Soviet advance in the Balkans. But Nazi Germany surrendered months later, in May 1945.

The sight of the old warships is a reminder that the Serbian government, with European Union financial support, has long been trying to do something about them. Some were removed from the river by Communist Yugoslav authorities, but most have remained because of the explosives they carried.

Now, however, authorities are trying to keep traffic flowing on the Danube, which flows through 10 nations, as the dropping water levels create dangerous conditions. Experts have linked the unusually hot weather to global warming and other factors.

Krsta Brandic, a Prahovo resident, said the low water levels have almost stopped ship traffic: “As you can see, the (big) ships can’t pass anymore."

Associated Press writer Dusan Stojanovic contributed from Belgrade, Serbia.

This story was first published on Aug. 5, 2026. It was updated on Aug. 7, 2026, to correct that the ships being exposed because of low water levels are warships and not battleships, which are a specific type of very large vessel.

The wreckage of a WWII German warship emerges, due to the drought, in front of Djerdap II, a large dam on the Danube River, between Romania and Serbia, near Prahovo, Serbia, Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

The wreckage of a WWII German warship emerges, due to the drought, in front of Djerdap II, a large dam on the Danube River, between Romania and Serbia, near Prahovo, Serbia, Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

People watch the wreckage of a WWII German warship, emerged due to the drought, in front of Djerdap II, a large dam on the Danube River, between Romania and Serbia, near Prahovo, Serbia, Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

People watch the wreckage of a WWII German warship, emerged due to the drought, in front of Djerdap II, a large dam on the Danube River, between Romania and Serbia, near Prahovo, Serbia, Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

People watch the wreckage of a WWII German warship, emerged due to the drought, in front of Djerdap II, a large dam on the Danube River, between Romania and Serbia, near Prahovo, Serbia, Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

A man walks on the sandbank by the wreckage of a WWII German warship, emerged due to the drought, in front of Djerdap II, a large dam on the Danube River, between Romania and Serbia, near Prahovo, Serbia, Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)