KOCHI: Haim Aharon, a prominent member of the Mala Jewish community and a tireless advocate for the preservation of Jewish heritage in Kerala, passed away following a sudden heart failure on Saturday. He was 78 years old and was residing in Israel.
Born in 1947 to Esther and Moshe in a well-known Jewish family in Mala, a Jewish settlement in Thrissur (Kerala), Haim immigrated to Israel with his parents in 1954. He was seven years old then.
Decades later, in 1997, he returned to his birthplace for the first time, visiting his ancestral home, the Mala Synagogue, and the Jewish cemetery. By then, the house where he was born had become the Mala Post Office and was well-maintained, but the synagogue was in a dilapidated state.
To remedy this, Haim embarked on a personal mission to honour and protect the remnants of his community’s history. Over the years, he visited Mala several times, most recently in December 2022, accompanied by his wife Noga and close relatives.
Fluent in Malayalam even after many decades abroad, Haim’s work was never in a silo. He joined hands with the local community, most notably with C Karmachandran, a retired historian and activist, to preserve the Jewish legacy in Kerala. This partnership lent more gravitas to the matter, turning it into a movement.
The movement gained even greater impetus when, under Haim’s leadership, Cochin Jews in Israel came together to support the synagogue’s conservation, and with it, their history.
The involvement of the Indian Embassy in Israel shortly after, again on the insistence of Haim, finally kicked the government machinery into action. The conservation of the Mala Synagogue has since become an avenue for the strengthening of cultural ties between the two nations.
Interestingly, two streets in Haim’s hometown, Mesilat Zion in Israel, are named after Mala and Cochin, both in honour of his efforts and that enduring yearning to connect with his former homeland.
B Thomas, a historian and a national-level guide for Incredible India, remembers Haim’s travels to Mala very well. "It was his pilgrimage," he tells TNIE.
“Haim was full of life even in his late seventies. Always ready to help, always talking about Mala. He used to call us and check regularly on how the work on the synagogue was going," continues Thomas, who was also part of the conservation movement.
"Haim's passing is a great loss for the Jewish community in Kerala. He worked tirelessly to save our monuments. Though far away, he was one of us. His legacy continues," he adds.
Haim is survived by his wife Noga, three daughters, and grandchildren.
