Kerala court directs protection of Jewish synagogue

A court has directed Kerala Tourism Development Corporation and local panchayat authorities not to make any alterations to the more than 1,000 year old synagogue and a Jewish Cemetery in Mala in the district.
Judge V G Sreedevi of Irinjalakuda Sub-court yesterday passed the order on a suit filed by Dan Elias and Abby Abraham, two Kochi-based descendants of Mala Jews, seeking to protect the heritage sites.
The Judge observed that the Grama Panchayat failed to follow the terms and conditions of the registered agreement signed in December 1954 between the Panchayat officials and community representatives before the last Jewish family in Mala migrated to Israel.

A specific scheme should be drawn up to protect and maintain the sites as ancient monuments and the heritage sites in adherence with the provisions of the agreement, the Judge ordered.
The petitioners submitted that the KTDC and Grama Panchayat decided to build a Jewish Heritage Souhrada Park in the land and sought a direction to them not to proceed with the project.
According to President of the Mala-based Heritage Protection Samithy Prof. C Karmachandran, the Jewish community handed over over 4.5 acres land comprising the synagogue and the cemetery to the panchayat.
A key feature of the agreement was that the synagogue and the cemetery and other allied institutions should be protected as monument and heritage sites.

He alleged that the Mala Grama panchayat damaged the site by building a stadium along with a shopping complex in part of the land. Besides, the KTDC had decided to use the remaining land for building a Jewish Heritage Souhrada Park.