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Meshuchrarim, also known historically as the "Black Jews", are aJewish community of freedslaves, often ofmixed-raceAfrican-European descent, who accompaniedSephardic Jews in their immigration to India following their 16th-century expulsion from Spain. The Sephardic Jews became known as theParadesi Jews as "foreigners" to India.[1] They were also sometimes called the White Jews, for their European ancestry).[2]
The descendants of themeshuchrarim were historically discriminated against in India by other "White Jews." They were at the lowest of theCochin Jewish informal caste ladder. The Paradesi came to use theParadesi Synagogue; while they allowed themeshuchrarim as Jews to worship there, they had to sit in the back, could not become full members, and were excluded from the community'sendogamous marriage circle.[3] At the same time, they were excluded by theMalabar Jews, the much larger community of Jews who had lived in Cochin for perhaps 1,000 years.
In the early 20th century,Abraham Barak Salem became one of the most prominent Cochin Jews.[4] A descendant ofmeshuchrarim, he was the first to earn a college degree and the first Cochin Jew of any sort to become a lawyer.[5] He fought against the discrimination against his people. By the 1930s, social discrimination against themeshuchrarim began to diminish. Most Cochin Jews, including themeshuchrarim, emigrated toIsrael by the mid-1950s.
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