Abraham Barak Salem (Aged 85) born in 1882, was a prominent figure among the Cochin Jews of the 20th century. He was an Indian nationalist, Zionist, lawyer, and politician. Salem was a descendant of meshuchrarim and became the first Cochin Jew attorney, practicing in Ernakulam. He used Satyagraha to fight discrimination against his people by the Jewish community.
Salem was involved in trade unions and Indian national causes before becoming attracted to Zionism. He visited Palestine in the 1930s and later helped arrange for most Cochin Jews to migrate to Israel by 1955. He spent the rest of his life in Kochi. While in Chennai to earn his Bachelor of Arts degree, he became the first university graduate among the meshuchrarim and also earned his law degree, becoming the first Jew from Cochin to do so. Salem fought against discrimination by boycotting the synagogue for a time and using Satyagraha as a means of combatting discrimination within the community. This led some people to refer to him as the “Jewish Gandhi”.
Abraham Barak Salem served in the Legislative Council in the princely state of Cochin from 1925 to 1931 and again from 1939 to 1945. He attended the Lahore session of the Indian National Congress at the end of 1929 and supported the nascent trade union movement in Kerala. He passed away by 1967. The road adjacent to the White Jewish Cemetery in Kochi was named after him.
Abraham Barak Salem
(1882 – 1967) – (Kerala)
Abraham Barak Salem (Aged 85) born in 1882, was a prominent figure among the Cochin Jews of the 20th century. He was an Indian nationalist, Zionist, lawyer, and politician. Salem was a descendant of meshuchrarim and became the first Cochin Jew attorney, practicing in Ernakulam. He used Satyagraha to fight discrimination against his people by the Jewish community.
Salem was involved in trade unions and Indian national causes before becoming attracted to Zionism. He visited Palestine in the 1930s and later helped arrange for most Cochin Jews to migrate to Israel by 1955. He spent the rest of his life in Kochi. While in Chennai to earn his Bachelor of Arts degree, he became the first university graduate among the meshuchrarim and also earned his law degree, becoming the first Jew from Cochin to do so. Salem fought against discrimination by boycotting the synagogue for a time and using Satyagraha as a means of combatting discrimination within the community. This led some people to refer to him as the “Jewish Gandhi”.
Abraham Barak Salem served in the Legislative Council in the princely state of Cochin from 1925 to 1931 and again from 1939 to 1945. He attended the Lahore session of the Indian National Congress at the end of 1929 and supported the nascent trade union movement in Kerala. He passed away by 1967. The road adjacent to the White Jewish Cemetery in Kochi was named after him.
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