The tiny Jewish neighbourhood at Mattancherry hosted an unanticipated guest, an old friend, on Wednesday.
Amid his packed official schedule, Dov Segev-Steinberg, acting Consul General at the Israeli Consulate in Bengaluru, dropped by the Jew Town to check on two senior citizens of the community in Kochi — Sarah Cohen and Queenie Hallegua.
He also visited the Paradesi Synagogue. “I’ve always had a warm regard for Kerala and been to this place several times over during my stint as Consul General of the Israeli Consulate in Mumbai between 1999 and 2003,” Mr. Segev-Steinberg told The Hindu . The Israeli Consulate in Mumbai — set up in 1953, well before India and Israel established a formal diplomatic relationship (1992) — had been covering Kerala as recently as 2013 when a new Consulate was opened at Bengaluru.
At the Jew Town, he walked right into Sarah’s Hand Embroidery, a shop run by the nonagenarian Ms. Cohen; had an engaging chat with the graceful women; and made it a point to pick up some curios and embroidered knick-knacks from the shop before leaving.
“It’s natural that I grew fond of Kerala, which along with Maharashtra, had a fair concentration of the Jewish community.”
India-Israel ties
He said the India-Israel relationship grew exponentially in a very short span of time and right now, India is Israel’s biggest trade partner and ally in Asia. “Which was precisely why we opened another Consulate in Bengaluru.”
Trade between the two countries stood at $5 billion last year and now, Israel is eager to forge a trade partnership with Kerala, he explains the purpose of his visit.
Arriving in the State with his trade attaché, Mr. Segev-Steinberg called on Water Resources Minister P.J. Joseph and the Commissioner of Agriculture at Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday.
“I invited them to a very important biannual exhibition in Israel, WATEC, in October where the latest water technologies available around the world will be on display. We are also encouraging private sector participation in the expo and have held a meeting with the members of FICCI on Wednesday. Another meeting with the CII local chapter is lined up for tomorrow.”
Mr. Segev-Steinberg said he wanted both the public and private sectors to take part in the expo. Private players would get to see trade opportunities across sectors there, he said.
In the photo: Dov Segev-Steinberg, acting Consul General of Israel in Bengaluru, with Sarah Cohen, oldest member of the Jewish community in Mattancherry, and Queenie Hallegua at Sarah Cohen's residence on Wednesday.— Photo: Thulasi Kakkat