Where the Train Stopped in Jerusalem

I know that in a city like Jerusalem we have to make a balance between preserving its heritage and meeting the demands of modern living.    Even so I hate to see a beautiful, historic building knocked down in the name of “progress” or, even worse, just allowed to decay until it has to be taken down.

The Jerusalem railway station in the 1890s.

That’s what I feared might happen to the old Jerusalem railway station.  The station opened in 1892 opposite the Khan as the final stop on the Jaffa to Jerusalem line – the first railway in the Middle East.  When the station finally closed its doors in 1998 it was sadly neglected despite its special architectural and historical merit.  The years took their toll on the building.  Decay, vandalism and the occasional fire almost damaged it beyond repair.

The neglected old railway station in Jerusalem. Photo: Dr Avishai Teicher

In 2008 I had watched in horror as a crane with a concrete ball on the end of a chain demolished the Ashkenazi Orphanage building on Harav Kook Street in the centre of town.   Bought from a wealthy Arab in 1881 the building had been extended and developed into “one of the finest public buildings in the city”.  In this orphanage and the nearby Alliance School the first attempts were made to introduce Modern Hebrew into the school curriculum.  Both buildings have been pulled down.  The Alliance School was replaced by the large, ugly Clal Centre.  The orphanage made way for “7 Harav Kook”, a huge 10 storey apartment complex, being built by developers Africa Israel.

About a year ago, after seeing a short film about the restoration and development of the old Jaffa railway station, I wrote to the mayor of Jerusalem. Follow this link to see the film.  I was impressed by what Tel Aviv had done and ashamed of how the old Jerusalem station was being allowed to decay.  He told me that I needn’t feel ashamed.    The city already had plans for a comprehensive renovation of the station and of the railway track all the way to Malcha.

The renovated Jaffa railway station.  Photo: Dr Avishai Teicher

Since then the first phase of the project has been completed.  The railway track from the old station along Rechov Harakevet to the junction of Emek Refaim and Pierre Koenig Streets has been transformed.  What was overgrown and unsightly is now a popular and attractive urban park with cycle and walking paths.

It was good to hear last week that a contract to renovate the station itself had been awarded to Avi Mordoch, the same developer who had done such a good job in Tel Aviv.  The plan for the site includes the preservation of the building, railway carriages turned into bars and cafes, a visitors’ centre for the railway, shops, galleries, exhibitions and restaurants.  The railway station together with the Sherover Centre under construction nearby will become a major cultural and entertainment focus for the city.   There is already, however, some controversy over the plan.  Both these sites will be open on Shabbat and charedi authorities have expressed their dissatisfaction.

From Cochin in Southern India to Nevatim in Southern Israel

One of the best things about Israel is the diversity that exists in such small country.  People from five continents have come to settle here and the country is home to communities from many different cultures and religions.  I love to show people aspects of Israel that they haven’t seen before.

There are many cultural gems here.  One of these is Moshav Nevatim  Just to the east of Beer Sheva, Nevatim was originally founded as a kibbutz, together with ten others, one Saturday night in October 1946.  It was part of a determined attempt to establish a Jewish presence in the Negev in anticipation of the partition of Palestine.  During the War of Independence in 1948 the kibbutz was besieged by the Egyptian army.  It was kept supplied with food and other essentials by air-drops.  Nevatim survived the war but was abandoned soon afterwards.

In 1954 Nevatim was re-established as a moshav by Jews from Cochin on the Malabar Coast in Southern India.  Cochin was the oldest of the Jewish communities in India.  The tradition is that Jewish traders called here during the time of King Solomon.  Exiles from the Kingdom of Judah settled here soon after the destruction of the First Temple in 586 BCE and were joined by refugees fleeing after the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE.  They settled first in the ancient port of Cranganore near to Cochin.  Here they received protection from the Hindu rulers and were granted special privileges that were recorded on copper plates (known as the “Sasanam”) that were given to the community.  The Hindu king gave the Jews permission to live freely, build synagogues, and own property "without conditions attached" for "as long as the world and moon exist". The area where they lived in came to be known as ‘Jew Town’.

The Sasanam

In the 14^th century the port of Cranganore silted up and trade moved to the smaller port of Cochin.  In the 16^th century the established community was joined by Sephardic Jews fleeing from the Iberian Peninsula.  It’s perhaps not surprising that in India, the home of the caste system, the two communities did not mix.  The older established Malabar community, who became known as the Black Jews, were seen as inferior by the newcomers, the Pardesi or White Jews.  They maintained separate synagogues.  The Pardesi Jews did not even allow the Malabar Jews into their synagogue.  Needless to say they did not intermarry.  By the early 20^th century most of these divisions had disappeared thanks largely to the efforts of Abraham Barak Salem.

An Indian Jewish Family in Cochin

There were eight synagogues in Cochin.  The Black Jews had seven and the White Jews one, the Pardesi synagogue.  Only the Pardesi synagogue is still open.  The interior of the 16^th century Kadavumbagam synagogue was brought to Jerusalem in 1991 and reconstructed in the Israel Museum where you can see it today.

Most of the Jews have left Cochin and have settled in moshavim and in cities in Israel.  At Nevatim they have built a heritage centre for Cochin Jewry with a museum, a film presentation of their history and a beautiful synagogue.  Arrange your visit in advance and you can enjoy a delicious meal of kosher Cochini food.