Sarah Cohen, considered to be the oldest member of the Jewish community in India, died at the age of 96 at Kochi on Friday.
Sarah was among the few Jews left at Jew Town at Mattancherry in Kochi. She was a familiar figure of the Jew Town as well as most tourists who come down to visit the Jewish Synagogue in Mattancherry which was built in 1568 after the arrival of Jews in large numbers.
After her husband Jacob Cohen passed away about 15 years back she was fully engaged in making of Kippah caps used by Jews. Most tourist who came to the Jew Town used to visit her shop and many had even written about her. A documentary was also made about Sarah. She also grabbed attention as she went to cast vote in the recent Lok Sabha polls.
Since she had no children, Sarah was being taken care of by a local native Thaha Ibrahim. Apart from Sarah, four more Jews were still residing at Mattancherry.