8500 (estimated)
The Paradesi Jews are part of the Jewish community of Kerala state in India. They originally came mainly from the Middle East and Europe. They are sometimes called White Jews although that usage is generally considered pejorative or discriminatory and refers to relatively recent Jewish immigrants (15th Century onward), predominantly Sephardim and Mizrahim, into Kerala, in southwestern India. They are an important component of the Cochin Jewish community. The Paradesi were endogamous to their own group during their settlement in Kerala simmilar to the Knanaya people. Many those who left and married the local population established the Nasarani community. This tradition began to break in the late 1940's.
The primary original language of the Paradesim was Ladino, which contributed a number of loanwords to Judeo-Malayalam, the pre-existing Jewish language of the Kerala Jewish community.
They were persecuted by the Portuguese in their attempt to convert them to Catholicism. Many were forced to practice their faith in private. The inquisition targeted the Nasarani community as well who had close ties to the Paradesi people as well.
