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German President Horst Koehler (CR) and wife Eva Luise Koehler (CL) stand during prayer at the Keneseth Eliyahoo Synagogue in Mumbai on February 5, 2010.
Photo: Sajjad Hussain in Mumbai for AFP Copyright 2010
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MUMBAI (EJP)---German President Horst Koehler and his wife Eva visited the Keneseth th Eliyahoo Synagogue in Mumbai on Friday.
Koehler is on a seven-day visit to India.
It was not only his first official visit to Mumbai but also the first by a German head of state to a Jewish synagogue in India and historically a landmark moment for the Indian Jew community.
Koehler lit a candle under the synagogue's Torah Ark and met all community members personally.
"He really appreciated being invited to the synagogue. The President and his wife met everybody present individually," said a spokesperson for Solomon Sopher, president of the Baghdadi Jewish community in Mumbai.
The Keneseth Eliyahoo Synagogue was built by the Sassoon family.
About 90% of India's approximately 6,000 Jews live in Mumbai, India’s economic and financial center.