Bnei Menashe
Why in news?
Israel's government approved a five-year plan in November 2025 to bring the remaining 5,800 Bnei Menashe community members from India's northeastern states of Mizoram and Manipur to Israel by 2030.
Origins and Identity
- Community of ~10,000 from Mizoram and Manipur in northeast India, claiming descent from biblical Lost Tribe of Manasseh (exiled ~721 BCE).
- Tibeto-Burmese ethnic groups (Mizo, Kuki, Chin) with oral traditions of migration from Israel via Central Asia, China, and Burma.
- Preserve ancient practices like Sabbath, kosher dietary laws, circumcision, and festivals despite Christian influences.
Historical Rediscovery
- 1950s: Leaders in India had dreams urging return to Jewish roots; started simple practices like Sabbath.
- 1976: Manmasi group got Torah scrolls, prayer items from Israel trip; began proper Jewish observances.
- 1980s: Israeli Rabbi Eliyahu Avichail found them, named "Bnei Menashe" (Children of Manasseh). Taught real Jewish laws; sent teens to Israel for training; pushed for their move home.
- 2003: Israel paused immigration; rabbis lobbied Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar instead.
- 2005: Amar called them "descendants of Israel" after judges visited India; okayed conversions.
Immigration to Israel
- ~3,000+ have made Aliyah (immigration of Jews to Israel) since 2005, undergoing Orthodox conversion (giyur: mikveh, Torah study).
- Settled in Sderot, Kiryat Arba, Galilee, Negev; built synagogues and mikvehs.
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