'Lost tribe of Israel' struggled to 'return home'
Pastor Dale Morgan
'Lost tribe of Israel' **struggled to 'return home'*
Jewish Group in India 'descended from Joseph' struggled to 'return home'
Posted: August 30, 2007
Shavei Israel,
TEL AVIV – One-hundred-seventy-four people from a group of thousands in
India that believes it is one of the 10 "lost tribes" of Israel landed
here this week, fulfilling for many a life-long dream of returning to
what they consider their homeland.
Shavei Israel, a Jerusalem-based organization led by American Michael
Freund, hopes to bring to the Jewish state the remaining 7,000 Indian
citizens who believe they are the Bnei Menashe, the descendants of
Manasseh, one of biblical patriarch Joseph's two sons and a grandson of
Jacob.
The tribe lives in the two Indian states of Mizoram and Manipur, to
which they claim to have been exiled from Israel more than 2,700 years
ago by the Assyrian empire.
"I truly believe this is a miracle of immense historical and even
biblical significance," Freund told WND as the group of 174 arrived here
earlier this week.
"Just as the prophets foretold so long ago, the lost tribes of Israel
are being brought back from the exile," said Freund, who previously
served as deputy communications director under former Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Another planeload of 57 Bnei Menashe is slated to touch down in Israel
tomorrow.
The group, which has preserved ancient Jewish customs and rituals, has
been trying the past 50 years to return to Israel.
Over the last decade, Freund's Shavei Israel, at times working with
other organizations, brought about 1,200 Bnei Menashe members to the
Jewish state. Many settled in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria. About 80
lived in Gaza's slate of Jewish communities, which were evacuated by the
Israeli government in 2005.
The original batches of Bnei Menashe to arrive here were brought to
Israel as tourists in an agreement with Israel's Interior Ministry. Once
here, the Bnei Menashe converted officially to Judaism and became citizens.
But diplomatic wrangling halted the immigration process in 2003, with
officials from some Israeli ministries refusing to grant the rest of the
group still in India permission to travel here.
To smooth the process, Freund enlisted the help of Israel's chief
rabbinate, which flew to India in 2005 to meet with and consider
converting members of the Bnei Menashe. Once legally Jewish, the tribe
can apply for Israeli citizenship under the country's "Law of Return,"
which guarantees sanctuary to Jews from around the world.
Six rabbis were sent by Israel's Sephardic chief rabbi, Shlomo Amar, to
begin converting the Bnei Menashe. The rabbis met with hundreds of
tribal members, testing their knowledge of Judaism and assessing their
conviction, converting 216 individuals – over 90 percent of the members
interviewed.
"The rabbis were incredibly impressed with the Bnei Menashe," said
Freund. "They saw for themselves that the group is very serious and
should be integrated into the Jewish nation. That they are a blessing to
the state of Israel."
Last year, 218 converted members arrived in Israel. Freund hoped to
repeat the process for 231 more Bnei Menashe who had been approved for
conversion, but the Indian government, which heavily restricts
conversions, put a halt on the plan.
Instead, the batch of Bnei Menashe that arrived this week were brought
to Israel as tourists in coordination with the Israeli government. Once
here, the tribe will be officially converted by the country's chief
rabbinate and qualify for Israeli citizenship.
The new immigrants will spend the next few months studying Hebrew and
Judaism at a Shavei Israel absorption center in northern Israel.
The Bnei Menashe that arrived here over the years have fully transited
into Israeli society. Many attended college and rabbinic school, moved
to major Israeli communities and even joined the Israel Defense Forces.
Twelve Bnei Menashe served in the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip and in
Lebanon in 2006. One of them, Avi Hanshing, a 22-year old paratrooper,
was injured during a clash with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.
Hanshing's father was among those who arrived here earlier this week in
an emotional reunion at Israel's international airport.
"As much as we might think that Israel is helping the Bnei Menashe, it
is the reverse that is true. It is they who strengthen us – with their
faith, with their commitment and with their undying love for Zion," said
Freund.
According to Bnei Menashe oral tradition, the tribe was exiled from
Israel and pushed to the east, eventually settling in the border regions
of China and India, where most remain today. Most kept customs similar
to Jewish tradition, including observing Shabbat, keeping the laws of
Kosher, practicing circumcision on the eighth day of a baby boy's life
and observing laws of family purity.
In the 1950s, several thousand Bnei Menashe say they set out on foot to
Israel but were quickly halted by Indian authorities. Undeterred, many
began practicing Orthodox Judaism and pledged to make it to Israel. They
now attend community centers established by Shavei Israel to teach the
Bnei Menashe Jewish tradition and modern Hebrew.
Freund said he hopes the arrival this week of more Bnei Menashe would
"jump-start the process of bringing back the rest of the 7,000 Bnei
Menashe who are in India yearning to return home."