A Lost Tribe of Israel Celebrates its Return
Pastor Dale Morgan
A Lost Tribe of Israel Celebrates its Return*
Oct 18, '06 / 25 Tishrei 5767
by IsraelNN Staff
Hundreds of veteran Bnei Menashe immigrants from northeastern India
gathered in Kiryat Arba this week to celebrate their return to Israel
and the Jewish people after 27 centuries of exile.
A special day over the Sukkot festival was arranged on their behalf by
the Jerusalem-based Shavei Israel organization. The Bnei Menashe were
treated to a series of fun and educational activities that ranged from
drum lessons to Torah lectures to face painting for children and the
construction of a traditional Indian bamboo hut. The event was organized
in cooperation with the Kiryat Arba Municipal Council and its chairman,
Tzvi Katzover.
The Bnei Menashe, who reside in the Indian states of Mizoram and
Manipur, near the border with Burma, claim descent from the tribe of
Menashe, one of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel exiled by the Assyrians
over 2,700 years ago.
Nearly 1,000 members of the community have made aliyah (immigrated to
Israel) over the past decade thanks largely to the work of Shavei
Israel, headed by Michael Freund, and Amishav, headed by Rabbi Eliyahu
Avichayil.
A central theme of this week's celebration was the excitement running
through the community over the impending arrival in Israel next month of
218 new Bnei Menashe immigrants, the largest group ever to come here at
one time.
The group, which underwent conversion to Judaism last year in India by a
rabbinical court dispatched by Israel's Chief Rabbinate, is slated to
make aliyah in late November. It will be the first batch of Bnei Menashe
immigrants allowed into the country since 2003, when Israel's Interior
Ministry decided to halt their arrival.
The Jewish Agency, headed by Ze'ev Bielski, will oversee the group's
arrival in the Jewish state, as well as various aspects of its
absorption in the country.
Through its team of emissaries, Shavei Israel operates three Jewish
educational centers in India for the Bnei Menashe, where they study
Hebrew and Jewish tradition. All of the organization's work is in
accordance with Jewish law and is under the guidance and supervision of
Israel's Chief Rabbinate.