250 Indian Jews from north-east region reach Israel; 1,200 more to reach by 2026 end

Jerusalem: Some 250 Jews from north-east India have landed in Israel as part of an initiative announced by the government here last year to bring all remaining members of the community to the Jewish state.

It is the first batch of Bnei Menashe to arrive in Israel, on Thursday, since the announcement in November last year to fund the immigration of thousands more community members waiting to immigrate to Israel over the next five years.

The Bnei Menashe community, which lives in parts of Manipur and Mizoram, claims descent from the biblical tribe of Manasseh, and has been slowly making its way to Israel since the 1990s.

About 4,000 community members have reportedly immigrated to Israel over the past three decades with approximately 6,000 more waiting.

On Thursday evening, as the men among the newcomers walked down a red carpet wearing traditional hand knitted kippa (skull cap) and the women had their customary head coverings, the community members already living in Israel welcomed them with loud cheering at the airport.

The Israel government plans to fly 1,200 more people from the community over the course of 2026 as part of the “Operation Wings of Dawn.” Two additional flights are scheduled in the next two weeks, according to the Aliyah and Integration Ministry, which provides assistance to immigrants and returning residents, establishes policies and procedures, allocates budget aid to immigrants and provides specialized services in housing, employment and culture.

The whole relocation plan is estimated to require a budget of 90 million shekels (USD 30 million) to cover the costs of the flights of these immigrants, their conversion classes, housing, Hebrew lessons, and other special benefits, the ministry said.

The process is being managed by The Jewish Agency in coordination with the Chief Rabbinate, the Conversion Authority, the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration, the Population and Immigration Authority, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and additional Israeli government ministries.

There have been intense debates around the Jewishness of Bnei Menashe in the past, but in 2005, the then Chief Rabbi of the Sephardi community, Rabbi Shlomo Amar, recognised them as “descendants of Israel,” paving the way for their immigration.

The community claims it belongs to the Menashe tribe, one of the 10 tribes pushed into exile by the Assyrians some 2,700 years ago.

The oral history of the Bnei Menashe tells of a centuries-long exodus through Persia, Afghanistan, Tibet and China, all the while adhering to certain Jewish religious practices, such as circumcision.

Missionaries in India converted them to Christianity, and they will have to undergo a conversion process to become Israeli citizens, as per the Jewish agency.