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A Community From India’s Northeast Finds a Home in Israel

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A Community From India’s Northeast Finds a Home in Israel

Around 4,000 people of the Bnei Menashe, one of 10 lost tribes of Israel, have emigrated to Israel.

A Community From India’s Northeast Finds a Home in Israel

A marriage ceremony between a woman from Bnei Menashe and a man from a local community held near Tel Aviv.

Credit: Special Arrangement
A Community From India’s Northeast Finds a Home in Israel

A member of the Bnei Menashe during the mandatory military service in Israel.

Credit: Special Arrangement
A Community From India’s Northeast Finds a Home in Israel

Members of the Bnei Menashe during a holiday near the border with Jordan.

Credit: Special Arrangement
A Community From India’s Northeast Finds a Home in Israel

Members of the Bnei Menashe at an annual gathering.

Credit: Special Arrangement
A Community From India’s Northeast Finds a Home in Israel

Teenagers commemorating Israel’s Independence Day on May 14.

Credit: Special Arrangement
A Community From India’s Northeast Finds a Home in Israel

Children of the Bnei Menashe community listening to lessons on Israel’s history.

Credit: Special Arrangement
A Community From India’s Northeast Finds a Home in Israel

Teenagers on a holiday at a location on the Red Sea coast.

Credit: Special Arrangement
A Community From India’s Northeast Finds a Home in Israel

Members of the Bnei Menashe community on a vacation in Tel Aviv.

Credit: Special Arrangement

Close to 4,000 people from India’s Northeast have emigrated to Israel so far in a movement that began almost four decades ago after Biblical links stretching back thousands of years were established.

As many as six batches of people from the Indian states of Mizoram and Manipur have settled in different parts of Israel after it was ascertained that they belong to the Bnei Menashe, the descendants of one of the 10 lost tribes of the country who were sent into exile by the Assyrian Empire more than 2,700 years ago.  “Their ancestors wandered through Central Asia and the Far East for centuries” before settling in some regions in northeastern India, according to Shavei Israel, an organization devoted “to ‘lost’ and ‘hidden’ Jews around the world.”

In 2005, the Rabbinic Court of Jerusalem recognized the Bnei Menashe community as one of the 10 lost tribes of Israel.

The community comprises members from the Mizo, Kuki, and Chin ethnic groups of Mizoram and Manipur, who speak Tibeto-Burman languages. An estimated 7,000 members remain in India’s Northeast, awaiting the chance to return to their ancestral land.

The emigration of the Bnei Menashe to Israel follows a similar movement to the Bene Israel of Maharashtra that started many decades ago.   Less than 5,000 members of the community are in India, most of whom are residents of Thane.

Azriel Hmar, who emigrated to Israel with his family in 2014, told The Diplomat that the families have settled at several locations across the country in cities such as Afula, Nazareth, Tiberias, Akko, Bethel, and Beit Shean.  They are employed in diverse industries ranging from electronics and food processing to the manufacturing of defense items.

“The scheme for settling immigrants in Israel is well organized, which begins from granting citizenship. Subsequently, we were provided with houses at concessional rates and a language course (Hebrew) of six months. We never faced any problem except the language,” said Azriel.  He pointed out that the scarcity of labor in Israel offered immense scope to switch jobs from one industry to another, which also explains the huge presence of foreign workers in the country.