
An Israeli chief rabbi recognized them as a lost tribe in 2005 and about 1,700 moved to Israel before the government stopped giving them visas; now that Israel has reversed that policy, 7,200 more are expected to immigrate.
Dozens more Jews who are believed to be the descendants of a lost biblical Jewish tribe immigrated to Israel on Monday from their village in northeastern India.
The Bnei Menashe say they are descended from Jews banished from ancient Israel to India in the eighth century B.C. An Israeli chief rabbi recognized them as a lost tribe in 2005 and about 1,700 moved to Israel before the government stopped giving them visas.
Israel recently reversed that policy, agreeing to let the remaining 7,200 Bnei Menashe immigrate. Fifty-three arrived on Monday.
Nearly 300 more members of the community will arrive in the coming weeks, said Michael Freund, of the non-profit organization Shavei Israel, and an activist on their behalf.
The community, which lives in India's northeastern border states of Manipur and Mizoram have been practicing Judaism just as their ancestors did, including observing the Sabbath, keeping kosher, celebrating the festivals and following the laws of family purity.
"After waiting for thousands of years, our dream came true," said 26-year-old Lhing Lenchonz, who arrived with her husband and 8-month-old daughter.
- From: AAP
- December 25, 2012
FIFTY members of an Indian community believed to be descendants of one of the lost tribes of Israel have arrived in the Jewish state, completing their immigration.
Linking up with family members who have already settled in Israel, they are among the first wave of the 7200-strong Bnei Menashe community's mass migration to the Jewish state.
The Indians say they are the descendants of the 10 tribes who lived in the kingdom of Israel in Biblical times and who were dispersed, according to the Bible, after the invasion of the Assyrians in 721 BC.
"After thousands of years of exile, we have returned home at last," said Nachshon Gangte, 47, waiting for an older sister he has not seen for 12 years.
After hours of patiently waiting in the arrival hall of Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport, he could no longer hold back his tears when she appeared. "It's great, God is great. He has allowed me to meet my family on holy land," he said.
His niece, Zimra, said he was "happy to see my family and my land".
Michael Freund of the Shavei Israel group (meaning "those who return to Israel" in Hebrew), which arranged their journey, said more than 7000 people have sought help from the Israeli government to emigrate from India.
"The members of this tribe have never forgotten where they came from and we are excited to be able to help them come back," he said, adding hundreds of others were expected to arrive in coming weeks.
They were welcomed at the airport by dozens of family members, amid a festive atmosphere.
The Bnei Menashe are members of the Kuki-Chin-Mizo tribe who live in the northeastern Indian states of Mizoram and Manipur near the border with Myanmar (Burma).
Their oral history tells of a centuries-long exodus through Persia, Afghanistan, Tibet and China, all the while adhering to certain Jewish religious practices, like circumcision.
In India, they were converted to Christianity by 19th-century missionaries and, in reading the Bible, recognised stories from their own traditions that convinced them they actually belonged to the Jewish faith.