Nine Jewish Rabbis conclude weeklong screening of Bnei Menashe in Mizoram
35 visitors including the rabbis, officials of the Jewish Agency for Israel and diplomats from the Israeli Embassy, had been camping in the Mizoram since December 1 to identify people.
Members of the Bnei Menashe community still living in Mizoram and Manipur will return to Israel (Photo - @Defensa_Israel / X)
Aizawl, Dec 11: A group of nine Jewish rabbis who spent more than a week here to screen members of the Bnei Menashe community, left the State on Wednesday. Their assessment of candidates ended late on Tuesday night.
Community leader Jeremiah L Hnamte said that about 35 visitors including the rabbis, officials of the Jewish Agency for Israel and diplomats from the Israeli Embassy, had been camping in the Mizoram since December 1. Their task was to identify 300 people from Mizoram and another 300 from Manipur for migration to Israel early next year.
The response was overwhelming. More than 1,000 applicants from Manipur and about 600 from Mizoram turned up for the screening at Thara Resort on the northern outskirts here, where the visiting team had set up base. Hnamte said priority would go to families with relatives already in Israel. His own daughter and son migrated ten and five years ago respectively.
He hopes to join them soon. Hnamte said he, his wife, and another son are waiting for the results, which are expected in January. If selected, they will be part of the first batch scheduled to leave India in February. Another team of Jewish Agency officials and rabbis is expected to return to Mizoram that month to continue the screening for future groups.
Israel recently approved a plan to absorb nearly 6,000 members of the Bnei Menashe community by 2030. Under the government’s proposal, the migrants – a tribal group from Mizoram and Manipur – will be settled in the Galilee region of northern Israel, an area affected by tensions with Hezbollah that have driven many residents away.
The Israeli government will provide financial assistance, language training, job support, temporary accommodation and social programmes to help new arrivals adjust to the new environs.
The Bnei Menashe identify themselves as descendants of the Biblical tribe of Manasseh. Most had practised Christianity before converting to Judaism and receiving recognition from Israel’s Chief Rabbinate. They observe Jewish traditions, celebrate festivals such as Sukkot, and maintain synagogues in their settlements. Formal approval for their immigration came only in 2005, when the then Sephardi Chief Rabbi, Shlomo Amar, declared them descendants of a lost tribe of Israel.