Bnei Menashe (archives)
Photo courtesy of Michal Fattal
Indian Jews from 'Lost Tribe' move to Israel
Some 50 Jews believed to be descend from one of 10 Lost Tribes of Israel make aliyah
A group of 50 Jews said to descend from one of the 10 Lost Tribes immigrated to Israel Thursday from their village in northeastern India.
Magazine
Rami Tal
Special: Bnei Menashe members in India observe Shabbat, dream of moving to Israel
The members of the Bnei Menashe community prayed in their local synagogue and then hugged their crying relatives before heading off to the airport in the Manipur state capital of Imphal, 34 miles away.
The Bnei Menashe say they are descended from Jews banished from ancient Israel to India in the eighth century BC.
An Israeli chief rabbi recognized members of the Bnei Menashe community as a lost tribe in 2005 and about 1,700 moved to Israel before the Israeli government stopped giving them visas.
The government recently reversed that policy. About 7,200 of them remain in India.
