Pod Save America Hosts Call on Democrats to Cut All Israel Military Aid, No Longer Accept AIPAC Funding
Jews, Israelis Targeted in Austria Amid Surge in Antisemitic Incidents; Local Jewish Community Calls for Action
‘All of Our Strength’: Over 1,000 Pro-Israel Activists Gather in DC for Solidarity Conference
‘Devastated’: Wesley LePatner, Killed in Manhattan Mass Shooting, Was a Jewish Communal, Philanthropic Leader
Sen. Angus King Vows to No Longer Vote for Israel Military Aid Until Gaza Conditions Improve
Europe Won’t Pressure Israel to ‘Commit Suicide’ Amid Gaza Backlash, Palestinian State Push, Says Israeli FM
Israel’s National Soccer Coach Attacked in Athens Before Soccer Fans Chant ‘F–K Israel, Free Palestine’ at Match
New York Judge Sentences Neo-Nazi to 5 Years for Livestreaming Bomb Threats Against Jewish Hospitals
US Pressures Lebanon to Issue Cabinet Decision to Disarm Hezbollah Before Talks Continue
UK Plans to Recognize Palestinian State in September Unless Israel Meets Conditions, Starmer Says
162 ‘Lost’ Indian Jews Arrive in Israel
Error: Contact form not found.
by JNS.org
The new immigrants from India after their arrival at Ben-Gurion International Airport. Photo: Shavei Israel via Facebook.
JNS.org – A total of 162 members from the Bnei Menashe Jewish community of northeast India arrived in Israel this week, marking the latest wave of so-called “lost” Jews to immigrate to the Jewish state.
The new immigrants arrived at Israel’s Ben-Gurion International Airport in two groups and were greeted by jubilant family members and supporters, who danced, sang and waved Israeli flags.
The latest aliyah of Bnei Menashe members follows a group of 102 Indian Jews who arrived in Israel in February.
Members of the Bnei Menashe community claim to descend from Jews banished from ancient Israel to India in the 8th century B.C. Their immigration is organized by Shavei Israel, a Jerusalem-based nonprofit that calls itself “the only Jewish organization today that is actively reaching out to ‘lost Jews’ in an effort to facilitate their return [to Israel].”
In 2005, then-Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel Shlomo Amar officially recognized the Bnei Menashe as a lost tribe, and about 1,700 Bnei Menashe members moved to Israel before the Israeli government stopped giving them visas. The government later reversed that policy, enabling Bnei Menashe immigration to resume.
