43 B’nei Menashe Make Aliyah From India
Return to Zion?: A group of Bnei Menashe are greeted by family on their arrival in Israel in 2012. Image by getty images
Forty-three Bnei Menashe, who claim to be Jews descended from the biblical tribe of Menashe, arrived in Israel on aliyah.
The new immigrants moved to Israel on Thursday from the northeastern Indian state of Manipur.
Some 250 Bnei Menashe have made aliyah in June, among 410 who have arrived in Israel since January.
Some 900 Bnei Menashe are expected to arrive in Israel in 2014, sponsored by the Jerusalem-based Shavei Israel organization.
Bnei Menashe members must undergo a conversion process even though it is accepted as fact that they have Jewish roots.
More than 1,700 Bnei Menashe are living in Israel. As many as 7,000 remain in northeastern India, according to Shavei Israel.
Did you know that only 2% of Forward readers donate to support our nonprofit newsroom? That 2% make it possible for millions to read the Forward without a paywall or subscription — removing any barriers to the full and fair Jewish story.
But while the Forward is free to read, it isn’t free to produce. Big stories — like deep dives into the antisemitism data, political scoops or reporting trips to college campuses — take months of research and fact-checking. All while we keep you informed of what you need to know each day.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Forward Publisher & CEO
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
