More than 250 youths from the Igbo ethnic group in Nigeria were brought together last month for a week of Jewish activities, classes and leadership seminars. The youths, along with 20 adults, came together in Onithsa, Nigeria between August 18-25 thanks to Shavei Israel, an organization that does outreach to far-flung Jewish communities in Latin…
Six soldiers from the “Bnei Menashe” community in northeastern India have joined an Israeli army unit together. They were inducted into the IDF in a ceremony this month. The “Bnei Menashe” community, which has a population of 10,000 worldwide, claims to be directly descended from the “lost tribe” of Menashe, one of the original 12…
More than 300 men and women who identify as descendants of Jews whose families were forced during the Spanish Inquisition gathered in the Sicilian capital of Palermno on Sunday to celebrate their shared bond of Jewish history. “This celebration of Jewish culture in the heart of Palermo underlines the resilience of the Jewish spirit,” said…
Recent months have brought reports that descendants of Jews in Kaifeng, China are under threat. Activists call it a government “crackdown.” Police have shut down the only Jewish learning center in Kaifeng, helmed by the Israeli activist group Shavei Israel, say activists. A well that community members identify as their historic mikveh, for ritual Jewish…
“Lost Tribe seeker” Michael Freund has criticized Pope Francis over the pontiff’s support for a Palestinian state, but the two met in Krakow on July 31 to speak about the relatively recent phenomenon of young Poles rediscovering Jewish family ties. “Francis and Freund discussed how a growing number of young Poles are rediscovering their Jewish…
Israel will spend 8.1 million shekels, or about $2 million, to bring more than 712 members of India’s Bnei Menashe community to Israel this year, the Israeli news site Walla reported May 22. In the past, the Ministry of Absorption and the Jewish Agency have handled group immigration to Israel. But in the case of…
For centuries, world travelers dreamed of finding distant Jewish tribes in the faraway corners of their known world — over the mountains, in remote villages, practicing customs preserved in isolation. Today, a quick Google search will do. In Facebook groups and on Skype, on Whatsapp and Instagram, communities from Africa, Asia and the Americas gather…
You might not expect to find members of the Tribe in China. But they’re there — and they trace their roots back more than 800 years. On the first night of Hanukkah, a few dozen Chinese Jews in Kaifeng, China, gathered to celebrate and light their menorah’s first candle. “The Chinese Jews take their inspiration…
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