The Bnei Menashe (, "Children of Menasseh", known as the Shinlung in India) is a community of

Indian Jews The history of the Jews in India dates back to antiquity.Tibeto-Burmese ethnic groups from the border of

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

who claim descent from one of the Lost Tribes of Israel, allegedly based on the Hmar belief in an ancestor named Manmasi. Some of them have adopted Judaism. The community has around 10,000 members. The movement began in 1951, when a tribal leader reported having a dream that his people's ancient homeland was

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

; some tribal members began embracing the idea that they were

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

. Before the movement's start, the community was largely a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

one. Members are from the

Chin The chin is the forward pointed part of the anterior mandible (List_of_human_anatomical_regions#Regions, mental region) below the lower lip. A fully developed human skull has a chin of between 0.7 cm and 1.1 cm. Evolution The presence of a we ...

, Kuki, and Mizo ethnic groups amongst others. In the late 20th century, Israeli

rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...

Eliyahu Avichail, of the group Amishav, named these people the "Bnei Menashe" based on their account of descent from

Manasseh Manasseh () is both a given name and a surname. Its variants include Manasses and Manasse. Notable people with the name include: Surname * Ezekiel Saleh Manasseh (died 1944), Singaporean rice and opium merchant and hotelier * Jacob Manasseh ( ...

. In 2003–2004, DNA testing of several hundred male community members did not yield conclusive evidence of

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

ern ancestry. In 2005, a

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

-based study found evidence of maternally descended

Near East The Near East () is a transcontinental region around the Eastern Mediterranean encompassing the historical Fertile Crescent, the Levant, Anatolia, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and coastal areas of the Arabian Peninsula. The term was invented in the 20th ...

ern ancestry but suggested the findings were an artifact of thousands of years of intermarriage between peoples of the Near and Middle East. Israel did not formally support immigration of the Bnei Menashe until 2005, when Rabbi Shlomo Amar, then Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel, recognized the Bnei Menashe as a lost tribe. Even today, Bnei Menashe must seek special dispensation from the

Knesset The Knesset ( , ) is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Israel. The Knesset passes all laws, elects the President of Israel, president and Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister, approves the Cabinet of Israel, cabinet, and supe ...

to make

aliyah ''Aliyah'' (, ; ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from Jewish diaspora, the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel or the Palestine (region), Palestine region, which is today chiefly represented by the Israel ...

History

Biblical background

In the time of the First Temple, Israel was divided into two kingdoms. The southern one, known as the

Kingdom of Judah The Kingdom of Judah was an Israelites, Israelite kingdom of the Southern Levant during the Iron Age. Centered in the highlands to the west of the Dead Sea, the kingdom's capital was Jerusalem. It was ruled by the Davidic line for four centuries ...

, was made up mostly of the tribes of Judah,

Benjamin Benjamin ( ''Bīnyāmīn''; "Son of (the) right") blue letter bible: https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h3225/kjv/wlc/0-1/ H3225 - yāmîn - Strong's Hebrew Lexicon (kjv) was the younger of the two sons of Jacob and Rachel, and Jacob's twe ...

, Simon and

Levi Levi ( ; ) was, according to the Book of Genesis, the third of the six sons of Jacob and Leah (Jacob's third son), and the founder of the Israelites, Israelite Tribe of Levi (the Levites, including the Kohanim) and the great-grandfather of Aaron ...

. Most

today are descended from the southern kingdom. The northern Kingdom of Israel was made up of the other ten tribes (which include half of

). In approximately 721 BCE, the Assyrians invaded the northern kingdom, exiled the leading ~20% of the ten tribes living there, and took them to

Assyria Assyria (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , ''māt Aššur'') was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization that existed as a city-state from the 21st century BC to the 14th century BC and eventually expanded into an empire from the 14th century BC t ...

(present-day Iraq).

Adoption of modern Judaism

According to Lal Dena, the Bnei Menashe have come to believe that the legendary Hmar ancestor Manmasi was the

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

Menasseh, son of

Joseph Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew (). "Joseph" is used, along with " Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the modern-day Nordic count ...

. During the 1950s, this group of Chin-Kuki-Mizo people founded a Messianic movement. In 1951, Challianthanga (Challa), a leader in the United Pentecostal Church in

Mizoram Mizoram is a states and union territories of India, state in northeastern India, with Aizawl as its Capital city, capital and largest city. It shares 722-kilometres (449 miles) of international borders with Bangladesh to the west, and Myanmar t ...

, had a vision claiming the Mizo people were descendants of the Israelites. David Siama Hmar, a native of Vairengte near the Mizoram–Manipur border, was among those influenced by Challa’s early spiritual movement. In 1953, while residing in Thringmun, he reportedly experienced a vision of a stone inscribed with the words “Rock of Israel” descending from the sky toward

Manipur Manipur () is a state in northeastern India with Imphal as its capital. It borders the Indian states of Assam to the west, Mizoram to the south, and Nagaland to the north and shares the international border with Myanmar, specifically t ...

. In contrast to Challa, who did not fully embrace Judaism, Siama adopted it in its entirety, becoming one of the earliest known adherents in Mizoram. Challa passed away in 1959, prior to the formal introduction of

Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...

to the Mizo community. While they believed that

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

is the promised

messiah In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach ...

for all Israelites, these pioneers also adopted the observance of the Jewish

Sabbath In Abrahamic religions, the Sabbath () or Shabbat (from Hebrew ) is a day set aside for rest and worship. According to the Book of Exodus, the Sabbath is a day of rest on the seventh day, Ten Commandments, commanded by God to be kept as a Holid ...

, the celebration of

holidays A holiday is a day or other period of time set aside for festivals or recreation. ''Public holidays'' are set by public authorities and vary by state or region. Religious holidays are set by religious organisations for their members and are often ...

, the observance

dietary laws Some people do not eat various specific foods and beverages in conformity with various religious, cultural, legal or other societal prohibitions. Many of these prohibitions constitute taboos. Many food taboos and other prohibitions forbid the mea ...

and other Jewish customs and traditions which they learned from books in the early 1960s. They had no connections with other Jewish groups in either the

diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of birth, place of origin. The word is used in reference to people who identify with a specific geographic location, but currently resi ...

or Israel. Significant pioneering research into the Judaic identity of the Manmasi people was undertaken by Thangkholun Daniel Lhungdim—a poet, educator, and headmaster based in Churachandpur. Demonstrating deep commitment to this cause, he embraced Judaism and authored the seminal work ''Israel Ihiuve'' (“We Are Israel”) in 1974. Lhungdim collaborated closely with Samuel Sumkhothang Haokip and Yosef Jangkhothang Lhanghal, both of whom were early advocates of the Judaic revival in

Northeast India Northeast India, officially the North Eastern Region (NER), is the easternmost region of India representing both a geographic and political Administrative divisions of India, administrative division of the country. It comprises eight States and ...

. Lhungdim’s views, however, were met with strong opposition at the local level. In 1968, he was compelled to resign from his post and leave his village. He subsequently found refuge with Chief David Jamkhosem Lhungdim of Gelmuol, who supported his research efforts and sponsored his journeys to

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

and

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

in 1969 and 1973. In a 2001 publication, Holkholun Lhungdim reflected on the early skepticism surrounding the theory that the Manmasi were descendants of a Lost Tribe of Israel. He critiqued both proponents and opponents of the theory for their biased interpretations and called for objective, scholarly investigation. Notably, he had himself been a skeptic in 1974, attributing his doubts at the time to a lack of sufficient knowledge rather than to religious motivations. On May 31, 1972, a group based in Churachandpur founded the Manipur Israel Family Association—the first organization representing the emerging Bnei Menashe community. In 1973, T. Daniel Lhungdim and Israel Ginjamung Suantak visited Calcutta and subsequently Bombay, where Lhungdim met Esther David Immanuel, the first known external Jewish supporter of the Bnei Menashe. He returned with three pivotal messages: (1)

is the religion of the Jewish people; (2) circumcision is a religious obligation; and (3) Jews do not recognize Jesus as the Messiah. These doctrinal assertions generated internal tensions within the Manipur Jewish Organization (MJO), ultimately leading to the formation of the United Jews of North East India (UJNEI) on October 10, 1974. This new organization aimed to unify the communities that had begun practicing

in earnest. A defining moment occurred in February 1976 when Lhungdim was again dispatched to

by UJNEI, marking his final research trip. His return on April 21, 1976, during ''

Chol HaMoed ''Chol HaMoed'' (), a Hebrew phrase meaning "mundane of the festival", refers to the intermediate days of Passover and Sukkot. As the name implies, these days mix features of ''chol'' (mundane) and ''moed'' (festival). On Passover, ''Chol HaMoe ...

Pesach Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday and one of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals. It celebrates the Exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Biblical Egypt, Egypt. According to the Book of Exodus, God in ...

'', symbolized the spiritual rebirth of

among the Manmasi. Reinvigorated by the formal instruction he had received, Lhungdim brought back a ''

Sefer Torah file:SeferTorah.jpg, A Sephardic Torah scroll rolled to the first paragraph of the Shema file:Köln-Tora-und-Innenansicht-Synagoge-Glockengasse-040.JPG, An Ashkenazi Torah scroll rolled to the Decalogue file:Keneseth Eliyahoo Synagogue, Inte ...

'', ''

tefillin Tefillin (Modern Hebrew language, Israeli Hebrew: / ; Ashkenazim, Ashkenazic pronunciation: ; Modern Israeli Hebrew, Modern Hebrew pronunciation: ), or phylacteries, are a set of small black leather boxes with leather straps containing scrolls o ...

'', ''

tzitzit ''Tzitzit'' ( ''ṣīṣīṯ'', ; plural ''ṣīṣiyyōṯ'', Ashkenazi Hebrew, Ashkenazi: '; and Samaritan Hebrew, Samaritan: ') are specially knotted ritual Fringe (trim), fringes, or tassels, worn in antiquity by Israelites and today by o ...

'', and halachic literature. For the first time, the community began to observe Judaism in accordance with Jewish law, although formal conversion (''giyur'') had yet to be undertaken. After these people established contacts with other Jewish religious groups in Israel and other countries, they began to practice more traditional

rabbinic Judaism Rabbinic Judaism (), also called Rabbinism, Rabbinicism, Rabbanite Judaism, or Talmudic Judaism, is rooted in the many forms of Judaism that coexisted and together formed Second Temple Judaism in the land of Israel, giving birth to classical rabb ...

in the 1980s and 1990s. UJNEI’s outreach to

Jewish organizations Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

worldwide eventually drew the attention of Rabbi Eliyahu Avichail in 1978. Rabbi Eliyahu Avichail is the founder of Amishav, an organization which is dedicated to finding the Lost Tribes and facilitating their ''

.'' He investigated this group's claims of Jewish descent in the 1980s. He named the group the Bnei Menashe. A prominent advocate, Rabbi Avichail proposed sending a young representative to Israel for formal religious training. In 1979, Gideon Rei (also known as Vankhuma Chongthu) and Simon Gin Vaiphei were selected for this mission. They departed India in January 1981 and enrolled at Machon Meir Yeshiva in Jerusalem, where they received instruction in

and foundational Jewish law. In 2005, the

Chief Rabbinate of Israel The Chief Rabbinate of Israel (, ''Ha-Rabbanut Ha-Rashit Li-Yisra'el'') is recognized by law as the supreme rabbinic authority for Judaism in Israel. It was established in 1921 under the British Mandate, and today operates on the basis of the ...

accepted them(the Bnei Menashe) as Jews due to the devotion displayed by their practice through the decades, but still required individuals to undergo formal ritual conversion.

History of the Chin-Kuki-Mizo people

Prior to their conversion to Christianity in the 19th century, the Chin-Kuki-Mizo practiced

animism Animism (from meaning 'breath, spirit, life') is the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct spiritual essence. Animism perceives all things—animals, plants, rocks, rivers, weather systems, human handiwork, and in ...

; ritual

headhunting Headhunting is the practice of hunting a human and collecting the severed head after killing the victim. More portable body parts (such as ear, nose, or scalp) can be taken as trophies, instead. Headhunting was practiced in historic times ...

of enemies was part of their culture. Depending upon their affiliations, each tribe identifies primarily as Kuki, Mizo/Hmar, or Chin. The people identify most closely with their subtribes in the villages, each of which has its own distinct dialect and identity. They are indigenous peoples, who had migrated in waves from

East Asia East Asia is a geocultural region of Asia. It includes China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan, plus two special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macau. The economies of Economy of China, China, Economy of Ja ...

and settled in what is now northeastern India. They have no written history but their legends refer to a beloved homeland that they had to leave, called Sinlung/Chinlung. The various tribes speak languages that are branches of indigenous

Tibeto-Burman The Tibeto-Burman languages are the non- Sinitic members of the Sino-Tibetan language family, over 400 of which are spoken throughout the Southeast Asian Massif ("Zomia") as well as parts of East Asia and South Asia. Around 60 million people speak ...

Influence of revivalism

During the first Welsh missionary-led Christian Revivalism movement, which swept through the Mizo hills in 1906, the missionaries prohibited indigenous festivals, feasts, and traditional songs and chants. After missionaries abandoned this policy during the 1919–24 Revival, the Mizo began writing their own hymns, incorporating indigenous elements. They created a unique form of syncretic Christian worship. Christianity has generally been characterized by such absorption of elements of local cultures wherever it has been introduced. Shalva Weil, a senior researcher and noted anthropologist at

Hebrew University The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; ) is an Israeli public research university based in Jerusalem. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Chaim Weizmann in July 1918, the public university officially opened on 1 April 1925. It is the second-ol ...

, wrote in her paper, ''Dual Conversion Among the Shinlung of North-East'' (1965):

Revivalism (among the Mizo) is a recurrent phenomenon distinctive of the Welsh form of
Presbyterianism Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...
. Certain members of the congregation who easily fall into ecstasy are believed to be visited by the
Holy Ghost Most Christian denominations believe the Holy Spirit, or Holy Ghost, to be the third divine Person of the Trinity, a triune god manifested as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, each being God. Nontrinitarian Christians, who ...
and the utterings are received as prophecies." (Steven Fuchs 1965: 16).

Anthony Gilchrist McCall in 1949 recorded several incidents of revivalism, including the "Kelkang incident", in which three men "spoke in tongues", claiming to be the medium through which

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

spoke to men. Their following was large and widespread until they clashed with the colonial superintendent. He put down the movement and removed the "sorcery". In a 2004 study Weil says, "although there is no documentary evidence linking the tribal peoples in northeast India with the myth of the lost Israelites, it appears likely that, as with revivalism, the concept was introduced by the missionaries as part of their general

millenarian Millenarianism or millenarism () is the belief by a religious organization, religious, social, or political party, political group or Social movement, movement in a coming fundamental Social transformation, transformation of society, after which ...

leanings." In the 19th and 20th centuries, Christian missionaries "discovered" lost tribes in far-flung places; their enthusiasm for identifying such peoples as part of the Israelite tribes was related to the desire to speed up the messianic era and bring on the Redemption. Based on his experience in China, for example, Scottish missionary Rev. T.F. Torrance wrote ''China’s Ancient Israelites'' (1937), expounding a theory that the

Qiang people The Qiang people (Qiangic languages, Qiangic: ''Rrmea''; ) are an List of ethnic groups in China, ethnic group in China. They form one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognised by the People's Republic of China, with a population of approx ...

were lost Israelites. This theory has not been supported by any more rigorous studies. Some of the Mizo-Kuki-Chin say they have an oral tradition that the tribe traveled through Persia, Afghanistan, Tibet, China and on to India, where it eventually settled in the northeastern states of Manipur and Mizoram. According to Tongkhohao Aviel Hangshing, leader of the Bnei Menashe in

Imphal Imphal (; , ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Manipur. The metropolitan centre of the city contains the ruins of Kangla Palace (officially known as Kangla Fort), the royal seat of the former Kingdom of Manipur, surrounded by a ...

, the capital of Manipur, when the Bible was translated into local languages in the 1970s, the people began to study it themselves. Hangshing said, "And we found that the stories, the customs and practices of the Israeli people were very similar to ours. So we thought that we must be one of the lost tribes."Geeta Pandey, "India's lost Jews' wait in hope"
, BBC, 18 August 2004, accessed 8 May 2013 After making contact with Israelis, they began to study normative Judaism and established several synagogues. Hundreds of Mizo-Kuki-Chin emigrated to Israel. They were required to formally convert to be accepted as Jews, because their history was not documented. Also, given their long migration and intermarriage, they had lost the required maternal ancestry of Jews, by which they might be considered as born Jews.

Work of aliyah groups, Amishav and Shavei Israel

In the late 20th century, the Israeli Rabbi Eliyahu Avichail founded Amishav (

for "My People Returns"), an organisation dedicated to locating descendants of the lost tribes of Israel and assisting them in ''

''. In 1983, he first learned of the Messianic/Jewish group in northeastern India, after meeting Zaithanchhungi, an insurance saleswoman and former teacher who came from the area. She had traveled to Israel in 1981 to present papers at seminars about her people's connection to Judaism. During the 1980s, Avichail traveled to northeast India several times to investigate the people's claims. He helped the people do research and collect historic documentation. The people were observed to have some practices similar to Judaism:Bhaswar Maity, T. Sitalaximi, R. Trivedi, and V. K. Kashyap, "Tracking The Genetic Imprints of Lost Jewish Tribes Among The Gene Pool of Kuki-Chin-Mizo Population of India"
, December 2004, posted at Genome Biology (not peer-reviewed), accessed 8 May 2013 * Three festivals annually similar to those of Jews * Funeral rites, birth and marriage ceremonies have similarities to ancient Judaism * Historical claim of descent from a great ancestor " Manmási", whose descriptions are similar to those of

, son of Joseph. * Local legends, primarily those of the Hmar, that describe the presence of remnants of the lost Jewish tribe of Manasseh (Hebrew: Menashe) more than 1,000 years ago in a cave in southwestern China called Sinlung, whose members migrated across Thailand into northeastern India. Believing that these people were descendants of Israelites, Avichail named the group Bnei Menashe. He began to teach them normative

Orthodox Judaism Orthodox Judaism is a collective term for the traditionalist branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Torah, Written and Oral Torah, Oral, as literally revelation, revealed by God in Ju ...

. He prepared to pay for their ''aliyah'' with funds provided by Christian groups supporting the Second Coming. But the Israeli government did not recognize the Messianic groups in India as candidates for ''aliyah''. Several years later, the rabbi stepped aside as a leader of Amishav in favour of Michael Freund. The younger man was a columnist for ''

The Jerusalem Post ''The Jerusalem Post'' is an English language, English-language Israeli broadsheet newspaper based in Jerusalem, Israel, founded in 1932 during the Mandate for Palestine, British Mandate of Mandatory Palestine, Palestine by Gershon Agron as ''Th ...

'' and former deputy director of communications and policy planning in the Prime Minister's office. The two men quarreled. Freund founded another organization, Shavei Israel, also devoted to supporting aliyah by descendants of lost tribes. Each of the two men have attracted the support of some Bnei Menashe in Israel. "Kuki-Mizo tribal rivalries and

clans A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, a clan may claim descent from a founding member or apical ancestor who serves as a symbol of the clan's unity. Many societie ...

have also played a role in the split, with some groups supporting one man and some the other." Freund uses some of his private fortune to support Shavei Israel. It has helped provide Jewish education for the Bnei Menashe in

Aizawl Aizawl (, American English, US: , British English, UK: ; Mizo language, Mizo: ), formerly known as Aijal, is the capital city and the most populous city of Mizoram, India. It is also the third largest city in northeast India. It is situated ato ...

and

, the capitals of two northeast Indian states. In mid-2005, with the help of Shavei Israel and the local council of Kiryat Arba, the Bnei Menashe opened its first community centre in Israel. They have built several

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

s in northeast India. In July 2005, they completed a ''

mikveh A mikveh or mikvah (, ''mikva'ot'', ''mikvot'', or (Ashkenazi Hebrew, Ashkenazic) ''mikves'', lit., "a collection") is a bath used for ritual washing in Judaism#Full-body immersion, ritual immersion in Judaism to achieve Tumah and taharah, ...

'' (ritual bath) in Mizoram under the supervision of Israeli rabbis. This is used in Orthodox Jewish practice and its use is required as part of the formal Orthodox process of conversion of candidates to Judaism. Shortly after, Bnei Menashe built a ''mikveh'' in Manipur.

DNA testing results

Observers thought that DNA testing might indicate whether there was Middle Eastern ancestry among the Bnei Menashe. Some resisted such testing, acknowledging that their ancestors had intermarried with other people but saying that did not change their sense of identification as Jews. In 2003, author

Hillel Halkin Hillel Halkin (; born 1939) is an American-born Israeli translator, biographer, literary critic, and novelist who has lived in Israel since 1970. Biography Hillel Halkin was born in New York City two months before the outbreak of World War II. ...

helped arrange genetic testing of Mizo-Kuki people. A total of 350 genetic samples were tested at

Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...

Technion – Israel Institute of Technology The Technion – Israel Institute of Technology is a public university, public research university located in Haifa, Israel. Established in 1912 by Jews under the dominion of the Ottoman Empire, the Technion is the oldest university in the coun ...

under the auspices of Prof. Karl Skorecki. According to the late Isaac Hmar Intoate, a scholar involved with the project, researchers found no genetic evidence of

ern ancestry for the Mizo-Chin-Kuki men. The study has not been published in a peer-reviewed journal. In December 2004,

's Central Forensic Science Laboratory posted a paper at ''Genome Biology'' on the

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...

. This had not been peer reviewed. They tested a total of 414 people from tribal communities (Hmar, Kuki, Mara, Lai and Lusei) of the state of Mizoram. They found no evidence among the men of

Y-DNA The Y chromosome is one of two sex chromosomes in therian mammals and other organisms. Along with the X chromosome, it is part of the XY sex-determination system, in which the Y is the sex-determining chromosome because the presence of the Y ...

haplotypes indicating Middle Eastern origin. Instead, the haplotypes were distinctly

East East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that ea ...

and

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

n in origin. In 2005, additional tests of

mtDNA Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA and mDNA) is the DNA located in the mitochondria organelles in a eukaryotic cell that converts chemical energy from food into adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial DNA is a small portion of the DNA contained in ...

were conducted for 50 women from these communities. The researchers said they found some evidence of Middle Eastern origin, which may have been an indicator of intermarriage during the people's lengthy migration period. While DNA is not used as a determinant of Jewish ancestry, it can be an indicator. It has been found in the Y-DNA among descendants in some other populations distant from the Middle East who claim Jewish descent, some of whose ancestors are believed to have been male Jewish traders. Israeli Professor Skorecki said of the Kolkata studies that the geneticists "did not do a complete 'genetic sequencing' of all the DNA and therefore it is hard to rely on the conclusions derived from a "partial sequencing, and they themselves admit this." He added

the absence of a genetic match still does not say that the Kuki do not have origins in the Jewish people, as it is possible that after thousands of years it is difficult to identify the traces of the common genetic origin. However, a positive answer can give a significant indication.

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

reported, " e Central Forensic Institute in Calcutta suggests that while the masculine side of the tribes bears no links to Israel, the feminine side suggests a genetic profile with Middle Eastern people that may have arisen through inter-marriage". The social scientist Lev Grinberg commented that "right wing Jewish groups wanted such conversions of distant people to boost the population in areas disputed by the

Palestinians Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenou ...

.""Rabbi backs India's 'lost Jews'"
BBC News, 1 April 2005.

Acceptance

In April 2005, it was alleged by Michael Freund that the

Sephardi Sephardic Jews, also known as Sephardi Jews or Sephardim, and rarely as Iberian Peninsular Jews, are a Jewish diaspora population associated with the historic Jewish communities of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and their descendant ...

Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar, one of Israel's two

Chief Rabbi Chief Rabbi () is a title given in several countries to the recognized religious leader of that country's Jewish community, or to a rabbinic leader appointed by the local secular authorities. Since 1911, through a capitulation by Ben-Zion Meir ...

s, had formally accepted the Bnei Menashe as descendants of one of the lost tribes after putatively spending years of review of their claims and other research. The documentation produced formed the basis for a decision to allow the Bnei Menashe to immigrate as Jews to Israel ostensibly under the country's

Law of Return The Law of Return (, ''ḥok ha-shvūt'') is an Israeli law, passed on 5 July 1950, which gives Jews, people with one or more Jewish grandparent, and their spouses the right to Aliyah, relocate to Israel and acquire Israeli nationality law, Isra ...

, though in practice he facilitated their emigration by bypassing the regulations and legal criteria set by the Israeli Ministry of Absorption. The Israeli Bnei Menashe now recount that, after Avichail asked him to do so, Rabbi Amar dispatched three ''dayanim'' (religious judges) to

to conduct interviews and investigate the claims of Israelite descent. It was, it was then alleged, on the basis of a positive report that Amar then decided to recognize them fully. In 2015, an investigative reporter turned up evidence that Amar had ruled to the contrary that the Bnei Menashe were not of the 'seed of Israel', and Amar confirmed he had made no such judgement, and that they neither had Jewish ancestry nor were halakhic Jews. Most ethnic Mizo-Kuki-Chin have rejected the Bnei Menashe claim of Jewish origin; they believe their peoples are indigenous to Asia, as supported by the Y-DNA test results. Academics in Israel and elsewhere also have serious questions about any Jewish ancestry for this group. By 2006, some 1,700 Bnei Menashe had moved to Israel, where they were settled in the

West Bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

and

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip, also known simply as Gaza, is a small territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea; it is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank, that make up the State of Palestine. I ...

(before the disengagement). They were required to undergo Orthodox conversion to Judaism, including study and immersion in a ''

''. The immigrants were put in the settlements as these offered cheaper housing and living expenses than some other areas. The Bnei Menashe composed the largest immigrant population in the Gaza Strip before Israel withdrew its settlers from the area. Now they are mainly concentrated in Kiryat Arba,

Sderot Sderot (, , ; , sometimes Romanized as "Sederot") is a western Negev city and former development town in the Southern District (Israel), Southern District of Israel. In , it had a population of . Sderot is located less than a mile from Gaza St ...

, Beit El,

Ofra Ofra () is an Israeli settlement located in the northern Israeli occupied territories, Israeli-occupied West Bank. Located on the main road between Jerusalem and Nablus (Route 60), it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Binyamin Regional Counc ...

, Nitzan,

Carmiel Karmiel () is a city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. Established in 1964 as a development town, Karmiel is located in the Beit HaKerem Valley which divides upper and lower Galilee. The city is located south of the A ...

Afula Afula () is a city in the Northern District of Israel, often known as the "Capital of the Valley" due to its strategic location in the Jezreel Valley. As of , the city had a population of . Afula's ancient tell (settlement mound) suggests habit ...

and Maalot. Learning Hebrew has been a great challenge, especially for the older generation, for whom the

phonology Phonology (formerly also phonemics or phonematics: "phonemics ''n.'' 'obsolescent''1. Any procedure for identifying the phonemes of a language from a corpus of data. 2. (formerly also phonematics) A former synonym for phonology, often pre ...

of their native Indic and

Tibeto-Burman languages The Tibeto-Burman languages are the non- Sinitic members of the Sino-Tibetan language family, over 400 of which are spoken throughout the Southeast Asian Massif ("Zomia") as well as parts of East Asia and South Asia. Around 60 million people spe ...

-many of them mutually unintelligible and thus forcing the Bnei Menashe to converse among themselves in broken Hebrew - makes Hebrew especially challenging. Younger members have had more opportunities to learn Hebrew, as they are more involved in society. Some have gained jobs as soldiers; others as nurses' aides for the elderly and infirm. By 2024 over a hundred Bnei Menashe families had settled in the Israeli city of

which is located within a mile of Gaza and had by 2024 completed the construction of a synagogue and beit midrash (Torah study hall) contributed to the community by Sdeot's mayor, Alon Davidi.

Political issues in Israel and India

In June 2003, Interior Minister Avraham Poraz of

Shinui Shinui () was a Zionist, secular, and anti-clerical free market Liberalism worldwide, liberal party and political movement in Israel. The party twice became the third-largest in the Knesset, but both occasions were followed by a split and collaps ...

halted Bnei Menashe immigration to Israel. Shinui leaders had expressed concern that "only

Third World The term Third World arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either NATO or the Warsaw Pact. The United States, Canada, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, the Southern Cone, NATO, Western European countries and oth ...

residents seem interested in converting and immigrating to Israel."Abigail Radoszkowicz, "Bnei Menashe aliya halted by Poraz"
''The Jerusalem Post'', 7 August 2003, hosted at Shavei.org, accessed 8 May 2013 Ofir Pines-Paz, Minister of Science and Technology, said that the Bnei Menashe were "being cynically exploited for political purposes." He objected to the new immigrants being settled in the unstable territory of the Gaza Strip's

Gush Katif Gush Katif () was a bloc of 17 Israeli settlements in the southern Gaza Strip. In August 2005, the Israel Defense Forces removed the 8,600 Israeli residents from their homes after a decision from the Cabinet of Israel. The communities were demo ...

settlements (which were evacuated two years later) and in the West Bank. Rabbi Eliyahu Birnbaum, a rabbinical judge dealing with the conversion of Bnei Menashe, accused the

Absorption Committee of making a decision based on racist ideas.Arutz Sheva
At the time, Michael Freund, with the Amishav organization, noted that assimilation was proceeding; young men of the Bnei Menashe served in Israeli combat units. The rapid rise in conversions also provoked political controversy in

, India. The Indian government believed that the conversions encouraged identification with another country, in an area already characterized by separatist unrest. P.C. Biaksiama of the

Christian Research Centre said,

e mass conversion by foreign priests will pose a threat not only to social stability in the region, but also to national security. A large number of people will forsake loyalty to the Union of India, as they all will become eligible for a foreign citizenship.

He wrote the book, ''Mizo Nge Israel?'' ("Mizo or Israel?") (2004), exploring this issue. He does not think the people have a legitimate claim to Jewish descent. Leaders of the

Presbyterian Church Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Christianity, Reformed Protestantism, Protestant tradition named for its form of ecclesiastical polity, church government by representative assemblies of Presbyterian polity#Elder, elders, known as ...

in Mizoram, the largest denomination, have objected to the Israelis' activity there. In March 2004, Biaksiama appeared on television, discussing the issues with Lalchhanhima Sailo, founder of Chhinlung Israel People's Convention (CIPC), a

secessionist Secession is the formal withdrawal of a group from a Polity, political entity. The process begins once a group proclaims an act of secession (such as a declaration of independence). A secession attempt might be violent or peaceful, but the goal i ...

Mizo organization. The region has had numerous separatist movements and India has struggled to maintain peace there. Some Bnei Menashe supporters said that Israeli officials failed to explain to the Indian government that the rabbis were formalizing the conversions of Bnei Menashe who had already accepted Judaism, rather than trying to recruit new members. Some

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

groups criticised the Indian government, saying that it took Christian complaints about Jewish proselytizing more seriously than theirs. They have complained for years about Christian missionaries recruiting Hindus without receiving any governmental response. In July 2006, Israeli Immigration Absorption Minister

Ze'ev Boim Ze'ev Boim (; 30 April 1943 – 18 March 2011) was an Israeli politician. He was the mayor of Kiryat Gat before becoming a Knesset member for Likud and later Kadima. Boim was Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Minister of Housing ...

said that the 218 Bnei Menashe who had completed their conversions would be allowed to enter the country, but "first the government must decide what its policy will be towards those who have yet to (formally) convert." A few months later, in November 2006, the 218 Bnei Menashe arrived in Israel and were settled in

Nazareth Illit Nof HaGalil is a city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel with a population of . Nof HaGalil was founded in 1957 as Nazareth Illit (; ), it was planned as a Jewish town overlooking the city of Nazareth and the Jezreel V ...

and Karmiel. The government has encouraged more people to settle in the

Galilee Galilee (; ; ; ) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon consisting of two parts: the Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and the Lower Galilee (, ; , ). ''Galilee'' encompasses the area north of the Mount Carmel-Mount Gilboa ridge and ...

and the

Negev The Negev ( ; ) or Naqab (), is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The region's largest city and administrative capital is Beersheba (pop. ), in the north. At its southern end is the Gulf of Aqaba and the resort town, resort city ...

. In October 2007, the Israeli government said that approval of travelers' entry into Israel for the purpose of mass conversion and citizenship would have to be decided by the full Cabinet, rather than by the

Interior Minister An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a Cabinet (government), cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and iden ...

alone. This decision was expected to be a major obstacle in Shavei Israel's endeavours to bring all Bnei Menashe to Israel. The government suspended issuing visas to the Bnei Menashe. In 2012, after a change in government, the Israel legislature passed a resolution to resume allowing immigration of Bnei Menashe. Fifty-four entered the country in January 2013, making a total of 200 immigrants, according to Shavei Israel."Israel takes in more Bnei Menashe 'lost tribe' members"
BBC, 25 December 2012, accessed 8 May 2013"2000th Bnei Menashe immigrant arrives in Israel"
''Jerusalem Post'' (JPost), 14 January 2013, accessed 8 May 2013 As of 13 December 2023, 5,000 Bnei Menashe have immigrated to Israel.

Legends

All of the folklore which supports the Bnei Menashe's Jewish ancestry are taken/found in Hmar history. One such is the traditional Hmar harvest festival (''Sikpui'' ''Ruoi'') song, ''"Sikpui Hla (Sikpui Song),"'' which refers to events and images similar to some in the

Book of Exodus The Book of Exodus (from ; ''Šəmōṯ'', 'Names'; ) is the second book of the Bible. It is the first part of the narrative of the Exodus, the origin myth of the Israelites, in which they leave slavery in Biblical Egypt through the strength of ...

, is evidence of their Israelite ancestry. Studies of comparative religion, however, have demonstrated recurring motifs and symbols in unrelated religions and peoples in many regions. In addition, other Mizo-Kuki-Hmar people say that this song is an ancient one of their culture. The song includes references to enemies chasing the people over a red-coloured sea, quails, and a pillar of cloud. Such images and symbols are not exclusive to Judaism. Translation of the lyrics:

While we are preparing for the Sikpui Feast, The big red sea becomes divided; As we march along fighting our foes, We are being led by pillar of cloud by day, And pillar of fire by night. Our enemies, O ye folks, are thick with fury, Come out with your shields and arrows. Fighting our enemies all day long, We march forward as cloud-fire goes before us. The enemies we fought all day long, The big sea swallowed them like wild beast. Collect the quails, And draw the water that springs out of the rock.

Michael Freund, the director of Shavei Israel, wrote that the Bnei Menashe claim to have a chant they call "Miriam's Prayer." By that time, he had been involved for years in promoting the Bnei Menashe as descended from Jews and working to facilitate their ''aliyah'' to Israel."Echoes of Egypt in India"
''The Jerusalem Post''. Retrieved 2014-12-01. He said that the words of the chant were identical to the ancient Sikpui Song. The ''Post'' article is the first known print reference to Miriam's Prayer, aka ''"Sikpui Hla."''

Films

*''Quest for the Lost Tribes'' (2000). Director: Simcha Jacobovici *''Return of the Lost Tribe''. Director: Phillipe Stroun *''This Song Is Old'' (2009), Director: Bruce Sheridan *''A Prayer for Aliyah'' (2012). Director: Zorawar Shukla

References and notes

External links

Bnei Menashe Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bnei Menashe Jews and Judaism in India Jewish ethnic groups Groups claiming Israelite descent Groups who converted to Judaism Ethnic groups in Northeast India