Connecting with “Lost Jews” Throughout the World
Michael Freund with Bnei Menashe Kids in India
The Westchester Jewish Life profiled Shavei Israel Chairman Michael Freund, who grew up in the town of Harrison in Westchester County, New York. Here is a reprint of the article.
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Reaching out to descendants of Jews throughout the world, who through no fault of theirs became separated from Jewish life, former Harrison resident Michael Freund, residing in Israel, takes to heart strengthening historic ties between “lost Jews” and the Jewish people.
Chairman and founder of Shavei Israel (www.shavei.org), Freund aimed to help those who “wished to return to their roots.” After making aliyah to Israel with his wife in 1995 — they now have five boys 11 to 18 years old — he became an advisor to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Deputy Communications Director. There, learning of a community in India, the Bnei Menashe, claiming descent from one of Israel’s Ten Lost Tribes, he checked, and “became convinced of the historicity of their claim…that they are our lost brethren and we need to help them.”
Other communities surfaced after research: Bnei Anousin (Marranos) of Spain and Portugal, Chinese Jews of Kaifeng, Russian Subbotnik Jews, and Hidden Jews of Poland from the Holocaust era. Shavei Israel, has grown and is active in 10 countries with emissaries in several. Over 1,700 Bnei Menashe descendants made aliyah through the organization; the 7,200 remaining wait to join them. Activities are funded entirely from private donations.
Of his youth, Freund noted he attended Westchester Jewish Center, Mamaroneck, moved to Harrison, attending the JCC of Harrison. Becoming more observant, “I joined the Harrison Orthodox Minyan…which blossomed into Young Israel of Harrison. I have fond memories of Westchester: the serenity of the suburbs together with the warmth of the Jewish community… an ideal setting in which to grow up.”
Stating the historical responsibility of Jews to reach out to descendants as part of the Jewish family, Freund added, “We owe it to them and their ancestors to do what we can to bring them back.”