Shavei profile: Two Bnei Menashe find their place in the IDF as “lone soldiers”
Tamir Baite, the first Bnei Menashe lone soldier in 2006
Immigrating to Israel is challenging at any time. Now, try doing it without your parents and then jumping straight into the Israel Defense Forces. Such brave new citizens are known as “lone soldiers.” And now the army has two more – from the Bnei Menashe community of India.
Binyamin Vaiphei and Sagi Haokip are following in the footsteps of Tamir Baite, the first Bnei Menashe lone soldier who served in 2006 (see picture). The two newcomers arrived in Israel in 2007 along with 232 other Bnei Menashe who were brought on aliyah by Shavei Israel. Due to limits imposed on the number of Bnei Menashe immigrants allowed in at the time, their families were forced to stay behind.
After an initial period of acclimatization, during which they studied Hebrew and Judaism, the two young men were set up in apartments by Shavei Israel – Vaiphei in a Jerusalem suburb and Haokip in the Galilee town of Ma’alot. They subsequently joined the IDF and were drafted into the elite Golani unit.
Although Vaiphei and Haokip are not serving in the same specific unit, their experiences are remarkably similar. Both have continued to improve their Hebrew through the army’s immigrant ulpan and are very pleased to have made new friends. Indeed, “all my friends are Israeli now,” says Haokip with pride. “I am learning a lot from them.”
Vaiphei, for his part, is enjoying getting to know his new country-mates, too, in Ma’alot where he lives. “Friends often invite me for the Sabbath,” he says. Ma’alot is also home to a sizable Bnei Menashe community, which helps with the absorption process.
Both Vaiphei and Haokip grew up in the northeastern Indian state of Manipur. Their parents kept many Jewish traditions – “as many mitzvoth as we knew,” says Haokip – including the Sabbath, the kosher laws , the Jewish festivals, and the laws of family purity.. Vaiphei learned to read the Torah – in the local Indian language of Kuki – from his grandfather.
One thing the two lone soldiers admitted surprised them both was discovering that not all Israelis are religious. “Yes, that’s what I thought before I came,” says Vaiphei. Haokip is more philosophical: “Even if someone is not religious here, they have great respect for religion.”
Vaiphei left behind his parents and four brothers. Haokip was more fortunate – two of his sisters made aliyah along with him. But he had a girlfriend back in India. “I miss her so much,” he says. “She wants to come, but she’s in the middle of training to become a nurse.”
Haokip, in turn, has been missed by his Bnei Menashe brethren in India. While there, he was one of Shavei Israel’s “fellows” in India. He attended a special Shavei Israel training program in Nepal for young Bnei Menashe leaders and then returned to teach the community about Jewish law. On the side, he was also the captain of one of the teams participating in the annual Bnei Menashe Maccabiah sports tournament, initiated and sponsored by Shavei Israel.
While it is certainly difficult to be so far from family and friends, Vaiphei and Haokip are hopeful their loved ones will come soon. That day may not be so far off – in January, the Knesset Committee for Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Affairs called on the Israeli government to swiftly bring home the remaining 7,232 members of the Bnei Menashe community left behind in India.
In the meantime, they have no desire to return to Manipur. “I am so happy in the army,” says Vaiphei. Haokip concurs. “I want to live here,” he says. “It’s better than I expected…in everything. I feel so proud to be Israeli.”
With G-d’s help, more Bnei Menashe will soon be able to join in what Vaiphei and Haokip have experienced through their historic return to Zion and Israel – and this time, we hope, with their entire families.
To help sponsor a Bnei Menashe lone soldier in Israel, click here.