Michael Freund visits India to deliver the news about the resumption of aliyah for the Bnei Menashe
Just before learning the news
Shavei Israel Chairman Michael Freund was in India with the Bnei Menashe for Israel Independence Day. At the central gathering, with some 2,000 Bnei Menashe in attendance – nearly one-third of the entire Bnei Menashe community in India, many of whom had traveled for up to five hours by bus to be there – Michael delivered the electrifying news about the impending resumption of the Bnei Menashe aliyah.
“The response was unbelievable,” Michael says. “People stood up and started cheering. Spontaneous singing and dancing broke out. The Bnei Menashe in general do not express emotion in public. So to do this was a very big deal.”
The annual Independence Day events, held in the main Bnei Menashe center in Manipur, are the biggest communal celebrations for the community. We have a selection of pictures on our website here.
While we don’t have any pictures from another moving “event” that took place early Shabbat morning. Michael Freund shares the story.
“I was lying in my bed and, at around 6:00 AM, I heard the sound of dozens of children singing the morning prayers right outside my room,” he says. “There must have been 100 kids going through all the blessings, in parallel with the main service for adults. It was a wonderful way to wake up.”