This Rosh Hashana, help bring the Bnei Menashe home to Israel
Azriel Hmar looks out at the beach in India and dreams of a new life in Israel
Azriel and Mayian Hmar, along with their two children Annie and Angel, have a comfortable life in the city of Aizawl. Hailing from the northeastern Indian state of Mizoram, Azriel, 45, is a high-level government employee in the capital city and a leader in the Bnei Menahse community there. His wife, Mayian, teaches Jewish subjects to the Bnei Menashe children of Aizawl on Shabbat and Sundays. Both are college educated and,in addition to the local tongue of Mizo, Azriel and Mayian speak English fluently and Azriel has also mastered Hindi. Their children attend prestigious schools in town.
And yet, the Hmars are prepared to give it all up, to leave their friends, family, home and standard of living, to realize their most passionate dream: to make aliyah and join the Jewish people in Israel. They have been saving and planning for many years for the day when the gates of immigration would finally open for them.
That day is nearly here.
As we head into Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, we have much to be thankful for. With your generous help, in the last year, Shavei Israel overcame numerous bureaucratic barriers, resulting in the dramatic resumption of aliyah from India. In the Jewish year 5773, we brought 274 Bnei Menashe men, women and children, families and singles, from the Indian state of Manipur to Israel.We arranged for housing and Hebrew language instruction for the new immigrants. Today, they are all settled in their own homes in two welcoming northern Israeli communities: Midgal HaEmek and Acre.
The Bnei Menashe are descendants of the tribe of Manasseh, one of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel who were exiled by the Assyrian empire more than 2,700 years ago.
In the coming year of 5774, with G-d’s help, we will bring 899 Bnei Menashe to Israel– that’s more than three times as many as this past year – beginning as early as November and continuing over the following 12 months.
We couldn’t have brought the first group to Israel without your assistance and we are turning to you again for this year’s even bigger challenge. Airfare from Mizoram to Israel, with transit via Delhi, is approximately $1,200 per person. An additional $1,800 per immigrant is required to assist with absorption costs once the new future Israeli citizens arrive in Israel. The Israeli government may chip in, but the onus is squarely on our shoulders.
The cost to help the Hmar’s – from the moment they pack their bags until they set up in their new homes in Israel – is a total of $12,000 for the entire family. The cost for all 899 immigrants is staggering $2.7 million.
Please consider making a Rosh Hashana contribution that will enable Azriel, Mayian, Annie and Angel to come to home to their people – to our people – in the land of Israel. Your assistance will be felt immediately and directly, on the ground, with the individuals who need it the most.
With your help, the Bnei Menashe will see their 2,700-year-old dream of a Shana Haba b’Yerushalayim (“Next Year in Jerusalem”) become a reality. Join us in making this miracle come true!
Thank you and Shana Tova!