Bnei Menashe leave absorption center for their new homes in Israel
OPERATION MENASHE UPDATE: On Monday, 102 members of the Bnei Menashe Jewish community left the Kfar Hasidim absorption center where they have been living since they made aliyah from northeastern India earlier this year. They are now settling in to their new homes in Upper Nazareth, which already has a growing Bnei Menashe community.
The latest group of immigrants are all from the Indian state of Mizoram. On Friday, they completed their formal conversion to Judaism and an intensive Hebrew course at Kfar Hasidim, made possible by Shavei Israel.
“This is an exciting day for all of us,” said Shavei Israel Chairman Michael Freund. “After spending the past three months at the Shavei Israel absorption center, the Bnei Menashe immigrants will now begin to build their new lives here in the Jewish state. We will do everything we can to ensure that their integration into Israeli society goes as smoothly as possible.”
More than 2,700 years ago, the Bnei Menashe’s ancestors were exiled from the Land of Israel. “Our task now is to ensure that they truly feel at home,” Freund said.
The Bnei Menashe are the descendants of the tribe of Manasseh, one of the Ten Lost Tribes. So far, some 3,000 Bnei Menashe have made aliyah thanks to Shavei Israel, including more than 1,100 in the past four years. Some 7,000 Bnei Menashe remain in India.
Shavei Israel has raised all the funds to cover the costs of the Bnei Menashe absorption to date. But we are turning to you for help with the final step.
We need just $36,000 to provide the Bnei Menashe with basic appliances and furnishings for their new homes.
The Bnei Menashe left nearly everything they had and all that they knew to come home to Israel. Your contribution can make all the difference. Please visit our website today.
This week’s Bnei Menashe news has been widely covered by Jewish media. Here are some of the publications:
In Hebrew
In Spanish