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Jewish Telegraphic Agency JERUSALEM - Shlomo Gangte is a graphic designer, a documentary filmmaker and a recently ordained rabbi. That wouldn't be so unusual, except that Gangte is one of the recently arrived members of the Bnei Menashe, a community from northeastern India that says it is descended from one of the biblical Lost Tribes of Israel.
The Jerusalem Post Magazine    The road to Aizawl winds perilously through lush green hills, with hair-pin turns and narrow, unmarked lanes adding a tangible sense of danger to the journey. The route passes through numerous villages, many of which are essentially small clusters of makeshift homes built from bamboo, wood and whatever else is available.
Though he is only 23 years old, Shi Lei of Kaifeng, China, is laboring hard to reclaim centuries of Jewish tradition and heritage, much of which has all but faded away in his native land.   A descendant of a once prosperous and thriving Jewish community located on the south bank of China's Yellow River, Shi Lei (pronounced Sher Lay) is now enrolled in the one-year Jewish studies program at Bar-Ilan University outside Tel Aviv, where he is busy studying Hebrew and learning about Jewish history and culture.
Descendants of the Tribe of Menashe Reside in Eastern India    Yitzhak Tang-Zhum, aged 30, was born a member of the Shinlung, a group residing in the region between India and Burma. Already at the age of 4, he relates, he became aware of the Shinlungs traditions linking them with the tribe of Menashe (Manasseh), one of the Ten Lost Tribes exiled from the Land of Israel by the Assyrians when they captured the Kingdom of Israel in the 8th century B.C.E.
To understand the relevance of the Jewish presence in Portugal, we must recall the antiquity of the Jews in the Iberian Peninsula and the roots of Portugal as a nation. The truth is that we don’t have any written evidence of the time and circumstances of the arrival of the first Jews to the territory that was to be Portugal.
All over the world next week, the ram's horns of Rosh Hashanah (beginning of the New Year) will call faithful Jews to the Ten Days of Penitence that end with Yom Kippur. No prayers will be more fervent than those from the 80-odd ex-Catholics of San Nicandro, Italy. The conversion of San Nicandro began almost 20 years ago with dark-eyed, sallow Donato Manduzio. Invalided by shrapnel in World War I, Donato had lain for years on a miserable straw mattress in an attic room. At first he wept bitterly that he could not join in the daily life of his native San Nicandro Garganico (pop. 20,000). But gradually, the sounds of women singing as they carried water in copper vessels on their heads, the cries of the black-hatted mule-drivers, the hammering of cobblers in the tiny, dark shops (Donate had been a cobbler himself) lost their attraction for Donato. He heard them no more, because he was too busy reading the Bible. Along with the sounds of workaday life, Donato also closed his ears to church bells. Bible study had led him to question the doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church.
The Jerusalem Post    With its marble floors, ornate furniture, and rare artwork, Lisbon's Belem Palace could easily compete with some of Europe's finest museums. Although not a cultural institution per se, the palace does serve a central function in the life of Portugal: It is home to the president of the republic, Dr. Jorge Sampaio. Sampaio has served as president since 1996, having been re-elected to a second five-year term in 2001. Unlike in Israel, the presidency in Portugal is more than just a ceremonial post. He is commander-in-chief of the armed forces, and has the power to dissolve parliament and call for national elections.