Meir Phaltuel, a member of the Bnei Menashe, made aliyah with the help of Shavei Israel in 2014. Living an observant Jewish life in India is never easy, even today, but for Meir Phaltual and his family growing up, it was particularly difficult. One of nine...
Hard to believe that it's been more than a month since the onset of riots, on May 3, 2023, in the state of Manipur between the Meitei tribe and the Kuki tribe. The Bnei Menashe Jews in northeast India are ethnically of the Kuki tribe....
We at Shavei Israel are deeply concerned about the ongoing ethnic violence in Manipur, India that has devastated the Bnei Menashe community there. A total of 292 Bnei Menashe families (numbering 1,190 men, women and children) have been forced to flee their homes in the past...
A personal account by Yosef Vaiphei from Beth El Langol, in Manipur, India. Yosef's younger brother Samuel Vaiphei, who was married just a month ago, works for Shavei Israel and was in Churachandpur occupied with the work regarding the aliyah process for the next Bnei...
[caption id="attachment_171426" align="alignleft" width="236"] Badly damaged Torah scroll in Manipur, India[/caption] Devastating news has been coming out of Manipur, India. The image of a destroyed Torah scroll in a burned out synagogue is symbolic of the rampant destruction that has swept across the region leaving nearly...
At the Arbel school in Nof HaGalil, where about 100 students from the Bnei Manashe community attend, they held a special assembly where they prayed for the rescue and repatriation of their brothers in India, some of whom were attacked last week and over 200...
Lag Ba’omer is a minor holiday that occurs on the 33rd day of the Omer, the 49-day period between Passover and Shavuot. A break from the semi-mourning of the Omer, key aspects of Lag Ba’omer include holding Jewish weddings (it’s the one day during the...
A beautiful wedding was held recently at the Yeshivat Bnei Akiva, Ner Tamid school in Hashmonaim. When we say it was 'held there', it's not because the space was rented. Rather, it was the students in the yeshiva itself who hosted the wedding, organizing everything. The...
Yom Ha'atzmaut is Israel's national Independence Day commemorating the Israeli Declaration of Independence in 1948. The day is marked by official and unofficial ceremonies and observances throughout Israel and the Jewish world. Yom Hazikaron, the Israeli Fallen Soldiers and Victims of Terrorism Remembrance Day is always...
Like in previous years, this Passover our communities all over the world enjoyed the holiday. Eating matza and other special foods, gathering for the seder, taking day trips and having family time. Now Pesach is over – the matzah is finished, the special Passover dishes put...
