Abigail (Marina) Erlich was scheduled to stand before the rabbinical conversion court to formally return to Judaism when, at the last moment, she revealed to Rabbi Elisha Salas, Shavei Israel’s emissary to Portugal and her guide through several years of study, that she believed she...
Congratulations to Sonia Manlun Lhungdim who has become the latest Bnei Menashe immigrant to Israel to graduate from social work school. Sonia joins her friends, Itzkhak and Esther Colney, who like her also graduated from the Safed Academic College over the last several years. “We are...
[caption id="attachment_29388" align="alignleft" width="169"] Eliza with friends in Krakow[/caption] Ever since I was a child I knew I was Jewish; I also knew I could never reveal my Jewish identity. It’s hard to believe that in the 21st century a Jew still has to hide their Jewishness,...
Shavei Israel participated in a conference held by the Ebenezer organization, a Christian group that aims to help the Jewish people return to Israel “in fulfillment of Biblical prophecy.” Shavei Israel Chairman Michael Freund spoke and recent Bnei Menashe immigrants presented a traditional dance from...
Gadi Bentley, Shavei Israel’s emissary to the Igbo, a possible “lost” Jewish tribe in Nigeria, recently returned from his mission with some fascinating stories and even more intriguing pictures. Here are a few that he sent to us. An estimated 3,000 Igbo identify as Jewish and...
Shavei Israel’s emissaries to the Zion Torah Center community - Tamar and Yishai Tzur - have had a memorable first four months in Erode, India. Together with five of their seven children, the Tzurs have brought Torah learning and Hebrew language instruction to this formerly Christian,...
[caption id="attachment_26448" align="alignleft" width="300"] Yue Ting in China[/caption] The aliyah from China continues. In the final installment of our series of profiles of the five young women from the Chinese Jewish community in Kaifeng who have just immigrated to Israel, please meet Yue Ting. When Yue Ting made aliyah this week,...
The aliyah from China continues. We have one more in our series of profiles of the five young women from the Chinese Jewish community in Kaifeng who have just immigrated to Israel. Please meet Li Yuan. When Li Yuan was a little girl growing up in Kaifeng, China, her...
[caption id="attachment_26426" align="alignleft" width="222"] Li Chengjin with her passport and visa ready for Israel[/caption] The aliyah from China continues. In our continuing series of profiles of the five young women from the Chinese Jewish community in Kaifeng who will be immigrating to Israel in the coming...
Eldad Villegas grew up in the city of Bello, Colombia. But when he came to Israel in 1998 for the first time as a tourist, “something that was asleep inside of me awakened,” he says. “It was a deep love for Israel; its music, its...
