New IDF ‘olim’ from India to reunite with their families

The ‘Shavei Yisrael’ Foundation, together with the Interior Ministry and other bodies, to turn dream of bringing entire community to Israel into a reality. Sons of the Bnei-Menashe community, who immigrated to Israel from India without their families several years ago and joined the IDF, have requested that their parents be brought to Israel.
Jerusalem Post This past Sunday, Jin Wen-Jing, an 18-year-old student at the Yemin Orde youth village, went before a Haifa conversion court under the auspices of the Chief Rabbinate. After administering an oral examination aimed at assessing her commitment to Judaism as well as her knowledge of Jewish law and tradition, the three rabbis comprising the Beit Din [rabbinical court] informed Wen-Jing that they had decided to accept her as a Jew. Speaking in fluent Hebrew, Wen-Jing was quick to express her joy, and relief, at the court's decision. "I was very nervous, but now I am very happy," she said. "This has always been my family's dream - to return to our roots."

Amishav Seminar on Crypto-Jews in Madrid  More than fifty descendants of Spanish and Portuguese crypto-Jews attended an intensive three-day seminar held in Madrid this past weekend by the Jerusalem-based Amishav organization, which reaches out and assists "lost Jews" seeking to return to the Jewish people. The participants,...

The Jerusalem Post    Today marks the anniversary of one of the most important events in Jewish history in the past one thousand years. It is an episode that forever altered the destiny of the Jewish people, as well as that of European civilization, giving rise to seismic shifts in spheres as varied as cartography, commerce and mysticism.
"And these cherubs had their wings extended upward with the wings hovering over the kaporet [coverlet], with each baby-faced cherub facing his brother" (Exodus 25:20). Among the most well-known and fascinating accoutrements of the sanctuary in the desert were the pure gold cherubs on the cover of the Ark of Testimony. The most sacred objects in the sanctuary were the Tablets of the Ten Commandments, which were deposited in the Ark.
Jewish Action Magazine Nestled in the picturesque, rolling green hilltops of Samaria, the small settlement of Shavei Shomron rests quietly, despite its proximity to the flaming Arab cities of Tulkarem and Shechem. But some fascinating new neighbors have created a murmur across the yishuv. In August of 2002, the Amita Absorption Center, along with Amishav—an organization dedicated to bringing lost Jews from around the world to Israel— opened the settlement’s doors to the Bnei Menashe, a group of people from northeast India who claim to be Jews.
Associated Press    SHAVEI SHOMRON, West Bank (AP) - Some 2,700 years ago, 10 of the 12 biblical tribes of Israel were driven from the Holy Land into exile and the mists of history. Now, a group claiming descent from one of the lost tribes can be found sitting in a bomb shelter in a West Bank Jewish settlement, learning Hebrew.
Amishav delegates talk migration with Mizo hopefuls    They are born Mizo and speak the language of this far north-east Indian state bordering Burma - but they dream of a new life in Israel. There are nearly 5,000 people in Mizoram and the neighbouring state of Manipur who call themselves Jews, and 800 of them have already migrated to the Middle East.
The New York Times SHAVEI SHOMRON, West Bank, Dec. 16 — Sharon Palian and his fellow immigrants from India are still struggling with the Hebrew language and remain partial to homemade kosher curry rather than Israeli cuisine. But the 71 immigrants, who arrived in June with the firm conviction that they were descended from one of the biblical lost tribes of Israel, feel they have completed a spiritual homecoming.
The Jerusalem Post - Winter Supplement    When Dr. Larry Rubin of Jerusalem stood in front of the congregation on Shabbat Lech Lecha to say the birkat hakohanim (blessing of the priests), many of his fellow worshippers had tears in their eyes. The reason for these tears was a profound one: Larry Rubin was the first kohen to bless this community of Jews in 500 years. As he said the words of the blessing with his prayer shawl over his head, others copied him, putting their own prayer shawls over their heads. A few brought young children up to him to be blessed. They had only heard of the birkat hakohenim, but had never seen it before.
Show more
Loading...