A Community In India That Claims To Be Jewish And Is Migrating To Israel
In the North-eastern State of Mizoram, a tribe was recognized in 2009 as descendants of the ancient Israelites. They came to be known as the ‘Lost Tribe’ of Israel in India.
A community of Mongoloid tribespeople residing in Eastern Himalaya was recognized by the Chief Rabbinate of Israel as the descendants of the ancient Israelites or Bnei Menashe (BM) in 2009. This meant that the Eastern Himalayan mountain community got the right under the Law of Aliya, like any Jew, to return home to Israel as a citizen.
Descendants of Manasseh
The Mizo immigrants were named Bnei Menashe, the Hebrew term for Children of Menashe – those who claimed descent from the Biblical figure Manasseh.
The Mizo oral traditions believe that the the Zo people descended from an ancestor named Manasia, one of 10 tribes exiled from the land of Israel by the Assyrians over 2,700 years ago. Some Mizos and Jewish organizations claim that this figure Manasia is actually Manasseh found in the Bible. Moreover, the Mizo traditions also have similarities with Judaism.
For instance, as mentioned in a local Mizo source, the Mizo ancient religion called Sakhua also had certain similarities with ancient Judaism. It included sacrificial rites where the priest used to construct a sacrificial altar, just like the Israeli practice. Moreover, they would also sprinkle animal blood on the floor, a normal practice of the Israelites.
Migrating to Israel
The Jewish government itself supports the ‘Aliyah’, i.e. the immigration of Jews from the diaspora to the Land of Israel.
By 1989, over 100 Jews from Mizoram were part of the first wave of migrants to the ‘promised land’ in Israel. Over time, the community grew, with over 4000 people currently living in different parts of the country.
This continues to the present – in 2020, the Israeli government promised that at least 500 people would be allowed to immigrate from Mizoram. Following this decision, 218 members of the Bnei Menashe community underwent a ritual typically done with those who had a break from Judaism in Mizoram, formally bringing them back to the Jewish faith.
“These people were given citizenship by the Israeli government on arrival at the airport and were given teudat zehut (identity cards), which can be used as work permits as well as health insurance,” Jeremiah L Hnamte, a Mizo Jew in Aizawl, told TOI.
