Part of a series of articles on Jews and Judaism           Who is a Jew? · Etymology · Culture Judaism is the religion of the Jewish people. ... Image File history File links Star_of_David. ... Image File history File links Menorah7a. ... Who is a Jew? (Hebrew: ) is a religious, social and political debate on the exact definition of which persons can be considered Jewish. ... Look up Jew in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This article is becoming very long. ... Judaism · Core principles God · Tanakh (Torah / Nevi'im / Ketuvim) Talmud · Halakha · Holidays · Prayer Ethics · 613 Mitzvot · Customs · Midrash Judaism is the religion of the Jewish people. ... There are a number of basic Jewish principles of faith that were formulated by medieval rabbinic authorities. ... At the bottom of the hands, the two letters on each hand combine to form יהוה (YHVH), the name of God. ... Tanakh ‎ (also Tanach, IPA: or , or Tenak, is an acronym that identifies the Hebrew Bible. ... It has been suggested that Pentateuch be merged into this article or section. ... Neviim [נביאים] or Prophets is the second of the three major sections in the Tanakh (the Hebrew Bible). ... Ketuvim is the third and final section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible). ... The first page of the Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Berachot, folio 2a The Talmud (תלמוד) is a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, customs and history. ... Halakha (Hebrew: הלכה; also transliterated as Halakhah, Halacha, Halakhot and Halachah) is the collective corpus of Jewish religious law, including biblical law (the 613 mitzvot) and later talmudic and rabbinic law as well as customs and traditions. ... A Jewish holiday or Jewish Festival is a day or series of days observed by Jews as holy or secular commemorations of important events in Jewish history. ... Jewish services are the communal prayer recitations which form part of the observance of Judaism. ... // Jewish ethics stands at the intersection of Judaism and the Western philosophical tradition of ethics. ... Main article: Mitzvah 613 mitzvot or 613 Commandments (Hebrew: תריג מצוות transliterated as Taryag mitzvot; TaRYaG is the acronym for the numeric value of 613) are a list of commandments from God in the Torah. ... Mitzvah (Hebrew: מצווה, commandment; plural, mitzvot; from צוה, tzavah, command) is a word used in Judaism to refer to (a) the commandments, of which there are 613, given in the Torah (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) or (b) any Jewish law at all. ... Minhag (Hebrew: מנהג Custom, pl. ... Midrash (Hebrew: מדרש; plural midrashim) is a Hebrew word referring to a method of exegesis of a Biblical text. ... Jewish ethnic divisions Ashkenazi · Sephardi · Mizrahi · Lost tribes See related article Judaism by country. ... Ashkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim (Standard Hebrew: sing. ... {{Ethnic group| |image= |group=Sephardi |poptime=>1,700,000 |popplace=Israel: 950,000[1] United States: 150,000 [2] Turkey: 20,000[3] The Netherlands: 270 families Northern Africa: nn Europe (mostly in France): 600,000 Southern Africa: nn Oceania: nn |langs=*Liturgical:,[[Arabic],Sephardic Hebrew *Traditional: Ladino, Judæo... height=28 width=28 thumb->width=28 --> This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims. ... The phrase Ten Lost Tribes of Israel refers to the ancient Tribes of Israel that disappeared from the Biblical account after the Kingdom of Israel was totally destroyed, enslaved and exiled by ancient Assyria. ... Population (historical) · By country Israel · Iran · USA · Russia/USSR · Poland Canada · Germany · France · England Spain · Portugal · Latin America Muslim lands · Turkey · Iraq · Syria Lists of Jews · Crypto-Judaism Jewish population centers have shifted tremendously over time, due to the constant streams of Jewish refugees created by expulsions, persecution, and officially sanctioned killing of Jews in various places at various times. ... It has been suggested that Lists of Jews by country be merged into this article or section. ... The vast territories of the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest Jewish population in the world. ... This article is about the history of the Jewish people in England. ... The history of the Jewish people in the Americas dates back to Christopher Columbus and his first cross-Atlantic voyage on August 3, 1492, when he left Spain and eventually discovered the New World. ... Excluding the region of Palestine, and omitting the accounts of Joseph and Moses as unverifiable, Jews have lived in what are now Arab states at least since the Babylonian Captivity (597 BCE), about 2,600 years ago. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Crypto-Judaism is the secret adherence to Judaism while publicly professing to be of another faith; people who practice crypto-Judaism are referred to as crypto-Jews. The term crypto-Jew is also used to describe descendants of Jews who still (generally secretly) maintain some Jewish traditions, often while adhering... Jewish denominations · Rabbis Orthodox · Conservative · Reform Reconstructionist · Liberal · Karaite Alternative · Renewal Many Jewish denominations exist within the religion of Judaism; the Jewish community is divided into a number of religious denominations as well as branches or movements. ... For the town in Italy, see Rabbi, Italy Rabbi (Sephardic Hebrew רִבִּי ribbÄ«; Ashkenazi Hebrew רֶבִּי rebbÄ« or rebbÉ™; and modern Israeli רַבִּי rabbÄ«) in Judaism, means teacher, or more literally great one. The word Rabbi is derived from the Hebrew root-word RaV, which in biblical Hebrew means great or distinguished (in... Orthodox Judaism is the formulation of Judaism that adheres to a relatively strict interpretation and application of the laws and ethics first canonized in the Talmudic texts (The Oral Law) and as subsequently developed and applied by the Gaonim, Rishonim, and Acharonim. ... This article refers to Conservative (Masorti) Judaism in the United States. ... Reform Judaism can refer to (1) the largest denomination of Judaism in America and its sibling movements in other countries, (2) a branch of Judaism in the United Kingdom, and (3) the historical predecessor of the American movement that originated in 19th Century Germany. ... Reconstructionist Judaism is a modern Jewish movement marked by views and practices including: Personal autonomy should generally override traditional Jewish law and custom, yet also take into account communal consensus Modern culture is accepted The view that Judaism is an evolving religious civilization Traditional rabbinic modes of study, as well... Liberal Judaism is a term used by some communities worldwide for what is otherwise also known as Reform Judaism or Progressive Judaism. ... Karaite Judaism or Karaism is a Jewish denomination characterized by the sole reliance on the Tanakh as scripture, and the rejection of the Oral Law (the Mishnah and the Talmud) as halakha (Legally Binding, i. ... Alternative Judaism refers to several varieties of modern Judaism which fall outside the common Orthodox/Non-Orthodox (Reform/Conservative/Reconstructionist) classification of the four major streams of todays Judaism. ... The term Jewish Renewal refers to a set of practices within Judaism that attempt to reinvigorate Judaism with mystical, Hasidic, musical and meditative practices. ... Jewish languages Hebrew · Yiddish · Judeo-Persian. Ladino Judeo-Aramaic · Judeo-Arabic Juhuri · Krymchak · Karaim · Knaanic · Yevanic · Zarphatic · Dzhidi The Jewish languages are a set of languages that developed in various Jewish communities, in Europe, southern and south-western Asia, and northern Africa. ... Hebrew redirects here. ... Yiddish (Yid. ... The Judæo-Persian languages include a number of related languages spoken throughout the formerly extensive realm of the Persian Empire, sometimes including all the Jewish Indo-Iranian languages: Dzhidi (Judæo-Persian) Bukhori (Judæo-Bukharic) Judæo-Golpaygani Judæo-Yazdi Judæo-Kermani Judæo-Shirazi Jud... Ladino is a Romance language, derived mainly from Old Castilian (Spanish) and Hebrew. ... Judæo-Aramaic is a collective term used to describe several Hebrew-influenced Aramaic and Neo-Aramaic languages. ... The Judeo-Arabic languages are a collection of Arabic dialects spoken by Jews living or formerly living in Arabic-speaking countries; the term also refers to more or less classical Arabic written in the Hebrew script, particularly in the Middle Ages. ... Juhuri, Juwri or Judæo-Tat is the traditional language of the Juhurim or Mountain Jews of the eastern Caucasus Mountains, especially Dagestan. ... Krymchak is the Crimean Tatar language dialect spoken by the Krymchaks - Rabbanite Jews of the Crimea. ... The Karaim language is a Turkic language with Hebrew influences, in a similar manner to Yiddish or Ladino. ... Knaanic (also called Canaanic, Leshon Knaan or Judeo-Slavic) was a West Slavic language, formerly spoken in the Czech lands, now the Czech Republic. ... Yevanic, otherwise known as Yevanika, Romaniote and Judeo-Greek, was the language of the Romaniotes, the group of Greek Jews whose existence in Greece is documented since the 4th century BCE. Its linguistic lineage stems from Attic Greek and the Hellenistic Koine (Κοινή Ελ&#955... Zarphatic or Judæo-French (Zarphatic: Tsarfatit) is an extinct Jewish language, formerly spoken among the Jewish communities of northern France and in parts of what is now west-central Germany, in such cities as Mainz, Frankfurt-am-Main, and Aachen. ... Dzhidi, or Judæo-Persian, is the Jewish language spoken by the Jews living in Iran. ... Political movements · Zionism Labor Zionism · Revisionist Zionism Religious Zionism · General Zionism The Bund · World Agudath Israel Jewish feminism · Israeli politics Jewish political movements refer to the organized efforts of Jews to build their own political parties or otherwise represent their interest in politics outside of the Jewish community. ... Zionism is a political movement that supports a homeland for the Jewish people in the Land of Israel, where Jewish nationhood is thought to have evolved somewhere between 1200 BCE and late Second Temple times,[1][2] and where Jewish kingdoms existed up to the 2nd century CE. Zionism is... Labor Zionism (or Labour Zionism) is the traditional left-wing of the Zionist ideology. ... Revisionist Zionism is a right wing tendency within the Zionist movement. ... Kippot Sruggot: Modern Orthodox Jewish students carry the flag of Israel at a public parade in Manhattan, NY, USA Religious Zionism, or the Religious Zionist Movement, also called Mizrachi, is an ideology combining Zionism and Judaism, which offers Zionism based on the principles of Jewish religion and heritage. ... General Zionists were centrists within the Zionist movement. ... A Bundist demonstration, 1917 The General Jewish Labour Union of Lithuania, Poland and Russia, in Yiddish the Algemeyner Yidisher Arbeter Bund in Lite, Poyln un Rusland (אַלגמײַנער ײדישער אַרבײטערסבונד אין ליטאַ, פוילין און רוסלאַנד), generally called The Bund (בונד) or the Jewish Labor Bund, was a Jewish political party operating in several European countries between the 1890s and the... World Agudath Israel (The World Israelite Union) was established in the early twentieth century as the political arm of Orthodox Judaism. ... Jewish feminism is a movement that seeks to improve the religious, legal, and social status of women within Judaism and to open up new opportunities for religious experience and leadership for Jewish women. ... Politics of Israel takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the Prime Minister of Israel is the head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system. ... History · Timeline · Leaders Ancient · Temple · Babylonian exile Jerusalem (In Judaism · Timeline) Hasmoneans · Sanhedrin · Schisms Pharisees · Jewish-Roman wars Diaspora · And Christianity · And Islam Middle Ages · Kabbalah · Hasidism Haskalah · Emancipation · Holocaust Aliyah · Israel (History) · Arab conflict Jewish history is the history of the Jewish people, faith (Judaism) and culture. ... This is a timeline of the development of Judaism and the Jewish people. ... Jewish leadership: Since 70 AD and the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem there has been no single body that has a leadership position over the entire Jewish community. ... In compiling the history of ancient Israel and Judah, there are many available sources. ... The Temple in Jerusalem or the Holy Temple (Hebrew: בית המקדש, transliterated Bet HaMikdash) was built in ancient Jerusalem in the 10th century BCE and was subsequently rebuilt twice, after the Babylonian Captivity and during Herod the Greats renovation. ... Babylonian captivity also refers to the permanence of the Avignon Papacy. ... Jerusalem (Hebrew:  , Yerushaláyim or Yerushalaim; Arabic:  , al-Quds (the Holy); official Arabic in Israel: أورشليم القدس, Urshalim-al-Quds (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names) is the capital and largest city[1] of the State of Israel with a population of 724,000 (as of May 24, 2006[2... The city of Jerusalem is significant in a number of religious traditions, including Judaism, Christianity, Islam. ... 1800 BCE - The Jebusites build the wall Jebus (Jerusalem). ... The Hasmonean Kingdom (pronunciation) in ancient Judea and its ruling dynasty from 140 BCE to 37 BCE was established under the leadership of Simon Maccabaeus, two decades after Judah the Maccabee defeated the Seleucid army in 165 BCE. // Recorded history The origin of the Hasmonean dynasty is recorded in the... For the tractate in the Mishnah, see Sanhedrin (tractate). ... Schisms among the Jews: // First Temple era Based on the historical narrative in the Bible and archeology, Levantine civilization at the time of Solomons Temple was prone to idol worship, astrology, worship of reigning kings, and paganism. ... The Pharisees (from the Hebrew perushim, from parash, meaning to separate) were, depending on the time, a political party, a social movement, and a school of thought among Jews that flourished during the Second Temple Era (536 BCE–70 CE). ... Combatants Roman Empire Jews of Iudaea Province Commanders Vespasian, Titus Simon Bar-Giora, Yohanan mi-Gush Halav (John of Gischala), Eleazar ben Simon Strength 70,000? 13,000? Casualties Unknown 600,000–1,300,000 (mass civilian casualties) The first Jewish-Roman War (66–73 CE), sometimes called The Great... The Jewish diaspora (Hebrew: Tefutzah, scattered, or Galut, exile) is the dispersion of the Jewish people throughout the world. ... Judaism and Christianity are two closely related Abrahamic religions that are in some ways parallel to each other and in other ways fundamentally divergent in theology and practice. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Jews in the Middle Ages : The history of Jews in the Middle Ages (approximately 500 CE to 1750 CE) can be divided into two categories. ... This article is about traditional Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism). ... It has been suggested that Hasidic philosophy be merged into this article or section. ... Haskalah (Hebrew: השכלה; enlightenment, intellect, from sekhel, common sense), the Jewish Enlightenment, was a movement among European Jews in the late 18th century that advocated adopting enlightenment values, pressing for better integration into European society, and increasing education in secular studies, Hebrew, and Jewish history. ... Dates of Jewish emancipation. ... This article is becoming very long. ... Aliyah (Hebrew: עלייה, ascent or going up) is a term widely used to mean Jewish immigration to the Land of Israel (and since its establishment in 1948, the State of Israel). ... This article describes the history of the modern State of Israel, from its Independence Proclamation in 1948 to the present. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... 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Flag of Bnei Menashe

The Bnei Menashe ("Children of Menasseh", Hebrew בני מנשה) are a group of more than 8,000 people from India's remote North-Eastern border states of Manipur and Mizoram who claim descent from one of the Lost Tribes of Israel. Ethnically and linguistically, they are Tibeto-Burmans and belong to the Mizo, Kuki and Chin peoples (the terms are virtually interchangeable)^[1][2]. They are called Chin in Burma. Image File history File links Flag_of_Bnei_Menashe. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Bnei_Menashe. ... Hebrew redirects here. ... The Seven Sister States are a region in northeastern India, comprising the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura. ... Manipur (Hindi: मणिपुर) is a state in northeastern India making its capital in the city of Imphal. ... Mizoram (Hindi: मिज़ोरम)   is one of the Seven Sister States in North-Eastern India on the border with Burma. ... The phrase Ten Lost Tribes of Israel refers to the ancient Tribes of Israel that disappeared from the Biblical account after the Kingdom of Israel was totally destroyed, enslaved and exiled by ancient Assyria. ... The Tibeto-Burman linguistic subfamily of the proposed Sino-Tibetan language family is spoken in various central and south Asian countries: Myanmar (the Burmese language as well as the languages of minorities like the Karens and Kachins), Tibet (Tibetan language), northern Thailand (Lahu, Lisu, Akha languages), southern China, Nepal, Bhutan... The Mizos are a scheduled tribe in northeastern India, primarily in the state of Mizoram, of which they are in the majority. ... The term Kuki refers to an ethnic entity that spreads out in a contiguous region in Northeast India, Northwest Burma (Myanmar), and the Chittagong Hill tracts in Bangladesh. ... Chin (Burmese: ) is one of the ethnic groups in Myanmar (formerly Burma). ...

Depending upon their affiliations, each tribe refers to itself as Kuki, Mizo, Zomi or Chin. It is however more common for people to identify themselves by their subtribe, each of whom has its own distinct dialect and identity.

The breakaway Judaic group was named Bnei Menashe by Rabbi Eliyahu Avichail ^[3] because they believe that the legendary Kuki-Mizo ancestor Manmasi^[4] is one and the same with Menasseh, son of Joseph. This entry incorporates text from Eastons Bible Dictionary, 1897, with some modernisation. ...

History and legends

Prior to their conversion to Christianity in the 19th Century, Chin-Kuki-Mizo were headhunters and animists ^{[5] [6] [7]} who migrated in waves from East Asia until they settled in northeastern India. They have no written history but their legends refer to a beloved homeland they were driven away from called Sinlung/Chhinlung^[8]. Anthropologists and historians believe that it was located in China's Yunnan province and that the Tibeto-Burman migration from there began about 6000 years ago. National Geographic's Genographic Project plans to sample the gene pool of northeastern Indian tribes which may shed definitive light on their origins ^[9]. This article is becoming very long. ... Headhunter can refer to: Headhunter: a person who takes someones life in order to take their head. ... In religion, the term Animism is used in a number of ways. ... (Simplified Chinese: 云南; Traditional Chinese: 雲南; pinyin: Yúnnán south of the clouds) is a province of the Peoples Republic of China, located in the far southwestern corner of the country. ... The National Geographic Society was founded in the USA on January 27, 1888, by 33 men interested in organizing a society for the increase and diffusion of geographical knowledge. ... The Genographic Project, launched in April 2005, is a five-year genetic anthropology study that aims to map historical human migration patterns by collecting and analyzing DNA samples from over 100,000 people across five continents. ...

The Bnei Menashe believe that an old Mizo-Kuki harvest festival song called "Sikpui Hla," which features events paralleled in the Book of Exodus, such as enemies chasing them over a red-coloured sea^[10], quails ^[11], and a pillar of cloud, is clear evidence of their Israelite ancestry. This article is about the second book in the Torah. ...

Revivalism

During the first Welsh missionary-led Christian Revivalism movement which swept through the Mizo Hills in 1906, indigenous festivals, feasts and traditional songs and chants were strictly prohibited. This policy was abandoned during the 1919-24 Revival and Mizo began writing their own hymns and incorporating indigenous elements thereby creating their own distinct form of worship ^[12].

Dr. Shalva Weil, an anthropologist at Hebrew University, quotes Steven Fuchs in her paper Dual Conversion Among the Shinlung of North-East India^[13]: "...revivalism (among the Mizo) is a recurrent phenomenon distinctive of the Welsh form of Presbyterianism. Certain members of the congregation who easily fall into ecstasy are believed to be visited by the Holy Ghost and the utterings are received as prophecies" (1965: 16). McCall (1949) records several incidents of revivalism including the "Kelkang incident" in which three men "spoke in tongues" claiming to be the medium through which God spoke to men. Their following was large and widespread until they clashed with the colonial Superintendent who put down the movement and removed the "sorcery" (1949: 220-223)".

Challianthanga's vision

According to the Bnei Menashe, in 1951, a Pentecostalist called Challianthanga or Mela Chala (the name varies) from Buallawn village dreamt that God instructed him to direct his people to return to their pre-Christian religion, which he determined to be Judaism, and to return to their original homeland, Israel^[14]. Bnei Menashe believe Challianthanga/MC and several followers set out on foot through the hilly jungles of North East India towards Israel but had to give up due to the sheer distance and terrain. Judaism is the religion of the Jewish people. ...

Despite this setback, the number of believers rose steadily (estimated to have risen by 50% in recent years) and their claims gained wider credence in the 1980s when a self-taught researcher, Zaithanchhungi, purported to have discovered similarities between their ancient animist rituals and those of Biblical Judaism, such as sacrifices^[15][16]. In religion, the term Animism is used in a number of ways. ...

Shalva Weil writes that "although there is no documentary evidence linking the tribal peoples in North-East India with the myth of the Lost Israelites, it appears likely that, as with revivalism, the concept was introduced by the missionaries as part of their general millenarian leanings (Samra, 1991). This was certainly the case in other countries, where fundamentalist Christian missionaries "discovered" Lost Tribes in far-flung places, in order to speed up the messianic era and bring on the Redemption. In China, for example, the Scottish missionary Rev. T. F. Torrance entitled his 1937 book "China’s Ancient Israelites" expounding the theory that the Chiang-Min are really Lost Israelites (Torrance, 1937)".

Shavei Israel

Main article: Shavei Israel

Michael Freund^[17], former deputy director of communications & policy planning in the Israeli prime minister's office and current syndicated columnist for The Jerusalem Post, is the founder of Shavei Israel, an organization dedicated to assisting the Bnei Menashe. Freund says that the Bnei Menashe "are honest, decent and kind people" and "are a blessing to the State of Israel. They have proved themselves to be dedicated Jews and committed Zionists, and I see no reason why they should not be allowed to immigrate to Israel.” ^[18]. Shavei Israel , ‘Israel returns’ in Hebrew, is an Israeli-based Jewish organization that was founded by Michael Freund in 2004. ... The May 16, 1948 Palestine Post headline announcing the creation of the state of Israel The Jerusalem Post is an Israeli daily English language broadsheet newspaper, originally founded on December 1, 1932, by American journalist-turned-newspaper-editor Gershon Agron as the The Palestine Post. ...

In July 2005, the Bnei Menashe of Mizoram completed building a mikvah, or a Jewish ritual bath, under the supervision of Israeli rabbis in order to begin the process of conversion to Judaism[16]. Shortly after, a similar Mikvah was built in Manipur. In mid-2005, with the help of Shavei Israel and the local council of Kiryat Arba, the Bnei Menashe opened its first community centre in Israel. Pool of a medieval mikvah in Speyer, dating back to 1128 First room in the medieval mikvah in Speyer Mikvah (or mikveh) (Hebrew: מִקְוָה; Tiberian Miqwāh, Standard Hebrew Miqva) (plural, mikvaot) is a ritual bath used for immersion in a purification ceremony within Judaism. ... Conversion to Judaism (Hebrew גיור, giur, conversion) is the religious conversion of a previously non-Jewish person to the Jewish religion. ... Street at Kiryat Arba Kiryat Arba or Qiryat Arba is an Israeli settlement adjoining the city of Hebron. ...

Acceptance

On March 31 2005, Sephardi Rabbi Shlomo Amar, one of Israel's two chief rabbis, accepted the Bnei Menashe's claim because of their exemplary devotion to Judaism. His decision was significant because it paved the way for all of the Bnei Menashe to enter Israel under Israel's Law of Return. {{Ethnic group| |image= |group=Sephardi |poptime=>1,700,000 |popplace=Israel: 950,000[1] United States: 150,000 [2] Turkey: 20,000[3] The Netherlands: 270 families Northern Africa: nn Europe (mostly in France): 600,000 Southern Africa: nn Oceania: nn |langs=*Liturgical:,[[Arabic],Sephardic Hebrew *Traditional: Ladino, Judæo... Rabbi Shlomo Amar Rabbi Shlomo Amar (1948 - ) is the current Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel, appointed in 2003. ... // Chief rabbi is a title given in several countries to the recognised religious leader of that countrys Jewish community. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

In the past two decades, some 1,000 Bnei Menashe have moved to Israel. Learning Hebrew has been a great challenge, especially for the older generation, for whom the phonology of their native languages makes Hebrew especially challenging, both phonologically and morphologically. Younger members have more opportunities to learn Hebrew and gain employment as soldiers and nurses aides for the elderly and infirm.

The Bnei Menashe never had any problems with anti-Semitism in India, but many emigrated to Israel as they regard the country as their homeland and decided to emigrate "on Zionist considerations"[17]. The Eternal Jew: 1937 German poster. ...

Disengagement

When Prime Minister Ariel Sharon announced his plan for the disengagement of Jewish settlements from the Gaza Strip and several settlements in the West Bank, the Bnei Menashe community was especially affected because most of them were settled in the occupied territories. Prior to Israel's withdrawal, the Bnei Menashe were the largest immigrant community in Gaza [18].   (Hebrew: , also known by his diminutive Arik אָרִיק) (born February 27, 1928) is a former Israeli politician and general. ... This article describes the history of the modern State of Israel, from its Independence Proclamation in 1948 to the present. ...

The Bnei Menashe left in India worried about family members who they feared were in the middle of violent confrontations between settlers and IDF soldiers . They were also concerned because they thought of Gaza as their future homeland once they made aliyah. Although a group of Bnei Menashe moved out of Gaza before the deadline, others stayed with their fellow settlers during the disengagement [19] [20] [21]. Aliyah (Hebrew: עלייה, ascent or going up) is a term widely used to mean Jewish immigration to the Land of Israel (and since its establishment in 1948, the State of Israel). ...

Controversy in Israel

June 2003: Interior Minister Avraham Poraz halted Bnei Menashe immigration to Israel following charges by Ofir Pines-Paz (Minister of Science and Technology, 2006) that the Bnei Menashe “are being cynically exploited for political purposes". Arutz Sheva quoted Rabbi Eliyahu Birnbaum, a rabbinical judge dealing with the conversion of Bnei Menashe, as saying that the Knesset Absorption Committee's decision was one of "ignorance, racism, and unjustifiable hate"[22].

Rabbi Eliyahu Birnbaum says that community members who move to Israel in fact suffer financially because their move is motivated by a desire to return to the Holy Land and not material gain [23].

Michael Freund has suggested that the Bnei Menashe could help with Israel's demographic problem saying "I believe that groups like the Bnei Menashe constitute a large, untapped demographic and spiritual reservoir for Israel and the Jewish people,".

With the March 2005 decision by Rabbi Amar, the immigration issue seemed to have been rendered moot. The Bnei Menashe's Orthodox conversion would in the future be conducted in India, and they would be recognized as wholly Jewish prior to their arrival in Israel. However, this solution was short-lived because the government of India, under pressure from Mizo-Kuki churches, objected formally to the conversion of its citizens.

Controversy in India

The rapid rise in conversions alarmed the staunchly evangelical Mizo-Kuki churches and ignited a furious controversy in Mizoram, culminating in top-rated television debates. The opposition mainly came from fundamentalist Christian preachers.

Opposition from Christians

In April 2005, Rev Chuauthuama of the Aizawl Theological College told the Deccan Herald, "There may be some similarities between the customs of any two communities of the world. Some customs of the Mizos may resemble those of the Israelites. But that doesn’t mean that our ancestors were Israelites and Jews"^[19].

Dr Biaksiama from Aizawl's Christian Research Centre and a former joint comptroller at the Ministry of Defence added that “the mass conversion by foreign priests will pose a threat not only to social stability in the region, but also to national security. A large number of people will forsake loyalty to the Union of India, as they all will become eligible for a foreign citizenship”. He wrote a book "Mizo Nge Israel?" (Mizo or Israeli?) which "tells us our real identity, the identity with which we are recognised by God and the world"^[20].

Christian-Jewish Showdown

In March, 2004, Dr Biaksiama had a showdown on television with Lalchanhima Sailo, founder of Chhinlung Israel People's Convention (CIPC), a secessionist Mizo organization. [24] [25]

Lalchanhima Sailo says CIPC's aim is not migration to Israel but to have the United Nations declare the areas inhabited by Mizo tribes an independent nation for Mizo Israelites[26]

Israel halts conversions

November 9, 2005: the Israeli government halted all conversions of the Bnei Menashe in India, saying it was straining relations between the two countries. Indian officials reportedly expressed concern about the conversions and indicated mass conversions are considered illegal in India. Concern may have been triggered after a task force from the Rabbinic Court travelled to India in September 2005 to complete the conversion process for 218 Bnei Menashe.

Foreign Ministry official Amos Nadai told the Knesset, "Perhaps under previous Indian governments we had more diplomatic leeway to reach creative solutions. We could have tried to explain that Bnei Menashe have already embraced Judaism and that the conversion is only a technical thing".

The decision by the Israeli government led to criticism from supporters of the Bnei Menashe who say Israeli officials failed to explain to the Indian government that the rabbis were not proselytising, but rather formalizing the conversions of Bnei Menashe who had already accepted Judaism. Religious conversion is the adoption of new religious beliefs that differ from the converts previous beliefs; in some cultures (e. ...

The Indian government's complaint was also criticized by some Hindu groups in India, who claim that the Indian government takes Christian complaints more seriously than theirs, and that Hindus have complained for years about Christian proselytizing without government response. [27] To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

July, 2006: Israeli Immigration Absorption Minister Zeev Boim said that the 218 Bnei Menashe who were formally converted in 2005 by the Chief Rabbinate "would be allowed to come here, but first the government must decide what its policy will be towards those who have yet to (formally) convert" [28] . In response Michael Freund says "If Boim wants to devise an overall policy concerning the 7,000 remaining members of the Bnei Menashe community, let him go ahead and do so. But what does that have to do with the 218 who have already converted? Neither Boim nor anyone else has the right to stall, delay, defer or postpone their arrival, or to link it to some protracted bureaucratic decision-making process. The Absorption Ministry's position is illegal and immoral. It runs counter to the basic values of Zionism and Judaism" [29].

Freund says that he has engaged "a prominent lawyer" and is prepared to take the minister to the Supreme Court if he does does immediately facilitate the arrival of the Bnei Menashe.

DNA tests

A 2004 DNA test at Kolkota's Central Forensic Science Laboratory then claimed to have discovered evidence of Middle Eastern genes among a sample of Mizo-Kuki-Chin in an internet paper titled Tracking the genetic imprints of lost Jewish tribes among the gene pool of Kuki-Chin-Mizo population of India.

Timeline (modern)

• 1854-1910: British missionaries convert nearly all the Bnei Menashe and almost everyone else in the region to Christianity
• 1953: A tribal leader named Challianthanga had a dream in which his people returned to Israel, and shared it with his community, which led some members of the tribe to adopt Jewish traditions.
• 1972: Several hundred Bnei Menashe begin practicing Judaism.
• 1979: Jewish group “Amishav”(shavei Israel) takes up their case.
• 1980's: First contact with Israel made.
• 1994-2003: with the help of Jewish organizations, 800 Bnei Menashe make Aliyah to Israel, most settle in Jewish settlements.
• 2003: Israeli Interior Minister Avraham Poraz freezes their immigration indefinitely.
• August 2004: In response to the Israeli government decision to stop their immigration, Israeli Chief Sephardi Rabbi Shlomo Amar sends a rabbinical fact-finding committee to investigate the Jewish roots of the Bnei Menashe.
• March 2005: Historic decision is made by Israeli Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar, announcing the state of Israel’s recognition of the Bnei Menashe as part of the lost tribe of Menashe, and therefore can now immigrate to Israel under the Law of Return, but only after a complete Jewish conversion, due to the fact that they have been separated from Judaism for millennia.
• August 2005: 146 Bnei Menashe forced to evacuate the Gaza Strip as part of Ariel Sharon's disengagement plan. [22]
• September 2005: A beit din (panel of rabbis) fully converts 700 Bnei Menashe to Judaism (200 from Mizoram, 500 from Manipur) [23]. An estimated 9,000 people still await conversion.
• November 2005: Israel agrees to halt converting the Bnei Menashe after pressure from the Indian government. The entire rabbinical team is pulled out of the country.
• January 2006: Bnei Menashe scholar in Israel, Allenby Sela, heads the publication of four out of the five Books of Moses in the Mizo language, making it easier for them to study the Torah in their native tongue.
• Nov 2006 - First batch of 100 Mizoram’s ‘lost Jews’ leave for Israel [30][31]

References and notes

1. ^ Language in India
2. ^ Joshua Project
3. ^ [1]
4. ^ [2]
5. ^ [3]
6. ^ [4]
7. ^ [5]
8. ^ [6]
9. ^ [7]
10. ^ [8]
11. ^ [9]
12. ^ [10] (PDF)
13. ^ Dual Conversion Among the Shinlung of North-East India (PHD) by Dr. Shalva Weil
14. ^ [11]
15. ^ [12]
16. ^ [13]
17. ^ [14]
18. ^ [15]
19. ^ http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/apr222005/national154442005421.asp
20. ^ http://farshores.org/a04mizo2.htm

http://www.hindu.com/2006/11/22/stories/2006112208452200.htm

Films

• Quest for the Lost Tribes. Directed by Simcha Jacobovici.

Simcha Jacobovici (pronounced Ya-Ko-Bo-Vitch) is an award winning documentary director and producer whose work deals primarily with controversies in Jewish history. ...

See also

• Shavei Israel
• Jews in India
• Mizoram
• Bene Ephraim

Shavei Israel , ‘Israel returns’ in Hebrew, is an Israeli-based Jewish organization that was founded by Michael Freund in 2004. ... Jews in India are a religious minority, living among Indias predominantly Hindu and Muslim populace. ... Mizoram (Hindi: मिज़ोरम)   is one of the Seven Sister States in North-Eastern India on the border with Burma. ... This is all Bull Crap. ...

External links

• Shavei Israel webpage
• BBCNews: Mizo 'Jews' seek Israel visas
• BBCNews: India's 'lost Jews' wait in hope
• Arutz Sheva: Rabbinate Accepts Bnei Menashe as Lost Tribe
• BBC: Israeli 'tribe' faces another move
• 'Lost tribe' still dreaming of Israel at Ynetnews
• Israel set to welcome Indian 'lost' Jewish tribe -- September 2006
• Bnei Menashe website
• Indian Jews immigrate to Israel The Hindu, Nov 22, 2006