Indian Community's 2,700-Year Dream: Bnei Menashe's Journey to Israel
For over two decades, W L Hangshing, a retired Indian Revenue Service officer, has nurtured a profound spiritual aspiration rather than seeking career advancement or recognition. At 68 years old, this Kuki-Zo leader from Manipur patiently awaits the fulfillment of his lifelong dream to "make aliyah"—the Hebrew phrase meaning "to go up," which signifies a sacred migration to Israel.
A Community's Collective Longing
Hangshing's personal story reflects a much larger narrative. He belongs to the Bnei Menashe community in India, comprising approximately 5,800 members primarily spread across Manipur and Mizoram. This group, part of the broader Kuki-Zo ethnic community, identifies as descendants of one of Israel's ten lost tribes from biblical times.
In a landmark decision last November, the cabinet of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced it would facilitate the immigration of all remaining Bnei Menashe members from India. The government allocated $27 million to bring them to Israel by 2030, covering flights, Hebrew language instruction, housing, integration programs, and religious conversion or formal initiation into Judaism.
Formal Recognition and Settlement Plans
This decision represents formal government recognition of the community and outlines a comprehensive five-year program for completing their aliyah. The immigrants are scheduled to be settled in the Galilee region of northern Israel, an area that has experienced significant depopulation over the past two years due to security concerns related to Hezbollah missile threats.
Finding Home and Livelihood in a New Land
The Israeli Ministry of Immigration and Absorption (Aliyah ve Klitah) manages the entry and resettlement process for these immigrants. According to Hangshing, language acquisition takes priority. "Without Hebrew, you cannot find a job," he emphasized. "The ministry then assesses skills—carpenters are placed in carpentry work, while academically inclined individuals are guided toward schools or universities. This underscores the emphasis on 'absorption,' meaning full social integration."
Most Bnei Menashe families settle in regions with lower living costs, often near conflict zones like the Gaza border or Hebron. While critics argue this placement pushes them to the margins, Hangshing explained that economics primarily drives these choices. "They cannot afford land in Tel Aviv. Even a single room there remains beyond reach for most."
Many community members have found stability in the Negev Desert, where orchard farming aligns with their agrarian background and provides steady livelihoods. Miriam Winchester Zoluti, who migrated to Israel in 2020, noted that many migrants who once tilled paddy fields in Mizoram now work in factories, earning a minimum of 34 shekels (approximately Rs 990) per hour.
Migration History and Current Process
Members of the Bnei Menashe community first began migrating in the 1980s when Rabbi Eliyahu Avichayil brought small groups from India who converted to Judaism and became Israeli citizens. Previously facilitated by non-governmental organizations like Shavei Israel, the process will now, for the first time, be handled directly by the Israeli government and the Jewish Agency in coordination with Indian authorities. Today, nearly 5,000 Bnei Menashe live in Israel across more than a dozen localities.
Hangshing, who chairs the Bnei Menashe Council of India, revealed that approximately 1,200 people have been cleared for migration in 2026, with the rest expected to follow in phases over subsequent years. Nearly 3,000 applicants underwent screening, with priority given to families split between India and Israel. This criterion places Hangshing himself further down the list. "My uncles are in Israel, and my father is buried there," he shared. "But I do not have a first-degree relative currently living there."
Hangshing's father, Aviel (Tongkhohao) Hangshing—a former Manipur government commissioner—migrated to Israel in 2014 at age 80 and remained there until his death in 2021. "People questioned what he would do there at that age," Hangshing recalled. "He said he wanted to be buried in the Holy Land. Similar to how Hindus wish to spend their final days in Varanasi."
The Lost Tribes: Biblical Roots and Historical Significance
The Bnei Menashe story originates in biblical memory. In Hebrew, their name means "children of Manasseh," one of the ten tribes—Asher, Dan, Ephraim, Gad, Issachar, Manasseh, Naphtali, Reuben, Simeon, and Zebulun—who were sons or grandsons of Jacob. These tribes were lost after the Assyrian invasion of the Kingdom of Israel in the 8th century BCE. Scattered across Asia, most tribes assimilated and gradually lost their religious identity. The Bnei Menashe believe they preserved fragments of that past—rituals, songs, and oral traditions—over nearly 2,700 years.
"There is a crucial difference between displaced Jews and the lost tribes," Hangshing explained. "The Jewish Agency was created for Jews who were scattered, not for tribes that disappeared... Many scattered to places like China, Afghanistan, and Persia, where they eventually converted or lost their identity. Today, the Jewish population of about 15 million worldwide—in Israel, America, and Europe—represents only two of the original twelve tribes. The remaining ten were lost. That is what makes the recognition of the Bnei Menashe so profoundly significant."
He added, "Without funding from the Israeli government, there was no formal recognition of the Bnei Menashe as one of Israel's lost tribes. We had been lobbying for years. The Jewish Agency recognized us, the rabbis recognized us, but government policy was absent. In November last year, the government finally took that step."
Screening and Selection Process
Hangshing clarified that individuals do not apply independently for relocation to Israel. "There is already a census. We maintain synagogues—28 in Manipur and four in Mizoram—that keep lists of members and families. These lists are submitted to the Jewish Agency, which then sends teams to screen and verify applicants."
"Applicants are not tested on complex theology," Hangshing noted. "Judaism manifests in daily life, so basic questions are asked about prayers, festivals, and how one lives the faith." Final approval occurs in Israel, where rabbis conduct more intensive reviews before granting citizenship. Applicants lacking religious knowledge are not rejected outright; instead, they may be placed in a yeshiva (religious school) to strengthen their understanding.
Hangshing also dismissed the notion of DNA testing. "There is no such thing as DNA matching in this context," he stated. "Some groups have attempted it, but they have no connection to the Jewish Agency or immigration authorities. There is no standard 'Semitic' or 'Israeli' gene. Jews have mixed over centuries—European, African, Caucasian. Everyone is mixed. There is no fixed benchmark."
