Every year, hundreds of Bnei Menashe Jews — considered one of the 10 lost tribes of Israel — from Mizoram and Manipur are finding ways to immigrate to Israel, to be reunited with others like them in the land of their ancestors, one that holds ‘promise’
Around 3,500 years ago, Moses had led three million Jewish slaves out of Egypt, helping them cross into their ancestral home of Israel, the Promised land. In more recent times, something similar has been happening in the Indian States of Manipur and Mizoram. Albeit on a much smaller yet significant scale, members of the Bnei Menashe community — considered one of the 10 lost tribes of Israel — have been embarking on a journey akin to their ancestors many, many years ago.
This year, nearly 1,000 Bnei Menashe members hope to get Israeli citizenship, thanks to an Israeli not-for-profit organisation called Shavei Israel that seeks ‘lost’ and ‘hidden’ Jews around the world to ensure group resettlement. It has helped hundreds of Indian Jews from Mizoram immigrate to Israel in the past few years. As many as 160 Jews from Mizoram have landed in Jerusalem in the past month alone, and more are expected to go there in the next few months.
Recently, the Israeli Government has also constituted a special committee to rethink its policy for such groups.
According to some reports, this year, the number of immigrants from the community will see a three-fold rise. Israel’s Immigrant Absorption Minister, Zeev Elkin, was quoted as saying: “Around 700 Bnei Menashe immigrants will be brought this year, compared to 260 last year, and the Budget earmarked for their absorption will be doubled to 2.2 million shekels (about $550,000).”
Elkin was further quoted as saying that his ministry will take steps to help the new immigrants and also improve the condition of the older ones. The Bnei Menashe will be recognised as immigrants for 15 years, five years more than other immigrants. “They will receive assistance from the state throughout this period and the state will allocate more funds to the local Governments that take them in,” he was quoted to have said.
“They need prolonged treatment because they come from another background with hardships they need help in overcoming,” Elkin said, adding that he was expediting a Cabinet decision to grant aid to the second generation of Bnei Menashe immigrants as well.
The Bnei Menashe or sons of Manasseh claim descent from one of the 10 lost tribes of Israel, who were sent into exile by the Assyrian Empire more than 27 centuries ago. Their ancestors wandered through Central Asia and the Far East for centuries, before settling in Mizoram and parts of Manipur along the border with Myanmar and Bangladesh.
On the lush sub-tropical slopes of the Northeast, where the foothills of the Himalayas merge with the Arakan range, live these amazing people with an extraordinary story. They are called Mizos in Mizoram, Kukis in the adjacent State of Manipur, and Chin in Myanmar; the Kuki-Chin-Mizo descended from related tribes speaking different dialects of a common Tibeto-Burman language. They trace their ancestry to a forefather named Manmasi, who came from a distant land. His name was traditionally invoked by them in times of crises and calamities.
In Mizoram and Manipur lives a small group of people who have been practising Judaism for more than 25 years. They have not taken on a ‘new’ religion. These people have, in fact, returned to the religion of their ancestors, and call themselves Bnei Menashe.
Despite being isolated from the rest of the Jewish people for many centuries, the Bnei Menashe have held on to the ways of their ancestors. They are said to observe Shabbat, celebrate Jewish festivals, and even indulge in sacrificial rites, just as the traditional Jews.
In a way, these people of the lost tribe have never forgotten where they came from and where they would ultimately, hopefully, return to — the land of their ancestors.
The Northeast’s Jewish connection began in 1951 when a minister of the Pentecostal Church identified as Tehalah claimed to have had a vision that they were descendants of the lost tribes of Israel. Thus started research into the Jewish connection of the Mizo-Kukis. They found it in several tribal religious rituals, customs and practices, and particularly the legend that they are the children of Manmaseh, and in a song which they claimed referred to Biblical historical events such as fleeing of the Israelis from captivity in Egypt with Moses and crossing the Red Sea.
When Christianity entered Mizoram and after going through the contents in the Bible, many elderly Mizos were surprised to spot similarities with their customs. Before the advent of Christianity in Mizoram, the elderly believed in only one almighty God, the creator of everything, who could be everywhere and who used to be high up in heaven, looking down at his people. They made alters and offered the blood of animals to their God.
According to Zaithanchhungi Zaii, a researcher from Mizoram, local Judaism is the old religion of Mizo ancestors. Subsequently, they embraced their religion and more people accepted the Jewish faith. The Mizos are well versed with the Bible and feel that they are the chosen people of God. Many of those who accepted Judaism left for Israel, and those who are in Mizoram feel that they too stand in the right path.
“In Mizoram, Christianity is strong and blooming. Even though we believe with all our heart that we are the descendants of Israel, the children of Menashe, we don’t want to change our religion. Most of the Mizos are strict Christians and do not feel like moving to Israel. But we feel very close to them,” says Zaii.
Zaii adds, “When I did my research, I found many connections and similarities in our way of living and social life and theirs. Earlier, I could have never imagined that we could be one of the lost tribes of Israel. In May 1983, I visited Rabbi Eliyahu Avichail, Chairman, Amishav. They are the ones who are trying to locate the lost tribes of Israel. He requested me to conduct an extensive research on the origin of Mizos, and I started my research mid-1983. I visited the village and met the aged men who knew the history of Mizos. I was surprised to learn that so many important aspects of Mizo social life and customs are similar to that of the Jews. It is not a coincidence.
“Now I am convinced that Mizos are one of the lost tribes of Israel called the Menashe tribe. Our ancestors often said that we are the children of Menashe. When they sacrificed animals, they used to say, ‘We, children of Menashe, are offering you the blood of animal. Please answer our prayer’. Some said, ‘The children of Menashe offer thee animal’s blood, O, God of high’. Elderly Mizos are very proud of their ancestor, Menashe. This can be gauged from their chants and in their daily life. It is not only the Mizos who followed Judaism, but various small clans such as Hmar, Kuki, and Gangte, which we call Chhinlung or Sinlung Tribes, are also the lost tribes of Israel.”
There are around 4,000 Bnei Menashes in Israel now. More and more Bnei Menashe members from Mizoram and Manipur are planning to move to Israel. In recent years, Shavei Israel has brought over 3,000 Bnei Menashe people back home to Zion. Another 8,000 still remain in Mizoram and Manipur, waiting for the day when they too will be able to return to Israel and the Jewish people.
The Bnei Menashe believe that they are descendants of the Manasseh tribe, which was lost when the Assyrians invaded Israel in the eighth century BC. Until they make Aliyah — Hebrew word for the journey to Israel — the Bnei Menashe are not technically Jewish; they are in the process of becoming Jewish and will engage in a conversion — that lasts several months — once they get there.
Over a period of years, the group grew, and today there are thousands of Jews in Northeast India and across the border in Myanmar. The Kuki and Mizo tribes comprise about 1.5 million people. Those who call themselves Bnei Menashe are only a small part of the larger Kuki tribe.
Once a large group of Kukis, Chins and Mizos started believing in the story of Bnei Menashe, thousands started practising Orthodox Judaism. Many were surprised to find synagogues in these far-off lands, where there are hardly any ‘accepted’ Jews.
Most of the synagogues are relatively new and were formed in the 1990s and 2000s. What’s interesting is that thousands have readily accepted this age-old religion and are fervently practising it in their own ways.
Many Bnei Menashe members have gone to Israel, where they have undergone conversion and have settled with the help of Rabbi Avichail and Amishav. Many live in the Gush Katif area, work in the agriculture sector or serve in the Army. The rest of Bnei Menashe people would like to move to Israel and join those who have been able to obtain permission from Israeli authorities to move back ‘home’.
Zaii visited Israel in 2011 and stayed there for three months, meeting nearly all the residents of Mizoram in the country. Their lifestyles have totally changed and they are now more economically independent. Many of them have their own houses and cars, while other families have been allowed to live in the buildings of the Israel Government.
The Jewish community cares for them as its own. The standard of living is much better in Israel than in Mizoram and Manipur, claimed Zaii. All children of Mizo Jews are given free education, and the elderly are given pension. They mingle freely with the Israelis and are given different kinds of works. Known to be sincere, their employers too are impressed with them. They have adjusted to the way of Israelis and there is a growing sense of belonging.
However, there is another side to this story. Mizoram is largely a Christian State. Christianity spread its wings here in the 17th and 18th centuries, primarily through the Presbyterian missions. Earlier the tribals practised animalistic rituals and head-hunting, but later converted to Christianity in the hope of better education and modernisation. The Church naturally dismisses claims of Mizos being one of the lost tribes of Israel, and does not encourage its followers to believe in this idea.
Whether or not they are the ‘chosen ones’, we don’t know. Their beliefs don’t seem baseless as their old traditional practices, culture, and way of life bear striking resemblance to the ways of Orthodox Judaism. Every year, hundreds of Bnei Menashe members are finding ways to reach Israel, to be reunited with others like them in a land which holds hope and promise.
The writer is a Fellow, Panos South Asia for HIV/AIDS, and a noted TV journalist. He has been covering India's Northeast and South-East Asia for the past two and a half decades