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India's 'lost Jews' wait in hope
BBC News ^ | August 18th, 2003 | Geeta Pandey

Posted on 08/19/2004 7:11:00 PM PDT by missyme

A team of senior Israeli rabbis is due to rule soon on whether thousands of Indians who say they are members of one of the lost tribes of Israel can settle there.

Only 5,000 of the Benei Menashes have converted to Judaism Shlomo Amar recently led a delegation of rabbis to the north-eastern Indian states of Manipur and Mizoram where members of the Benei Menashe tribe live and practise Judaism.

At the Beith-el Synagogue in the Manipur capital, Imphal, nine men wearing knitted skull caps read silently from the Old Testament.

Four others stand on a wooden platform in the centre of the room as a young man reads from the holy book under the supervision of an elderly priest.

These people claim to be one of the lost tribes of Israel.

Recent discovery

Tongkhohao Aviel Hangshing is the leader of the Benei Menashes in Imphal.

We found that the stories, the customs and practices of the Israeli people were very similar to ours

Tongkhohao Aviel Hangshing "We are Benei Menashe, because we belong to the Menashe tribe," he says.

"Menashe is the son of Joseph, who was one of the 12 sons of Jacob. So we are the lost tribe of Israel."

Mr Hangshing says for thousands of years they did not know they were lost.

"We found out only 27 years ago," he says.

"When the Bible was translated into our language, in 1970s, we studied it.

"And we found that the stories, the customs and practices of the Israeli people were very similar to ours. So we thought that we must be one of the lost tribes."

Saturdays are observed by Jews the world over as the Sabbath, the day of rest, and the members of the Benei Menashe community meet for morning prayers at the synagogue in Imphal.

A lamb-skin scroll of the Torah, is unrolled and then rolled up again as each reader finishes his part.

Hope

There are more than 300,000 Benei Menashes in Manipur but most of them follow Christianity.

Only about 5,000 have converted to Judaism, most of them during the 1970s.

Mr Hangshing says although India has treated them quite well, they do not consider it their home.

Lucy Vaiphei (right) is hoping to join her family in Israel The recent visit by a delegation of rabbis from Israel has given new hope to the members of this community.

Caleb, a 24-year-old college student, wants to go to Israel because he says it is the land of his forefathers.

Amram is studying to be a lawyer. He says Israel is the promised land, for him and the others too.

"In Israel it will be easier for us to practise our religion."

In a chamber partitioned from the main prayer hall, about a dozen women join in the Sabbath prayers.

Lucy Vaiphei is the caretaker of the synagogue.

Her parents and six siblings have emigrated to Israel in the last few years and she is now looking forward to making the move herself.

Michael Freund, director of Amishav - an organisation that helps Jews move to Israel - says he firmly believes that Menashe is one of the lost tribes of Israel.

"We have brought over 800 of them to Israel," he says, "and the remaining people also want to emigrate".

Mr Freund says that last year the new Israeli interior minister, Avraham Poraz, suddenly declared his opposition to bringing the Benei Menashes into Israel.

"But I'm confident that if the chief rabbi issues a ruling saying that the Benei Menashes are indeed descendents of the Jewish people and should be allowed back home, then he will have no choice but to let them in."

So while the rabbis in Israel take a decision on whether or not to grant the right to emigrate to Israel to the Benei Menashes, this community here is waiting with bated breath - and praying.


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Foreign Affairs; Government; Miscellaneous; News/Current Events; Philosophy; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: archaeology; beneisrael; dna; ggg; godsgravesglyphs; helixmakemineadouble; history; india; iran; israel; jews; losttribes; menashe; mtdna; simchajacobovici; tenlosttribes
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To: wardaddy; Havoc
dadgummit...are you sure none of them became Angles or Saxons....maybe Picts or some Goth outfit?

Pretty definitely these tribes didn't "become" Angles or Saxons -- those groups were part of the GErmanic mass. Certain members of the tribes could have merged with these groups -- like the later Jews merged with Europeans such that 3% of Euros have the priestly DNA strang.
401 posted on 08/20/2004 3:00:55 AM PDT by Cronos (W2K4)
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To: nopardons
I personally knows Italians,who are darker than either of these people;yet you would call an Italian "WHITE". :-)

I wouldn't call an Italian "white", I'd call him Bianco and I'd call her Bianca...... ;-P
402 posted on 08/20/2004 3:03:53 AM PDT by Cronos (W2K4)
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To: wardaddy
here's a good site listing Arab Americans. I'm pretty sure she's Lebanese. I know for certain that Shakira is Lebanese.
403 posted on 08/20/2004 3:07:15 AM PDT by Cronos (W2K4)
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To: ChicagoHebrew

orry, silly moi -- I read that as Northern Africa!


404 posted on 08/20/2004 3:08:36 AM PDT by Cronos (W2K4)
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To: wardaddy
I dated an Indian (Monsoon brand)

lol!!!
405 posted on 08/20/2004 3:11:32 AM PDT by Cronos (W2K4)
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To: missyme
My understanding of the 144,000 concerning End Times Prophecy has to do with those 12 lost tribes of Israel...

Well, unlike what George Lucas thinks, the force is NOT exclusive to those sports Metozomes (or whatever).....

I mean, beign descended from Israel does NOT automatically qualify you for salvation as a Christian....
406 posted on 08/20/2004 3:13:47 AM PDT by Cronos (W2K4)
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To: freegle
No way are Dravidians related to any Caucasians - they are the extremely dark peoples of sourthern India.

Dravidians ARE Caucasians. They may be dark skinned, but they are racially Caucasians.
407 posted on 08/20/2004 3:27:55 AM PDT by Cronos (W2K4)
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To: Alouette

bump, thanks for the ping


408 posted on 08/20/2004 4:00:53 AM PDT by SirLurkedalot (God bless our Veterans!!! And God bless America!!! Molon Labe.)
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To: freegle

the skinheaded look is very popular amongst white kids here in Nashville in the lower economic strata but ...lol...it hasn't a thing to do with racism....quite the contrary , they are The White Gangsta Wannabe Class....The W-Word.....they are black thugs in everyway possible except skin tone.

The're quite the plague here.

Kids..go figure.

*what do the t-shirts say?


409 posted on 08/20/2004 5:02:46 AM PDT by wardaddy (My hair is turning white but my neck's always been red.)
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To: USMMA_83

Waco anniversary....that and Ruby Ridge are Holy Days for them.

I must not that many hard righters includiong myself take a dim view of those two episodes as well but not as part of that "struggle".


410 posted on 08/20/2004 5:04:23 AM PDT by wardaddy (My hair is turning white but my neck's always been red.)
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To: dennisw; Cachelot; Yehuda; Nix 2; veronica; Catspaw; knighthawk; Alouette; Optimist; weikel; ...
If you'd like to be on this middle east/political ping list, please FR mail me.
411 posted on 08/20/2004 5:07:55 AM PDT by SJackson (We’ll cut the tongues of anybody who speaks badly about us-not accept gangsterism by Cowboys, Nasser)
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To: ChicagoHebrew

Thank You...great stuff.

I need to read more.


412 posted on 08/20/2004 5:08:12 AM PDT by wardaddy (My hair is turning white but my neck's always been red.)
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To: USMMA_83; nopardons

Brit Israelism.....circa late 1800s or so.

It was innocuous as opposed to CI.

It sounds fine to me....stands to reason that no one knows exactly where ALL the northern kingdom dispersed to so what the heck....one could surmise Europe looked green and temperate to the wanderers anyhow.

I'll say one thing....it all has a providential ring to it no matter how ya slice it.


413 posted on 08/20/2004 5:11:45 AM PDT by wardaddy (My hair is turning white but my neck's always been red.)
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To: Cronos

i should keep my "how to at least sound diverse" little red handbook close


414 posted on 08/20/2004 5:13:11 AM PDT by wardaddy (My hair is turning white but my neck's always been red.)
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To: Cronos

Is Shakira's hiney Lebanese as well?

(yep..it is...lots of Lebanese there...my ol stomping grounds)...

she is from Cartagena I think.


415 posted on 08/20/2004 5:16:53 AM PDT by wardaddy (My hair is turning white but my neck's always been red.)
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To: freegle
I would refer you to http://www.hindunet.org/hindu_history/ancient/aryan/aryan_frawley_1.html
416 posted on 08/20/2004 5:21:11 AM PDT by Cronos (W2K4)
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To: freegle
You can choose to convienently ignore it to suypport your bliefs, but if you spend some time outside of the country, you'll find it the cosmology of western religion to be a tad bit narrow.

I would strongly disagree with that -- I've lived in the Middle East, US, India and South East Asia and am currently in England.
417 posted on 08/20/2004 5:26:42 AM PDT by Cronos (W2K4)
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To: nopardons
My daughter's friend looks like Padma Lakshmi,or however Salman Rushdi's wife's name is spelled.

Googled that.......WOW!!! When can I meet her????
418 posted on 08/20/2004 5:31:14 AM PDT by Cronos (W2K4)
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To: wardaddy

Ainu are the outcastes in Japanese society. BTW, those guys are the most racist folks I've ever met -- they call all foreigners "gaijin" and consider themselves the master race!


419 posted on 08/20/2004 5:33:41 AM PDT by Cronos (W2K4)
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To: freegle; USMMA_83
I found Davinci Code to be the best novel I have ever read - History and classical art mixed with adventure and the quest for the holy grail and puzzle solving... What more could you ask for. Excellent read.

You're joking right? The most convoluted garbage purporting to be historical that I've ever read. If ever made into a movie it would rival Gladiator in historical inaccuracy.

It takes early Christian heresies that folks who have never heard of them would think coooo, they may have had something.
420 posted on 08/20/2004 5:35:51 AM PDT by Cronos (W2K4)
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