India's 'lost Jews' wait in hope

BBC News ^ | August 18th, 2003 | Geeta Pandey

[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.

[wardaddy]

A) Not surprising that Sephardic and Oriental Jews are so similar.

B) I believe Tay-Sachs is only found in the Ashkenazi is it not?....that difference must account for that among other stuff I've observed over the years personally.

C)I wonder which Jews they are referring to are closely related to non Arab northern middle easterners.

I'm one of these that thinks the Israelites were dispersed far beyond the confines of modern day world Jewry thru the many migrations and captivities and diasporas. (and that is 100% surmisal)

Thanks for responding....I love this stuff.

Can we do one on Angles and Saxons next?

[wardaddy]

that was pretty witty girl....you already knew FR was a contact sport obviously.

;>)

[missyme]

Yair Davidi, a resident of Jerusalem, Israel and an orthodox Jewish researcher (http://www.geocities.com/hiberi/), who has written two books [“Ephraim: the Gentile Children of Israel” (280 pages) & “Joseph: The Israelite Destiny of America” (264 pages)] on the subject, says that hundreds of millions of Christians in England, France, Scandinavia, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, etc. are the direct, genetic descendants of the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel (House of Israel) (Northern Kingdom of Israel) (Ephraim) (Joseph).

[missyme]

NO I was dating you not me, I see you have a comprehension problem

[Pharmboy]

LOL!!

Look, oui awl make the odd mistake hear and their, but this womyn just did not seize!

[coconutt2000]

I laugh and tell them to contact Israel. It isn't my profession to prove or disprove their claims. I can only say that I am skeptical when people go around claiming to be a member of the lost tribes. But if you must ask, I'm willing to accept Israel's word on that. They have the greatest interest in that. I may be descended from Jews, but I'm not Jewish, and don't have any vested interest in Israel, except as an American.

But what does it matter to you Missyme?

[missyme]

Oh yes...:-)

[missyme]

Oh I guess it's kind of personal for me....
Plus,
I have a great interest in the 12 lost tribes Of Israel...

[wardaddy]

I mostly agree with you Missy but almost comically, those claims which I believe have some vailidity are the same damned ones twisted around and poisoned and then used by Christian Identity. I even saw one where they claim Iceland is the Lost Tribe of Benjamen.....Twilight Zone...they'd be funny if they didn't know how to rent U-Hauls and mix Ammonium Nitrate and Diesel

[coconutt2000]

What is your personal interest?

[Pharmboy]

Remember the zotted celtjew?

[missyme]

You talk like an Old Sow that is why I said you must take Geritol but in case your under 40 you need to go for a run to get out your anxiety or go smoke some Pot...

[missyme]

I'm one of the supporters of the Messianic Bible Project for Israel....

[wardaddy]

the diversity crowd has a new codeword for primitive peoples (mainly Amerindian and Negroid tribes) use of symbols and rune type written figures...non-phonetic obviously...oh yes....script?...is that right?

there is one very PC PHD researcher who really carries the water for this in West African research...can't recall her name now.

Anyhow...how and where we all came from and how cultures ebb and flow and morph fascinates me to no end.

[wardaddy]

I have not seen that one for awhile....I think LostTribe may still be around.

Cronos loves this stuff too....so does....Blam maybe?

[Alouette]

There was some doubt as to the Jewish lineage of the "Bnei Menashe" so they were requested by the Chief Rabbis to undergo a formal conversion "in case of doubt."

They have agreed to this condition and have been converted through Orthodox rabbinical courts.

However the anti-religious Shinui party which controls the immigration ministry has refused to accept Orthodox converts as a way of coercing the Chief Rabbis to recognize Reform and Conservative converts, who do not meet all the religious requirements of a conversion, but who are more likely to vote for Shinui.

FRmail me to be added or removed from this Judaic/pro-Israel ping list.

WARNING: This is a high volume ping list

[missyme]

My interest too! although I have had to be sidetracked for the last 30 minutes with Farmboy!

[Havoc]

I would take serious issue with that. A story was done just within the last few days in which the dna of a line of women believed to be Amazon warriors from a period roughly 2500 years back - some 500 years before Christ, has been matched to the line of a single young girl living today. There is a way to tell. And it is DNA, among other things. There is plenty of historical factual and circumstantial evidence to bolster the claim. And this is not the only tribal group that has been located.