Uh, oh! Looks like LostTribe has re-upped and flown beneath the radar for a while!
Posted on 04/03/2005 11:49:19 AM PDT by ChicagoHebrew
A special team of rabbis from Israel will soon be sent to the Indian-Myanmar (Burma) border in order to convert thousands of members of a local tribe who have been recognized as Jews by Israel's chief Sephardi Rabbi Shlomo Amar, The Times of London has reported.
According to the report, the tribesmen have been defined as members of the lost tribe of Menashe. Once converted, they would be able to immigrate to Israel based on the Law of Return. The mission is reportedly funded by a group of Christian Evangelicals.
About 800 members of the 'Bnei Menashe' have been brought to Israel from northeast India over the last decade by a group called "Shavei Israel."
According to "Shavei Israel," there is ample evidence to show that the Bnei Menashe are of Jewish descent. Their customs, including mourning rites, hygiene and the use of a lunar calendar, closely mirror Jewish traditions.
According to scripture, during the reign of King Solomon, the tribes of Israel split into two kingdoms, Israel in the north and Judea in south. In 723 B.C. the Assyrians conquered the kingdom of Israel and took 10 of the 12 biblical tribes into exile, where they dispersed among the nations.
The return of the "lost tribes" to their ancient homeland is viewed by some as the fulfillment of biblical prophecy and a herald of the Messiah.
The Bnei Menashe were animists when they were converted to Christianity by British missionaries in the 19th century. In 1953, a tribal leader named Mlanchala had a dream in which his people would return to Israel. The tribe then adopted or perhaps readopted Jewish traditions.
However, their links to the Jewish people could not be proved, so they were not deemed eligible to immigrate to Israel under Israeli law, which gives Jews the right to automatic citizenship.
I'm feeling like a troll at this point. Never my intention, not on my day-off from work. Way too sleepy for games...
No hard feelings, in any case. Good day.
They were'nt. And DNA is irrelevant. This has come up with a number of communities, including many in Mexico, South America, and even New Mexico. One of problems these communities face in the long conversion process. India, a large country, has only 7 or 8000 Jews. There's no synagogue around the corner. Though i don't think the designation by the Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel of the Menashe as "Descendants of Israel" has any legal status, and means nothing in terms of their "Jewishness", it likely opens up the possibility of Israel aiding them in their efforts.
I've done that myself on occasion.
Some of the few Jews in India might trace their roots that far back most date to trade routes beginning in the 16th century.
The Menashe would presumably trace themselves to the Assyrian expulsion, 8th century BC. Wonder how many of todays events will again become relevant 2,700 years from now?
The only problem with that is that some non-Jews are genetically nearly identical to some groups of Jews. Yemeni Jews, for example, are genetically closer to south Arab Muslims than they are to European Jews. Jews are simply too ethnically diverse. You could no more identify "Jewish" DNA than you could "American" DNA.
Thats that kind of confusion Dispensationalism produces. Two ways of salvation, being a Jew and being God's chosen people and the other faith in Christ. Two kingdoms, one earthly and Jewish, the other heavenly and Gentile.
Kind of crazy, huh?
From what I understand, Christians are the only ones who are "saved." Do they lose their "saved" status if they convert to Judaism?
Uh, oh! Looks like LostTribe has re-upped and flown beneath the radar for a while!
Joseph Lieberman, Paul Newman, Ted Koppel, Harrison Ford, Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., Kirk Douglas, Kevin Costner, Stephen Breyer, Yitzhak Rabin, Michael Landon, Lorne Greene, Mike Wallace, Benjamin Netanyahu, William Shatner, Douglas Fairbanks, Cary Grant, Leonard Bernstein, Paul Simon, Ariel Sharon, David Frost, Morley Safer, Ari Fleischer, Jack Benny, Alan King, Casper Weinberger, Carl Reiner, George Burns, Red Buttons, Sam Levinson, Bernard Goldberg, Robert Downey Jr., Dustin Hoffman, Michael Douglas, Peter Sellers, Tony Curtis, Edward G. Robinson, Wolf Blitzer, Mel Torme, Paul Wellstone, Peter Falk, Leonard Nimoy, Jerry Springer, Arlen Spector, William Cohen, Barry Goldwater, Robert Rubin, William Roth, Howard Metzenbaum, Hyman Rickover, Robert Reich, Russ Feinberg, Stanley Mosk, Arthur Burns, Milton Friedman, Bill Kristol, Victor Borge, William Kristol, Warren Rudman, etc., etc, etc.
Indeed.
Israel has ongoing studies about the impact of Khazar genetics in the Ashkenazim bloodline.
That is quite recent relatively speaking.
Is there not a Jewish group in Japan too?
Are they primarily Caucazoid or have they been Mongoloid-ized?
To answer your question, allow me to ask it again in another form:
From what I understand, Christians are the only ones who are "saved." Do they lose their "saved" status if they convert to Islam?
And as a Christian, how many ways to heaven are there? And which one should Christians be promoting and/or funding?
Define Irony: John Hagee writing a book entitled "Day of Deception"!
FYI?
Post #33?
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