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but their aliya was subsequently halted in 2007 over the issue of their "Jewishness", even though the Israeli Chief Rabbinate had earlier recognized the community as "descendants of Israel".

So did they resolve the issue with DNA testing?

The thing people are generally unaware of is that Jews today are out of the ancient Kingdom of Judah. Israel became split into two Kingdoms, the southern Kingdom of Judah and northern Kingdom of Israel or otherwise know as Samaria. The tribe of Manasseh was part of the northern Kingdom of Israel not the Kingdom of Judah.

In the New Testament you might remember how Jesus' disciples were surprised that he would talk to a Samaritan. Also remember the parable of the good Samaritan. To Judah the Samaritans were basically considered to be a mixture and were looked very down upon. That is why though they are descendants of Israel there may not have been a proclivity for the Jews whose background is from the Kingdom of Judah to want to include in there number a "Samaritan". That would be my guess about what the hold up was all about, but I am not sure.

The Northern Kingdom consisted of of the tribes of Zebulun, Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, Dan, Manasseh, Ephraim, Reuben and Gad. Also Livites were incorporated into all the tribal areas.

The Southern Kingdom consisted only of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin with their Livites. These are the people call today "Jews". That is why though people from the tribe of Manasseh are, in the article, referred to as "descendants of Israel" but not, per say, as "Jews".

When the Assyrians invaded, plenty of Northern Israelites fled south. "Jew" comes from "Iudean", which is what they called any non-Samaritan Israelite. It is an exonym, which we also use. But the proper term is and remains Israelite.

Samaritans are descended from Northern Israelites and foreign settlers with their own traditions. They have their own holy mountain, Gerizim. Southern Israelites/Jews have the proper mountain chosen by G_d, Moriah. BTW, there still are Samaritans. They live in Holon in Israel, and in Arab-occupied Shekhem/Nablus, the site of their holy mountain. There are like 800 of them.

The Northern Kingdom consisted of of the tribes of Zebulun, Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, Dan, Manasseh, Ephraim, Reuben and Gad. Also Livites were incorporated into all the tribal areas.

The Southern Kingdom consisted only of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin with their Livites. These are the people call today "Jews". That is why though people from the tribe of Manasseh are, in the article, referred to as "descendants of Israel" but not, per say, as "Jews".

You don't think that when the norther tribes fell into idolatry that the faithful fled south ?
Read Luke 2:36 for proof Anna knew what tribe she was from - Asher Modern Israel has people from all the tribes with the possibility of maybe no tribe of Dan since they were the first to run off into idolatry .

(maybe that is why the tribe of Dan is not named in Revelation - I don't know this it's just a thought )
Just because the southern Kingdoms land belong to the tribe of Judah and Benjamin does not mean that there were not people from every tribe living there before the Romans dispersed them . Originally the land allotted to each tribe also contained sanctuary cities that any person could go to should they need to get away from their original areas because someone was after them etc

The big lie is that Israel is not really Israel that they are only from the tribe of Judah and Benjamin

BTW lots more dispersed into the the nations following preaching the Gospel (in The Book of Acts chapter 24 they accuse Paul/Saul of Tarsus as being the ringleader to the sect of Nazarenes - the Hebrew word is Natsar as in translated in many places into English as WATCHMAN ...so there is lots more Hebrew blood hiding among the nations ;)

The Southern Kingdom consisted only of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin with their Livites. These are the people call today "Jews".

Shimon was in the southern kingdom too. It's just that Shimon so completely assimilated into Judean culture that its people lost their tribal identity earlier than elsewhere. Also, during the reign of King Josiah, Judah reconquered most of the old northern kingdom and assimilated the common people of the northern tribes who the Assyrians left behind (the Assyrians exiled only about 27,000 people). It's a mistake, albeit a common one, to think that today's Jews descend only from Judah, Binyamin, and Levi.

By analogy: we call the Roman Empire "Roman," and its citizens "Romans," even though few of its citizens lived in Rome even at the height of the empire. Most lived elsewhere in what is today central Italy, and descended primarily from Italic or Etruscan tribes that weren't quite "Roman." But, because of Rome's dominion over its neighbors, all eventually identified as "Roman."