Free Republic

Hundreds of members of the Bnei Menashe community in India over the weekend celebrated the start of the weeklong Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, which began last Thursday night. The main candle-lighting event was staged in Churachandpur, in the southwestern corner of the Indian state of Manipur. During the ceremony, members of the community prayed for Israel’s soldiers fighting in Gaza, and the safe return of the hostages still being held by Hamas. The Bnei Menashe, or sons of Manasseh, is a community of Indian Jews from various Tibeto-Burmese ethnic groups from the border of India and Burma. They claim descent...

Eliyahu Hanavi Synagogue, the first-ever house of prayer in Israel for Bnei Menashe immigrants from India, was inaugurated last Shabbat (Nov. 19) in the northern Israeli city of Nof Hagalil. About 150 worshippers, most of them members of the community, attended. ..... “The opening of the first synagogue in Israel for the Bnei Menashe is an historic and exciting event. Just like any other Jewish community, the Bnei Menashe have their own unique customs, traditions and hymns, which are worthy of preservation. We are delighted that the Bnei Menashe immigrants will now have a synagogue of their own in which...

The Lemba people of Zimbabwe and South Africa may look like their compatriots, but they follow a very different set of customs and traditions. They do not eat pork, they practise male circumcision, they ritually slaughter their animals, some of their men wear skull caps and they put the Star of David on their gravestones. Their oral traditions claim that their ancestors were Jews who fled the Holy Land about 2,500 years ago. It may sound like another myth of a lost tribe of Israel, but British scientists have carried out DNA tests which have confirmed their Semitic origin. These...

Every Friday night observant Jews bless their sons by saying, "may you be like Manasseh and Ephraim," the two sons of the biblical Joseph, who were the first Jews, born outside of the Holy Land. The blessing expresses the hope that, just like Joseph's sons, today's Jewish sons will hold fast to their religion despite the fact they live in the diaspora. Manasseh and Ephraim are two of the famous lost ten tribes, who were carted away into exile more than 2,500 years ago. Descendants of the tribe of Manasseh have been found living in India, and many of them...

Rabbis convert 'lost tribe of Israel' Recognize 200 members of group believing it descended from Joseph ----------------------------------------------- Posted: September 26, 2005 11:03 p.m. Eastern By Aaron Klein © 2005 WorldNetDaily.com An official delegation of Israeli rabbis arrived in India last week and began converting to Judaism members of a group that believes it is one of the ten "lost tribes" of Israel, jump starting a process many hope will bring the tribe's remaining 7,000 members to the Jewish state. The Bnei Menashe say they are the descendants of Manasseh, one of biblical patriarch Joseph's two sons, and a grandson of...

JERUSALEM, AUGUST 3: Indian immigrants form the largest ethnic group of newcomers living in the Gaza Strip, which is slated for evacuation under Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s controversial disengagement plan. The region has 146 members of the Bnei Menashe Tribe, who immigrated to Israel from Manipur and Mizoram in the last decade, closely followed by 144 French immigrants, figures released by the Absorption Ministry showed. As per the Ministry’s statistics, a total of 620 people who immigrated to Israel since 1989 are settled in areas scheduled to be evacuated. Of them, 488 live in the Gaza Strip and 137...

The city of Imphal, capital of the northeastern Indian state of Manipur, is now home to a new Jewish educational center geared to the needs of the local community of Bnei Menashe, a group claiming descent from a lost tribe of Israel. The center, which will offer daily classes in Hebrew language, Jewish history and tradition, is slated to open this week under the auspices of the Jerusalem-based Amishav organization. Amishav reaches out to and assists lost Jews, including Anusim (Marranos) of Spanish and Portuguese descent, seeking to return to the Jewish people. The organization recently dispatched a young couple...