The cabinet approved permitting 899 members of the lost Indian Bnei Menashe tribe to immigrate to Israel. They are called Bnei Menashe because they trace their Jewish roots back to Shevet Menashe.
The new immigrants are expected to arrive in Israel during the coming months, and they will join hundreds of community members who already arrived due to the efforts of the Shavei Israel organization.
The first group of olim from India is due to arrive by the end of the Gregorian year.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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2 Responses
While the claim of Jewish descent is very dubious, they are clearly valid converts – so why is it an act of discretion by the zionist government whether or not to admit peoople who are clearly Jews according to halacha?
The real reason are : 1) they are orthodox and those who rule Israel don’t like orthodox Jews; 2) they are non-white and for secular Jews for whom Jewishness is a matter of ethnicty rather than religion, that is a problem (if they don’t eat bagels and gefilte fish, how can they be Jewish?).
My Chavruta is the Rav of their Kehillah and they are legitimate Gerim.