The Israel government has approved a plan to absorb nearly 6,000 members of the Bnei Menashe community residing in India's north-eastern states of Mizoram and Manipur by 2030, according to sources in Mizoram.
The Bnei Menashe, identified as descendants of the biblical tribe of Manasseh are considered one of the 'lost tribes of Israel'.
Majority of them had practised Christianity before converting to Judaism and receiving recognition from Israel's Chief Rabbinate. They observe traditional Jewish practices, celebrate holidays such as Sukkot, and have established synagogues in their communities.
Sources also say Prime Minister Narendra Modi's proposed visit to Israel in February 2026 is likely to defer migration of Bnei Menashe community from Mizoram and Manipur to the 'Promised Land' by one or two weeks.
A community leader of the Bnei Menashe community in Aizawl said though it has been planned earlier that the first batch of the community numbering 300 each from Mizoram and Manipur are set to leave Aizawl for Israel during the later part of February, the proposed visit to Israel by Prime Minister Modi "necessitated deferment".
It is now expected that the first batch for this year will migrate to the 'Holy Land' by early March.
One community individual Hnamte his spouse and their son will also be part of the group as his daughter and son have already migrated to Israel 10 years and 5 years ago respectively.
The rabbis and the Jewish Agency members had said that preference will be given to people whose family members are already in Israel, especially who had migrated under the Aliyah (immigration to Israel or Return to Zion) programme.
He, however, said that the names of those selected to migrate to Israel are yet to be finalised.
Many Mizos living in Mizoram and Manipur states in northeast India say they believe they are diaspora Jews who will one day return to the promised land.
As the theory gains acceptance among Mizos, as well as some Jews in Israel, some 200 Mizos left India for a start in mid 1990s for the Middle East to settle on the West Bank.
Most Mizos in northeast India became Christians during the past century, but some shops, streets and traffic junctions still bear Jewish names such as Israel Stores, Zion Street and Israel Point.
A substantial number of Mizo-Jews claim to be 'Bnei Menashe (sons of Menasseh)' or descendants of a lost tribe of Israel.
This section of Mizo people who follow Judaism seem to endorse BJP's claim that PM Narendra Modi's govt. has improved India's friendship with his Israeli counterpart Bwnjamin Netanyahu.
Locals here recall with much fondness that in July 2017, Modi became the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Israel, as many as 25 years after bilateral ties between India and Israel were established in 1992.
Many Mizo Christians do agree it was due to earlier Government's pro-Palestine stance for decades that Indian Christians could not go to Israel, even with diplomatic passports.
“I go to Synagogue almost daily,” says Mary and maintains the emergence of BJP’s neo-Israel friendly politics would augur well for someone like her.
However, a 62-year-old native entrepreneur – on the condition of anonymity – said “It will not be proper to link some politician or a Christian leader joining BJP with the emotive Mizo-Jewish links. It is more about faith while politics is all about power game”.
Local sources say there are two Synagogues in Mizoram-capital Aizawl itself and there are also some in smaller townships and hamlets like Verante, Kolasib, Sialhok, Bhairavi, Lunglei and Kolkul.
“Initially, it was a theory. When we said we believe in being mythical ‘Lost Tribe’ of Israel, people laughed around. But this theory was given a sort of authenticity in April 2005 when the Sephardi Chief Rabbinate of Israel, Shlomo Amar, ‘recognized’ us as the descendents of the ancient Israelites or Bnei Menashe," said one of them.
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