Members of Knesset from the Aliyah and Absorption Committee urged the government on Wednesday to approve aliyah (immigration to Israel) for approximately 5,000 members of the Bnei Menashe community waiting in northeastern India.

The Bnei Menashe community claims descent from the Lost Tribes of Israel. In recent years, they have pushed for recognition and acceptance from the broader Jewish community, particularly from Israel, to allow them to make aliyah. Reports have indicated that community members are in danger due to clan fighting in their region.

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Out of the 5,000 awaiting aliyah, approximately half have relatives who have already moved to Israel. According to data presented to the committee, 4,121 community members have made aliyah so far, with 1,421 having done so in the past five years. Approximately 1,000 of them receive government welfare services.

What is holding Bnei Menashe members back from aliyah?

The Bnei Menashe do not meet the criteria of Israel’s Law of Return. Therefore, a cabinet decision is required to bring them, after which they undergo conversion by Israel’s Chief Rabbinate.
(L-R) Bnei Menashe olim who served in the IDF: St.-Sgt. Gershon Menashe, St.-Sgt. Harel Paltuel (credit: SHAVEI ISRAEL)
(L-R) Bnei Menashe olim who served in the IDF: St.-Sgt. Gershon Menashe, St.-Sgt. Harel Paltuel (credit: SHAVEI ISRAEL)
A representative of the Aliyah and Absorption Ministry said at the meeting that “agreements had been reached” regarding the community’s conversion process with the Chief Rabbinate under its previous leadership. The ministry will need to reach new agreements with the new chief rabbis, Sephardi Chief Rabbi David Yosef, the yet-to-be-determined Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi, and with the Chief Rabbinate Council, which will only be elected in February.
A representative of the Israel Police said that it had succeeded in recruiting eight community members to serve in eight cities in which the Bnei Menashe are concentrated.
MK Oded Forer, the committee chairman, concluded the meeting by saying that the “separation of families is unexplainable and unimaginable,” adding that “budgetary conditions should not be a factor in decisions regarding aliyah.”
Unrelated to the meeting, the Aliyah and Absorption Ministry announced on Wednesday that it had approved the aliyah of Aharon Hanghal, brother of Sgt. Gideon Hanghal, who was killed on September 11 by a terror ramming attack.
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