0:06 Every morning, Zaun Haip begins his day
0:08 in prayer with his family. For him, it's
0:11 more than a ritual. It's about identity
0:13 and belonging.
0:15 Hakip is from the Benimanashi, a
0:17 community in northeastern India that
0:20 identifies as Jewish. He now hopes to
0:23 migrate to Israel as part of a phase
0:25 resettlement plan for thousands of
0:29 Benimanashi over the next few years.
0:31 Hakub does not know anyone in Israel,
0:34 but he has applied and is waiting for a decision.
0:40 >> The reason I want to migrate to Israel
0:43 is because it is the promised land given
0:46 to our great ancestors.
0:48 The thought of thousands of us returning
0:51 fills me with excitement. Ever since I
0:54 was a child and began following Judaism,
0:56 I've always felt that my heart belongs
1:00 there. Even today I feel as if I am
1:10 >> The Benimanashi claimed to be
1:12 descendants of the biblical tribe of Manache,
1:14 Manache,
1:16 one of the 10 lost tribes of Israel.
1:19 Said to have been exiled nearly 2,700
1:22 years ago.
1:24 They live mainly in India's northeastern
1:27 state of Manipur, a remote mountainous
1:29 region marked by poverty and
1:32 long-running ethnic conflict. Israel's
1:34 plan would resettle them in Galilee in
1:37 the north. It's an area right on the
1:39 border with Lebanon and often a target
1:42 of Hezbollah rocket attacks.
1:44 But even the risk of moving to a
1:46 conflict soon hasn't shaken their determination.
1:51 War and conflict exist everywhere in the
1:54 world. Many people have died because of
1:57 wars. But I don't carry fear or worry in
2:00 my heart. One day I too will pass away.
2:02 What matters to me is to return safely
2:05 to the holy land, Israel.
2:07 >> War won't deter us from going to Israel.
2:09 We want to study the Torah. Our purpose
2:12 is to worship, to strengthen our faith,
2:14 and dedicate ourselves to learning. And
2:16 that commitment to faith is already
2:19 visible in daily life here.
2:22 Every day, Issa travels to the school to
2:25 teach children from her community.
2:27 Alongside social sciences, she also
2:30 teach them Jewish prayers and rituals.
2:32 At the start of the school day, the
2:42 Israel flag. Wow.
2:45 Scenes like this are rare. an Israeli
2:48 flag unfurling on Indian soil. >> This
2:49 >> This
2:53 uh flag, it represent the country,
2:57 right? So, standing beneath this uh
3:00 flag, it really makes me proud.
3:03 >> Like many here, Easter hopes to relocate
3:05 to Israel and reunite with family.
3:09 >> Hi, how are you?
3:11 Easter's elder brother has already
3:13 migrated to Israel where he has built a
3:16 new life as a religious scholar.
3:19 >> Now the phone is their only link. Easter
3:21 hopes to leave India this year and
3:24 become a citizen of what she calls her
3:25 Jewish homeland.
3:28 >> My whole purpose or my whole dream of
3:31 going to Israel is uh it's about
3:33 spiritual thing. is my belief that is
3:35 you know that kept me going that kept me
3:37 motivating uh to keep dreaming about
3:44 >> Inside this classroom students learn
3:52 >> and often they sing songs longing for
3:55 Israel a country that they have never seen.
3:57 seen.
4:00 The idea of the school is for preparing
4:03 to go to Israel. Uh since we are all
4:05 waiting for the interview, some of us
4:07 are already done with it. Uh hopefully
4:09 if we are going it then we have we want
4:13 to be already you know uh fit that we
4:17 know how to write and read the habit.
4:19 For these children, Israel is still a promise.
4:25 But for this group, it's already an
4:27 experience, and they say it hasn't
4:35 Natan Kibjin migrated to Israel more
4:38 than two decades ago and found work as a
4:40 farm laborer.
4:42 This is his first visit back home since
4:44 he left.
4:46 When we began relocating to Israel, we
4:49 were barely noticed. Some even
4:50 questioned whether we were really the
4:53 same as them. Many of us faced serious
4:56 hardships, struggling to put food on the table.
4:58 table.
5:01 >> Today, Natan is retired. He lives with
5:04 his family in Nidan, the community
5:06 settlement in southern Israel.
5:09 Natan says life is better now, but the
5:10 community is still treated with suspicion.
5:13 suspicion.
5:15 When we go to pray in the synagogue,
5:19 they look down on us. Some people wonder
5:21 what kind of prayer we will offer. They
5:23 doubt us and treat our prayer as
5:26 unimportant. So even inside the
5:28 synagogue, we are looked down on.
5:38 At this local synagogue, men gather each
5:47 And in these spaces, the calls for
5:50 aliyah or migration to Israel have grown louder.
5:51 louder.
5:53 They say they have kept Jewish
5:56 traditions alive for generations in a
5:58 region dominated by Christianity and Buddhism.
5:59 Buddhism.
6:01 Nowadays, practicing Judaism is
6:04 relatively peaceful. People are more
6:06 tolerant than in the past, which was
6:08 very challenging for us. Society here
6:10 has gradually come to accept our
6:12 religion and practicing Judaism no
6:15 longer attracts the stereotyping or
6:23 >> But faith isn't the only reason people
6:26 want to leave. Halip is heading to the
6:29 fields with his family. For communities
6:31 like this, farming is the main source of
6:33 livelihood here.
6:36 He says the land is less fertile now and
6:39 it's becoming harder to survive. For
6:42 him, Israel isn't just a religious home.
6:46 It's also a ticket to better life.
6:48 There are no industries or companies in
6:50 our region. Jobs are difficult to find
6:53 and employers usually do not hire us.
6:56 Even daily wage work is hard to obtain.
6:58 In Israel, there are many industries and
7:00 companies that will give you work. I
7:03 currently earn very little as a farmer.
7:05 I believe that living in Israel would
7:07 greatly improve my family's quality of life.
7:14 >> As Hakip harvests beans from his farm,
7:16 he hopes this will be his last season in
7:19 these fields.
7:21 For him and thousands of other benim
7:23 manashe, Israel is more than a
7:26 destination. It's a homecoming and a way out.
7:29 out.
7:31 Joining us now from Kolkata is the
7:34 historian Navaras Afridi. He has written
7:36 extensively on the history of Jews in
7:38 Asia and especially Jewish people in
7:42 India. Mr. Freidi, why has the Israeli
7:45 government only recently supported that
7:49 this Jewish tribe moved to Israel?
7:53 >> I see basically two factors behind this.
7:57 One is that uh the population in Galilee
7:59 over the last few years have been moving
8:02 out of that region because of it coming
8:06 under constant attack from Hezbollah.
8:09 So the state needs a population that
8:12 would be willing to settle there and to enable
8:14 enable
8:17 uh the state of Israel to have a
8:19 demography which is in favor of the
8:22 Jewish majority.
8:24 The second factor that adds an urgency
8:30 to it is the conflict between the cookie
8:33 and the methy in the state of Manipur
8:36 where this population is being drawn from.
8:37 from.
8:40 >> So that this conflict puts the Benashi
8:44 in the state of Manipur at great risk.
8:46 So there is a realization of this as
8:46 well. M
8:49 >> so it is these two factors that converge to
8:51 to
8:54 um drive the state of Israel to take the
8:58 this step of bringing of deciding to
9:00 bring in the remaining Benashi to Israel.
9:02 Israel.
9:04 >> Now they'll be moving from one volatile
9:06 part of the world to another near the
9:08 Israel Lebanese border. Uh does that
9:10 bring with it a whole new set of
9:17 >> It does. Well, there is a saying that
9:20 the grass is always greener on the other
9:23 side of the fence. So perhaps the Benash
9:28 feel that uh perhaps the conflict in
9:33 northern Israel would not be as risky as
9:36 dangerous for them as it is in their
9:38 home state Manipur. This could be one
9:41 reason. Another reason is that there is
9:45 this genuine feeling of uh considering
9:49 Israel as the land of their ancestral
9:55 roots. So this uh brings in uh feeling
9:58 of of a strong emotional bond
10:01 >> with the state of Israel.
10:03 Uh some of the problems that I see in
10:06 this is that once this population is
10:08 settled there, they could very well be
10:11 mistaken for foreign workers
10:14 >> and their assimilation in integration in
10:17 the Israeli society may not be as smooth
10:19 as they might expect. talking about the
10:21 integration. I mean we heard this one
10:24 man speaking there in our report uh that
10:27 he who has been move who's been living
10:31 in Israel for uh 20 years and he reports
10:34 that he is looked down upon. Will this
10:36 community be accepted within Jewish society?
10:42 Well, it depends largely on the efforts
10:45 that the state invests in raising
10:49 awareness of the Benache among the
10:52 Israeli mainstream. People in general
10:54 are not very well aware of the existence
10:56 of the Benim Manache
10:57 >> and they may look at them with
11:01 suspicion. So the it is up to the state
11:05 of Israel how much effort it invests in
11:08 raising awareness of the Benin and how
11:10 the Benin
11:14 uh very devoutly practice Judaism.
11:17 >> Now Freedy there historian and expert on
11:19 Judaism at Presidency University in
11:21 Kolkata. Thank you very much for sharing
11:24 your expertise with us.
11:26 >> Thank you very much for having me on
