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