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After their long-awaited arrival in Israel, members of a "lost tribe" from Asia known as "Bnei Menashe" toured heritage sites and prayed in some of Judaism's holiest places.
The Jewish tribe of Menashe was exiled from Israel 2,700 years ago. Now, members of a tribe from Asia that believes they are Menashe's descendants has returned to Israel.
Two and a half months after their long-awaited arrival in Israel, members of this tribe, the "Bnei Menashe," began the ultimate tour of their heritage. Starting at midnight at the tomb of Joseph, the tribe visited the grave of the father of their biblical ancestor Menashe, in the heart of Samaria, then continued to Bethlehem to the tomb of Rachel, Joseph's mother.
Finally, they arrived in Jerusalem for an emotional, early-morning prayer service at the Western Wall, the holiest place where Jews are permitted to pray.
This moving video was taken during these morning prayers.
A touching video shows the arrival of 72 Bnei Menashe in Israel, where they were led in prayers of thanksgiving to the Almighty—and to the State of Israel—for making their dream a reality.
Shavei Israel was founded in 2002 by Michael Freund. According to its stated mission, the organization "opens the door to all who have decided that Judaism and a return to the Jewish people are central to their fate and their identity."
While serving as deputy communications director under Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in 1997, Freund came upon a letter from a group in northeastern India called the Bnei Menashe—the Children of Menashe—saying they were descendants of the tribe of Menashe, one of the 10 lost tribes of Israel, and were pleading to return to the promised land. Their letter sent Freund on a mission to learn all he could about the lost tribes of Israel. In the process, he discovered that all across the world there are "lost Jews" dreaming of returning to their Jewish roots.
On Thursday, Freund welcomed 72 Bnei Menashe arrivals at Ben-Gurion Airport.
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“Thus saith the Lord GOD: I will even gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries where ye have been scattered and I will give you the land of Yisrael.” Ezekiel 11:17 (The Israel Bible™)
MK Rabbi Dov Lipman and Israel Retruns Founder Michael Freund at Ben Gurion Airport together with the Bnei Menashe children who made Aliyah in 2014. (Photo: Nir Kafri)
It is truly a blessing to the nation when their tax dollars go towards bringing about a Biblical prophecy. This was the case when the Israeli government set aside eight million shekels to settle 712 members of the Bnei Menashe, a religious group from India which claims Jewish roots, in the Holy Land. The decision was reported in Israeli media on Sunday.
The Bnei Menashe tribe, which numbers around 9,000 members, last had contact with the Jewish people thousands of years ago, according to their oral history. They are distinct and separate from the community of Indian Jews known as Bnei Israel, who arrived in Israel in 1952. The Bnei Israel did not need to undergo conversion and genetic testing has recently substantiated their unbroken genealogical connection with Israel.
The Bnei Menashe live in northeast India, in an area situated between Myanmar and Bangladesh. Also known as the Shinlung, the Bnei Menashe have an oral tradition, passed down for 2,700 years, which describes how the Assyrians invaded the Northern Kingdom of Israel in 721 BCE and took them into slavery.
According to their tradition, they escaped slavery and fled to Persia, and then Afghanistan. The Bnei Menashe later migrated toward Hindu-Kush and Tibet, eventually reaching Kaifeng in East Central China around 240 BCE.
In 100 CE, the Bnei Menashe were expelled from China. Some fled down the Mekong River into Vietnam, the Philippines, Siam, Thailand and Malaysia. Others went to Burma and west to India.
The Bnei Menashe have always observed mitzvot (Torah commandments) and lived as Jews in every respect, and there are over 50 synagogues throughout northeastern India. Several hundred members of the community have already immigrated to Israel, and thousands more clamor to join them.
Israel’s Absorption Ministry gave responsibility for the aliyah and resettling of the 712 Bnei Menashe members to Shavei Israel, a non-profit outreach organization that helps people around the world who are descendants of Jews in order to strengthen their connection with Israel. Shavei will make arrangements with the local Indian government and fly the community from India to Israel. After the Indian Jews arrive, the organization will also be responsible for all aspects of their integration.
Michael Freund, founder and chairman of Shavei Israel, first heard of the Bnei Menashe 15 years ago when he was working as a deputy in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s communications office. Freund received a letter from the Bnei Menashe, claiming they were the long-lost descendants of the tribe of Menashe, and one of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel. They asked for his help in returning to the Promised Land.
Shavei Israel founder and director Michael Freund (Photo: Michael Freund, Facebook)
Though Israel is eager to help long-lost brethren return to their homeland, the absorption process is difficult and has not always been successful. Almost the entire population of Ethiopian Jews was brought to Israel in multiple airlifts, but their integration into Israeli society suffered serious shortcomings.
Freund explained the challenge of resettling long-lost Jews in Israel. “When we started Shavei, I saw the need for establishing a comprehensive absorption model together with the government,” Freund told Breaking Israel News.
“A lot of time and planning went into this model. We consulted with experts in the field and as a result, the Bnei Menashe are considered a model for success,” Freund explained.“All of the communities have asked for more immigrants from the group, and other communities have heard of the success of the program and have asked to take part.”
Over 3,000 Bnei Menashe and tens of thousands new immigrants from other communities have make aliyah to Israel, with the help of organizations like Shavei and the Israeli government.
The prophetic project has diplomatic implications, as it brings Israel and India even closer. In October last year, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the Bnei Menashe a “living bridge between our two peoples” in his speech at the special Knesset session in honor of the president of India, Pranab Mukherjee.
Isaiah 11:11 says, "In that day the Lord shall set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people, who shall be left, from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea."
What's referred to as Cush in the ancient Scriptures is likely modern-day Ethiopia. According to ancient tradition, Ethiopia's Jewish connection goes back to the time of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. A 14th-century document known as the Kebra Nagast ("The Glory of the Kings") records that Solomon and Sheba had a son named Menelik I, who later returned to Ethiopia with his family and the Ark of the Covenant.
Others believe that Jews from the exodus made their way up the Nile and eventually settled in Ethiopia. Most historians, however, believe their presence in Ethiopia is post-exilic and traces back to the Roman dispersion of Jews migrating from Yemen to the horn of Africa. Whatever history is correct, we do have the account of Phillip's encounter with the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:26-39), who was led to faith not from paganism but from Judaism.
Known as the Beta Israel (House of Israel), the Ethiopian Jews were officially recognized by the State of Israel in 1973. In fact, the Israeli government conducted two dangerous operations to bring them to Israel: Operation Moses, which took place over a period of seven weeks in 1984-85, during which 8,000 Ethiopian Jews were brought to Israel. Operation Solomon, a covert airlift, was conducted in 1991 and brought 14,500 Ethiopian Jews to Israel over a 24-hour period. Sadly, thousands of the Beta Israel identified as Falasha Mura (converts to Christianity) were left behind.
Another tribe of Ethiopian Jews, the Beta Avraham, was originally part of the Beta Israel community. But in the 17th century, a false messiah rose up among these people and ultimately led them to join the Orthodox Church. They broke away, becoming their own tribe and eventually settled in the Ethiopian district of Kechene, near the capital city of Addis Ababa. Jewish Voice brings a team of medical doctors and volunteers to help this community every year and operates a full-time medical clinic known as Bete Hibret.
A third offshoot of Ethiopian Jews, the Gefat, lives farther south in the Ethiopian rural countryside of Woliso and Hosanna. A remote community made up of 20,000 to 30,000 people, this tribe has faithfully observed Jewish customs for hundreds of years, including circumcising their male children on the eighth day, applying the blood of a lamb over their doorposts at Passover and keeping biblical dietary laws. In fact, their name, Gefat, means "the blowers"—according to their oral history, they were chosen by the kings of Ethiopia centuries ago to blow the shofar ahead of the Ark of the Covenant in official processionals.
I became aware of this community in 2010 when their elders contacted me during one of our medical clinic outreaches in Addis Ababa and asked for our help. The following year we held our first medical outreach in Woliso. Thousands came for treatment, and we've returned regularly ever since.
To date, Jewish Voice has planted and supports a flourishing network of eight Messianic Jewish congregations in Ethiopia, all of which are experiencing rapid growth.
The Bnei Menashe of India
Near the border between eastern India and Myanmar are the two Indian states of Manipur and Mizoram. Within these lives an ancient community called the Bnei Menashe, believed to be descended from the lost tribe of Manasseh. Oral history holds that they were captured by Assyria along with the rest of the northern tribes of Israel and eventually landed in China. Then, in the second century, they migrated to India in the wake of Chinese persecution. Many converted to Christianity in the 19th century through the work of Welsh Presbyterian missionaries.
In 2008, a rat infestation completely overtook the rice crops in Mizoram, threatening starvation. This famine drew global media attention to the Bnei Menashe. When I heard of their plight, I felt the Lord strongly prompting me to do something to help. After an advance trip to assess the needs, we provided hundreds of tons of rice and brought a large team of doctors and dentists to provide free medical, dental and eye care to the Bnei Menashe. We've been back every year since. More than 900 members of the Bnei Menashe have prayed with our prayer teams to receive Jesus as their Messiah.
In 2011, the Israeli government decided to allow 7,300 members of the Bnei Menashe to come to Israel. Several hundred more have also recently made aliyah (going up to the Holy Land), but thousands still remain and live in a state of deep poverty.
The Lemba of Zimbabwe
God made good on His promise to scatter the children of Israel to the uttermost parts of the world. Perhaps nowhere is that more evidenced than in the remote bush of Zimbabwe, where we've often had to wait to land our six-seater prop plane until zebras exited the clearing we use as a makeshift runway. Here we've found the Lemba, a tribe numbering over 70,000 and spread throughout Zimbabwe and parts of South Africa.
In a recent DNA study, 70 percent of the Lemba sampled possessed the Cohanim gene (from an ancient Jewish priestly line)—a higher percentage than both Sephardic and Ashkenazi Jews sampled. This finding has generated significant interest among the Jewish community and strongly supports their 800-year claim to be descendants of Aaron the high priest.
After a whirlwind trip—spent mostly on planes—to meet with the Lemba's elders, we organized our first medical outreach to their community in 2012. Without electricity, hotels or restaurants, we had to truck in the entire clinic on washed-out dirt roads—including tents and the generators needed to power our medical equipment. Since this first outreach two years ago, we now have 30 Messianic Jewish congregations among the Lemba with a weekly attendance of over 3,000. The Lemba are currently the fastest-growing Messianic Jewish community in the world.
The Yibir of Somaliland
Through a dear friend, Gerald Gotzen, I heard about a mystical tribe of people in Somaliland called the Yibir. The Yibir—whose name, some believe, derives from the word Hebrew—were forced to convert to Islam many years ago yet have secretly retained their Jewish identity. In 2012, I sent an advance team to Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland to meet with tribal leaders. They quietly shared about their Jewish ancestry and their desire to further connect with their Jewish identity and the State of Israel. We've continued to develop our relationship and are seeking ways to help them in this pursuit.
The Pashtun of Afghanistan
Within the borders of Afghanistan, one of the most uniformly Muslim countries in the world, lives an ethnic group called the Pashtun who some believe to be descendants of one of the 10 lost tribes. The Pashtun are the largest ethnic group in Afghanistan. Though DNA testing has been inconclusive and scholars have disagreed for centuries as to their true origins, it's indisputable that the Pashtun do observe certain ancient Jewish customs and traditions. Many historic markers in the region are written in Aramaic (the language of first-century Judaism) instead of the traditional Sanskrit usually found in this area.
Many of the family names among the Pashtun are Jewish as well, including Levani (similar to Levi), Daftani (similar to Naphtali) and Jaji (similar to Gad). Some historians, as far back as the 1800s, even referred to the Pashtuns as "Yusefzai," meaning sons of Joseph.
The Igbo of Nigeria
In the central-western African country of Nigeria lives a tribe of the Igbo people who call themselves the Bnei Yisrael. They believe themselves to be descended from the lost tribes of Gad, Zebulun, Manasseh, Dan, Asher and Naphtali. Numbering some 30,000, the Bnei Yisrael observe many biblical feasts and maintain the dietary laws and other commandments of the Torah.
We just completed a scouting trip to meet with the leaders of the Bnei Yisrael and plans are under way to conduct our first outreach in Nigeria next year.
“Behold, I will lift up my hand to the nations, and set up my ensign to the peoples and they shall bring thy sons…” (Isaiah 49:22)
Thousands of Christian Evangelists attend a parade in the center of Jerusalem, marking the Jewish holiday of Sukkot or the Feast of the Tabernacles. Oct 04, 2012. (Photo: Miriam Alster/Flash90)
Known as Israel’s largest single tourism event of the year, the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem’s (ICEJ) Feast of Tabernacles which takes place each year during Sukkot, might be the ICEJ’s highest profile event, but their work to support Aliyah is truly at the heart of the global ministry’s efforts throughout the year.
5,000 Christians from over 100 nations are expected to descend on Jerusalem for the annual Feast of the Tabernacles to celebrate the holiday of Sukkot alongside Israelis and Jews around the world. The event is expected to generate $16 million dollars in revenue for the State of Israel.
The ICEJ was founded in 1980 in response to worldwide diplomatic protest of Israel’s official declaration of Jerusalem as its undivided and eternal capital. When embassies in Jerusalem were being closed left and right, a group of Christians living in Israel decided to open their own “Embassy” in Jerusalem. It was a symbolic show of support that quickly turned into tangible support for Israel and Jewish people around the world.
Since the fall of communism and the flood of Jewish emigration from Soviet countries, the Christian Embassy has actively supported the return of the Jewish Diaspora to their historic homeland. They have sponsored 54 chartered flights in addition to numerous group and individual flights, helping over 110,000 Jews from all around the world return home to Israel. The dedicated employees of the Embassy have worked tirelessly, hand in hand with their Jewish neighbors, to witness the realization of Biblical prophecy in modern Israel.
Most recently, the ICEJ has cooperated with Israel Returns, an organization founded by Michael Freund, to support the immigration of the Bnei Menashe community from India back to Israel. Over one thousand members of this lost tribe successfully arrived and settled in Israel in 2007 but there are 7,000 more that are anxiously awaiting for the results of an upcoming Israel cabinet vote whether to allow them to return home or not.
“Our support for the return of the Bnei Menashe is based on God’s promises to Israel to ‘bring your descendants from the east’, as we read in Isaiah 43:5”, said Dr. Juergen Buehler, the ICEJ Executive Director. “We are thrilled to partner with Shavei Israel [Israel Returns] in making this dream come true for these precious sons and daughters of Zion.”
In light of their steadfast commitment to Aliyah, Christians all over the world are partnering with Israel Returns during the Feast of Tabernacles to participate in the Four Corners Prayer Journey calling Christians and Jews worldwide to pray for the final ingathering of Jews from the four corners of the world back to the Land of Israel.
"This has been my peoples' dream for thousands of years," says 18-year-old Mirna Singsit upon her arrival.
Mirna Singsit Photo: courtesy Shavei Israel
Israel welcomed its 2,000th member of the Bnei Menashe community on Thursday, when a flight carrying 53 of the tribe’s members from Manipur, India, touched down at Ben-Gurion Airport.
The Bnei Menashe claim descent from one of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel, sent into exile for more than 27 centuries.
The community has always observed Shabbat and kept kosher.
Today the Bnei Menashe numbers around 7,000 and resides in India’s northeastern border states of Manipur and Mizoram.
Prior to the current aliya, there were 1,725 Bnei Menashe in Israel. Most of the community resides in Acre and Migdal Ha’emek.
“I’m so very happy right now,” said 18-year-old Mirna Singsit, who was presented with a certificate acknowledging her as the 2,000th Bnei Menashe oleh.
“Not only has this been my dream since I was born, but it has been my peoples’ dream for thousands of years.”
Singsit came to Israel with her parents and three brothers, but left behind a grandparent, four uncles and two aunts. She hopes to continue her education in Israel, studying for her bachelors degree in political science.
Singsit wants to live in Jerusalem, “the Holiest place on earth,” she said.
After a five year hiatus, the Bnei Menashe aliya program was restarted following a unanimous decision by the Israeli cabinet last October, a move which was championed by Immigrant Absorption Minister Sofa Landver, who pushed for its approval.
The aliya program was frozen in 2007 by the Olmert government after members of the cabinet, in particular interior minister Meir Sheetrit, opposed it.
Over the past month, immigrants arrived on five flights facilitated by Shavei Israel, a nonprofit organization aimed at strengthening ties with Jewish descendants around the world.
“This is an emotional day for all of us,” said Shavei Israel chairman Michael Freund.
“But we will not rest until all the remaining Bnei Menashe still in India are able to make aliya as well.”
CBN News Middle East Bureau Chief
Thursday, January 03, 2013
TEL AVIV - A "lost tribe" has come home to Israel and the return could be part of biblical prophecy.
CBN News was at Ben Gurion Airport when more than 50 members of the Bnei Menashe tribe made history.
The group was just the first of a long-awaited migration. Nearly 2,000 tribe members live in Israel, but five years ago the government stopped their return.
"I feel like I'm home," one tribe member said.
Another told CBN New they were, "excited, overwhelmed. And unexplainably, you know, feeling in my heart. I feel like crying. I'm emotional, total loss for words."
A recent decision now permits all the Bnei Menashe, about 7,000, to return.
"The ten tribes may have been lost to us for many centuries, but they were never lost in terms of their identity," Michael Freund, with Shavai Israel, told CBN News.
Freund worked for years to help bring about this moment. He said he believes the Bnei Menashe return fulfills of biblical prophecy.
"The prophet Isaiah says 'al tera qui ka ani,' which means 'fear not for I am with you, God says," Freund explained. "'Me israch avi zerecha,'" which translates 'from the east I will bring your descendants.'"
"These are the descendants of Israel and they are coming back from the east," he said. "It is as if the headline of today was written by Isaiah the prophet 25 or 2,600 years ago. It's a phenomenal thing."
The Assyrian Empire exiled the tribe of Manassah almost 3,000 years ago. Although they settled in northeast India, tribe members kept their Jewish roots for more than 2,000 years.
"In fact, the Hebrew prophets said when God gathered His Jewish people back from all the ends of the earth in the last days that there would be Gentiles helping and bringing them back," David Parsons, with the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, told CBN News.
"He said, 'I'll beckon to the Gentiles.' And so we have this invitation from God Himself to be involved in this Aliya," he said.
Another 300 tribe members are scheduled to arrive in January, with thousands more yet to come.
