Israel to bring all Bnei Menashe Jews from India by 2030

Israel's government has approved a proposal to bring all the remaining 5,800 Jews from India's north-eastern region, commonly referred to as Bnei Menashe, over the next five years amid ethnic tensions in the Manipur and Mizoram regions, the premier’s office announces in a statement. According to the cabinet resolution, 1,200 members of the community will immigrate by the end of 2026, and by 2030, the government expects to complete the arrival of some 5,800 additional immigrants. The move is intended to bring the entire Bnei Menashe community to Israel and reunite families with members who have already moved to the country, according to the statement.
The newcomers will be absorbed in Nof HaGalil and other northern cities, the statement adds.Over the past two decades, approximately 4,000 members of the community have immigrated to Israel under previous government decisions, and the government now seeks to complete the process of bringing the entire community, the premier’s office adds. It will be the first time that the Jewish Agency will be leading the entire pre-immigration process - eligibility interviews together with the Chief Rabbinate of Israel, the Conversion Authority, and the Population and Immigration Authority - organising the flights for eligible candidates and managing their absorption in Israel.The plan is estimated to require a special budget of 90 million shekels (USD 27 million) to cover the costs of the flights of these immigrants, their conversion classes, housing, Hebrew lessons, and other special benefits.
A professional and expanded delegation of rabbis is likely to leave for India in the coming days. "It will be the largest delegation sent to date and the first in more than a decade. The delegation will interview the first half of the community, about 3,000 Bnei Menashe who have first-degree relatives in Israel," the announcement read. There have been intense debates around the Jewishness of Bnei Menashe in the past, but in 2005, the then Chief Rabbi of the Sephardi community, Rabbi Shlomo Amar, recognised them as "descendants of Israel", paving the way for their immigration to Israel. The community claims that it belongs to the Menashe tribe, one of the 10 tribes pushed into exile by the Assyrians some 2,700 years ago. Around 2,500 community members already live in Israel, and local media reports say that most of the youngsters in the community serve in combat units of the Israel Defence Forces.