Why Israel is bringing Manipur’s ‘lost tribe’ home from India’s Northeast

Israel this week welcomed 240 new immigrants from the Bnei Menashe community of Manipur in Northeast India, marking the start of a major government-backed initiative to bring thousands more members of the community from the region to Israel over the coming years.

The arrivals landed at Ben-Gurion Airport on April 23 as part of Operation “Wings of Dawn,” a joint programme led by Israel’s Aliyah and Integration Ministry and the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI). Officials described the flight as the first in a series of planned arrivals in the coming weeks. Around 600 immigrants are expected in three phases under the immediate rollout of the initiative.

Many of the new arrivals are young families who will initially stay in absorption centres in Nof HaGalil, where some are expected to reunite with relatives who had immigrated in earlier years. Additional settlement arrangements are also planned in Kiryat Yam.

According to The Jerusalem Post, the wider plan seeks to relocate the remaining members of the Bnei Menashe community currently residing in Mizoram and Manipur. Under the proposal, around 1,200 more immigrants are expected by the end of 2026, while the complete relocation of nearly 6,000 community members is projected by 2030.

The initiative follows an Israeli government decision approved in November and backed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Aliyah and Integration Minister Ofir Sofer and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. Officials said the effort is intended to reunite separated families and support the long-term integration of the community into Israeli society.

Israeli authorities said the operation is being coordinated with several state agencies, including the Foreign Ministry, Population and Immigration Authority and Conversion Authority, alongside international Jewish organisations and pro-Israel groups.

At a formal reception ceremony, attended by senior officials including Jewish Agency chairman Doron Almog, World Zionist Organisation chair Yaakov Hagoel and Sephardic Chief Rabbi David Yosef, Minister Sofer welcomed the immigrants, saying: “We are making history as we bring the entire Bnei Menashe community to Israel. There is no more fitting and moving time to welcome a plane full of olim than right after the State's 78th Independence Day. Welcome home.”

Almog said the arrivals represented a continuation of the Zionist vision. “Aliyah is the State of Israel’s growth engine, and every new oleh is a lighthouse of hope,” he said, adding that the responsibility now extends beyond arrival to ensuring successful integration, opportunity and dignity.

Who Are the Bnei Menashe?

The Bnei Menashe are a community from India’s Northeast who claim descent from the biblical Tribe of Manasseh, one of the lost tribes of ancient Israel. According to community tradition, their ancestors were exiled after the Assyrian conquest of the Kingdom of Israel in 722 BC and gradually migrated eastward through Persia, Afghanistan, Tibet and China before eventually settling in present-day Northeast India.

Today, the community is concentrated mainly in Manipur and Mizoram. In Manipur, many members are socially classified within Kuki tribal communities, though they follow Judaism rather than Christianity, which became dominant among many tribal groups in the region during the early 20th century.

Asaf Renthlei, a sociology researcher from IIT Delhi, told India Today that “Bnei means children, and Menashe refers to Manasseh,” while explaining the identity and historical narrative of the group.

Why Many Seek to Move to Israel

Religion remains one of the central motivations for migration. Several members of the community have said access to Jewish religious life is limited in remote hill areas of Northeast India.

Benjamin Haokip, a resident of Manipur, told The New York Times that observing all customs was difficult in the hills. “Some prayers require a minyan or quorum, which is hard to find in the hills. We want to go to Israel for our religion,” he said. A minyan refers to the quorum of ten Jewish adults required for certain religious obligations.

Community members have also cited limited access to kosher food, Hebrew education and Jewish cultural resources. Many prospective migrants have reportedly begun learning Hebrew through digital platforms such as Duolingo.

Economic opportunity is another major factor. Many Bnei Menashe families in Northeast India are engaged in farming or manual labour, while those who migrated earlier to Israel have reportedly found employment in trucking, construction and services with significantly higher incomes.

Ngamthenlal, a Hebrew teacher in Manipur, told The New York Times that life in Israel also offered stronger educational prospects. “Other things are better there too, like education,” he said.

Daniel Hangshing, another community member, told The New York Times: “India is our birthplace, but Israel is our destiny. That is our promised land. We have to go there.”

Challenges of Integration

Despite the symbolic welcome, integration into Israeli society has not always been smooth. Earlier migrants from the community have spoken of cultural adjustment difficulties, economic hardship and instances of racism. Some have reported being stereotyped because of their East and Southeast Asian features.

Even so, the latest arrivals represent a significant new phase in one of the most unusual migration stories linking South Asia and the Middle East — a movement shaped by faith, identity, geopolitics and economic aspiration, with roots stretching from the hills of Northeast India to the modern state of Israel.

(Inputs from India Today)