100+ Bnei Menashe from India Immigrate to Israel

JERUSALEM, Israel – The ingathering of Jewish exiles continues this week with more than 100 members of India's Bnei Menashe (Manasseh) community due to arrive today and Thursday.

Historians believe the Bnei Menashe are descendants of the biblical tribe of Menashe, exiled more than 2,700 years ago by the Assyrian Empire.

The aliyah (immigration to Israel under the Law of Return) from India has been slow, but steady. In the past several years, Shavei Israel, founded and led by journalist Michael Freund, continues to play a significant role in the ingathering of India's ancient Jewish community.

Shavei Israel has helped more than 3,000 members of the Bnei Menashe community to immigrate to Israel over the past several years, with an estimated 7,000 still in India. Freund hopes to see at least 700 Bnei Menashe make aliyah this year in what he called "the largest-ever airlift in a single year."

"After 27 centuries of exile, this lost tribe of Israel is truly coming home, but we will not rest until all the remaining Bnei Menashe still in India are able to make aliyah as well," Freund said.