A group of around 50 Bnei Menashe Jews from India immigrated to Israel on Tuesday. The new Israelis, said to descend from one of the 10 lost tribes, were greeted at Ben-Gurion International Airport by Immigrant Absorption Minister Sofa Landver. The group's move to Israel was facilitated by the Shavei Israel organization. The Bnei Menashe, from northeastern India, say they are descended from Jews banished from ancient Israel to India in the eighth century BCE. In 2005, then-Sephardi Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar recognized them as a lost tribe, and about 1,700 moved to Israel before the Israeli government stopped giving them visas. The government later reversed that policy, allowing Bnei Menashe immigration to resume. In 2014, around 500 Bnei Menashe Jews have moved to Israel.
50 Indian Jews from 'lost tribe' move to Israel
Group of Bnei Menashe Jews, said to descend from one of the 10 lost tribes, arrive at Ben-Gurion International Airport, greeted by Immigrant Absorption Minister Sofa Landver • Around 500 Bnei Menashe Jews have moved to Israel in 2014.
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