250 Bnei Menashe Arrive in Israel Under Immigration Program

Around 250 members of India's Bnei Menashe community arrived at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport on Thursday, marking the first group in a Israeli government program to relocate thousands of people who claim descent from one of the biblical lost tribes of Israel.

The newcomers, hailing from the northeastern Indian states of Manipur and Mizoram, were greeted by well-wishers singing traditional Jewish songs under a balloon arch in Israel's blue-and-white national colors. Immigration Minister Ofir Sofer welcomed them, describing the event as a "historic moment" and the start of an operation to bring 1,200 members annually. Officials plan to facilitate the immigration of about 5,800 remaining community members by 2030 under the initiative known as Operation Wings of Dawn, which the government approved in November.

The Bnei Menashe, numbering around 10,000 in total, believe they trace their roots to the tribe of Manasseh, exiled by Assyrian conquerors around 722 B.C. Their oral traditions recount a migration through Persia, Afghanistan, Tibet, and China before settling in India's remote northeast. Ethnically linked to the Kuki people, who speak Tibeto-Burman languages, many converted to...