A new wave of migration has brought over 250 Indians to Israel, where they were received at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv under a state-supported resettlement programme.
The new arrivals are members of the Bnei Menashe community from India’s northeastern region. They identify themselves as descendants of the ancient Tribe of Manasseh one of the biblical “lost tribes” believed to have been dispersed by the Assyrian Empire around 720 BC.
Israeli authorities have endorsed a broader plan to facilitate the immigration of about 4,600 members of this community from Manipur in phases. The initiative is part of a long-running effort to reconnect and integrate groups claiming historical links to ancient Israelite heritage.
Support organisations such as Shavei Israel report that roughly 4,000 members of the Bnei Menashe have already made the move to Israel since the 1990s, while thousands more remain in India awaiting relocation.
The community’s oral traditions describe centuries of migration across regions including Persia, Afghanistan, Tibet, and China, along with the preservation of select religious customs they associate with early Jewish practice. Over time, many were also influenced by 19th-century Christian missionary activity in India.
Upon arrival, new immigrants are required to undergo formal conversion procedures before gaining full citizenship rights under Israeli law.
Government officials, including Integration Minister , Ofir Sofer, have described the latest arrivals as part of a meaningful and historic phase in the ongoing resettlement programme, which is expected to continue at a rate of about 1,200 individuals per year.
The group is expected to be settled in northern Israel, where integration efforts will focus on housing, cultural adjustment, and community support as they begin life in a new country.
