Aizawl, February 17, 2017, Virthli (ONP): In yet another wave of Jews
migration, about 102 lost Jews from
Mizoram have migrated to the promise land- Israel. A group of Mizo Jews who called
themselves as Bnei Menashe left for Israel on last Sunday, Monday and Tuesday and
the entire group arrived in Tel Aviv on Tuesday and Thursday.
Khazzan, a religious leader of Bnei
Menashe in Mizoram Jeremiah Laltlanmawia said the migrated ethnic Mizo Jews
would be formally converted to Judaism once they arrive in Israel after which they will
be sent to their respective places and assign jobs.
The new immigrants are expected to
live in
the northern Israeli city of Nazareth Illit, which already has a flourishing
Bnei Menashe community.
Laltlanmawia said that though they
have already followed Judaism in Mizoram they have to do conversion in Israel
as they are the lost tribe and not resemble to the Jews of United States.
"Conversion in Israel itself is crucial and the Jewish custom has to be
learnt first," he added.
He said that the migrated Mizo Jews
would be accorded citizenship on their arrival in Israel and would be given
voting rights.
Despite their wishes, conversion
could not be done in Mizoram due to some inconveniences, he said.
Though
the Mizo Jews call themselves the lost tribes of Israel, they cannot become
citizens of that country unless and until they are formally converted by a
'mikveh' or Jewish spiritual bath (a kind of baptism).
The Bnei Menashe community who
migrated this time moved in family including infants and three old citizens
aged about 80, while there are few who left Mizoram without their family. They
are mostly from Sialhawk, Kolasib, Bairabi, Lunglei and Aizawl.
The immigration is being facilitated
by Shavei
Israel, an Israeli-based Jewish organization that reaches out to descendants of
Jews around the world.
The Bnei Menashe claimed that they
are descended from Menashe, the lost tribe of Israel who departed the promised
land in the eight century BC.
The present batch of Mizo Jews
migrated to Israel belong to a group of 7500 people from Mizoram and Manipur
whose immigration programe has been undertaken by the interior ministry of Israel
government, Jeremiah said, adding the time for next immigration of new batch is
yet to be known.
Among the Zo descendants in Manipur
and Mizoram there are some group who identified themselves as the lost tribe of
Israel and the Zo descendants in Manipur already started following Judaism in
1974 two years before Judaism was introduced in Mizoram.
The first batch of Mizo Jews comprising
six youths (boys and girls) from Mizoram migrated to Israel in 1989 and
more than 3,000 ethnic Mizos have migrated till date from the northeast.
