Aizawl, February 1: Around 300 members of the Bnei Menashe, also known locally as Mizo Jews, are preparing to migrate to Israel later this month, according to community leaders in Mizoram.
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Bnei Menashe leaders said the group, comprising people from Mizoram and Manipur, is currently making arrangements for the journey and is expected to be ready to leave India by the end of the month. While the migrants were selected in early December last year, the final list of those who will travel in this phase is yet to be officially announced.
To carry out the selection process, a team of nine Jewish Rabbis, along with representatives from the Jewish Agency for Israel and officials from the Embassy of Israel in India, visited Aizawl for about 10 days. During the visit, aspirants seeking to migrate appeared before the team for verification.
Community leaders said that those eligible for migration must be registered members of the Bnei Menashe community. Male applicants are required to be circumcised, and all applicants must have formally converted to Judaism and demonstrate adequate knowledge and practice of Jewish religious traditions. In addition, applicants are screened to ensure they are no longer practising Christianity. After reaching Israel, they will be required to stay for at least six months before becoming eligible to apply for Israeli passports.
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Bnei Menashe leaders also stated that members of the community who have already migrated to Israel are expected to receive certain preferential support during the resettlement process.
Recently, the Israeli government approved the migration of around 6,000 Bnei Menashe members from India’s northeastern states of Mizoram and Manipur by 2030. As part of this plan, the current batch of around 300 people from both states is scheduled to be the first group to migrate.
Bnei Menashe leader Jeremiah L. Hnamte told Akashvani News Aizawl that the list of selected migrants is expected to be announced soon by the visiting Rabbis, marking a significant step forward in the long-awaited return of the community to Israel.
