Bnei Menashe

The Bnei Menashe ("Children of Menasseh", Hebrew בני מנשה) are a small group of Jews from India 's northeastern states of Manipur and Mizoram , claiming descent from the Ten Lost Tribes , specifically, from the tribe of Menasseh (Menashe, in Hebrew). They come from the Shinlung tribes, and speak Mizo and Kuki .

Ethnic group The Bnei Menashe ("Children of Menasseh ", Hebrew בני מנשה) are a group of more than 9,000 people from India 's North-Eastern border states of Manipur and Mizoram who claim descent from one of the Lost Tribes of Israel . The claim appeared after a Pentecostalist dreamt in 1951 that his people's pre-Christian religion was Judaism and that their original homeland was Israel . Linguistically, Bnei Menashe are Tibeto-Burmans and belong to the Mizo , Kuki and Chin peoples (the terms are virtually interchangeable) . They are called Chin in Burma . Depending upon their affiliations, each tribe refers to itself as Kuki, Mizo, Zomi or Chin. It is however more common for people to identify themselves by their subtribe, each of which has its own distinct dialect and identity.

Group of Jews from India Ethnic group The Bnei Menashe ( , "Children of Menasseh ") are an ethnolinguistic group in India 's North-Eastern border states of Manipur and Mizoram . Since the late 20th century, the Chin, Kuki, and Mizo peoples of this particular group claim descent from one of the Lost Tribes of Israel and have adopted the practice of Judaism . In the late 20th century, Israeli rabbi Eliyahu Avichail, of the group Amishav , named these people the Bnei Menashe, based on their account of descent from Menasseh . Most of the other residents of these two northeast states, who number more than 3.7 million and share their ethnic ancestry, do not identify with these claims. Prior to conversion in the 19th century to Christianity by Welsh Baptist and Evangelical missionaries, the Chin, Kuki, and Mizo peoples were animists ; among their practices was ritual headhunting . Most of those who now identify as Bnei Menashe had converted to Christianity. But in 1951, one of their tribal leaders reported having a dream that his people's ancient homeland was Israel. Since the late 20th century, some of these peoples have begun embracing the idea that they were Jews, while keeping the belief that Jesus is the Messiah. The Bnei Menashe are a small group who started studying and practicing Judaism since the 1970s in a desire to return to what they believe is the religion of their ancestors. The total population of Manipur and Mizoram is more than 3.7 million. The Bnei Menashe are estimated by Shavei Israel to number around 10,000; close to 3,000 have emigrated to Israel. In 2003–2004 DNA testing showed that several hundred men of this group had no evidence of Middle Eastern ancestry. A Kolkata study in 2005, which has been criticized, suggested that a small number of women sampled may have some Middle Eastern ancestry, but this may also have resulted from intermarriage during the thousands of years of migration of Jewish peoples. In the early 21st century, Israel halted immigration by the Bnei Menashe; after a change in government, the immigration was allowed again. The chief rabbi of Israel ruled in 2005 that the Bnei Menashe were recognized as part of a lost tribe. After undergoing the process for formal conversion, they will be allowed aliyah (immigration).

Group of Jews from northeast India Ethnic group The Bnei Menashe ( , "Children of Menasseh ", known as the Shinlung in India ) is a community of Indian Jews from various Tibeto-Burmese ethnic groups from the border of India and Burma who claim descent from one of the Lost Tribes of Israel ; some of them have adopted Judaism . The community has around 10,000 members. The movement began in 1951 when a tribal leader reported having a dream that his people's ancient homeland was Israel ; some tribal members began embracing the idea that they were Jews . Before the movement's start, the community was largely a Christian one. Members are from the Chin , Kuki , and Mizo ethnic groups amongst others. In the late 20th century, Israeli rabbi Eliyahu Avichail, of the group Amishav , named these people the "Bnei Menashe" based on their account of descent from Menasseh . In 2003–2004, DNA testing of several hundred male community members did not yield conclusive evidence of Middle Eastern ancestry. In 2005, a Kolkata-based study found evidence of maternally descended Near Eastern ancestry but suggested the findings were an artifact of thousands of years of intermarriage between peoples of the Near and Middle East. In the early 21st century, Israel halted immigration by the Bnei Menashe; after a change in government, the immigration was allowed again. The chief rabbi of Israel ruled in 2005 that the Bnei Menashe were recognized as part of a lost tribe. After undergoing the process for formal conversion, they will be allowed aliyah (immigration). The Times of Israel . "Tracking the genetic imprints of lost Jewish tribes among the gene pool of Kuki-Chin-Mizo population of India" .

Group of self-claimed Jews from northeast India Ethnic group The Bnei Menashe ( Hebrew : בני מנשה , "Children of Menasseh ", known as the Shinlung in India ) is a community of Indian Jews from various Tibeto-Burmese ethnic groups from the border of India and Burma who claim descent from one of the Lost Tribes of Israel , allegedly based on the Hmar belief in an ancestor named Manmasi. Some of them have adopted Judaism . The community has around 10,000 members. The movement began in 1951, when a tribal leader reported having a dream that his people's ancient homeland was Israel ; some tribal members began embracing the idea that they were Jews . Before the movement's start, the community was largely a Christian one. Members are from the Chin , Kuki , and Mizo ethnic groups amongst others. In the late 20th century, Israeli rabbi Eliyahu Avichail, of the group Amishav , named these people the "Bnei Menashe" based on their account of descent from Manasseh . In 2003–2004, DNA testing of several hundred male community members did not yield conclusive evidence of Middle Eastern ancestry. In 2005, a Kolkata -based study found evidence of maternally descended Near Eastern ancestry but suggested the findings were an artifact of thousands of years of intermarriage between peoples of the Near and Middle East. Israel did not formally support immigration of the Bnei Menashe until 2005, when Rabbi Shlomo Amar , then Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel , recognized the Bnei Menashe as a lost tribe. Even today, Bnei Menashe must seek special dispensation from the Knesset to make aliyah . The Times of Israel . "Tracking the genetic imprints of lost Jewish tribes among the gene pool of Kuki-Chin-Mizo population of India" . "MKs push gov't to greenlight aliyah for 5,000 Bnei Menashe from India" . 2024.