Are 6,000 Christian Indians the lost sons of the tribe of Manasseh

Researchers at the Technion are comparing DNA samples of the members of the Indian tribe to the Jewish genetic profile. An Indian study showed a closeness between the women of the tribe and the Jews

Israel has decided to adopt about 6,000 Indians who claim Jewish origin and plans to send a team of riflemen to convert them. This is according to the Haaretz newspaper, a report that was transmitted by news agencies all over the world.
in the news agencies and caused echoes all over the world
The mass conversion was done at the request of Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar, who allowed the members of the group, Bnei Menashe, who claim to be descendants of the lost tribe of Israel, to immigrate to Israel.
The chief rabbi's office was closed on Friday, so it was not possible to get his response, according to the AP agency.
In 732 BC the Assyrians exiled the children of the Kingdom of Israel and took 10 of the 12 tribes into exile, and their children were scattered among many nations. The return of the ten tribes to their homeland was seen by many as the fulfillment of biblical prophecy and as the coming of the Messiah.
The Menashes were animists when they were created by British missionaries in the 19th century. In 1953, the leader of the tribe, Melanchala, dreamed that his people were to return to Israel. The tribe adopted or perhaps re-adopted Jewish traditions.
However, the connection to the people of Israel was never proven, so they were not allowed to immigrate to Israel according to the Law of Return.

Genetic research will check whether the "sons of Manasseh" are Jews

About five months ago, the results of a genetic study conducted there by the "Central Forensic Laboratory" (a sort of Indian equivalent of the "Institute of Forensic Medicine" in Abu Kabir) were published in India, regarding the genetic origin of the members of the Kuki-Chin-Mizu tribe. The members of the tribe, who live in the states of Manipur and Mizoram in northeastern India, hold a tradition according to which they are descendants of the Menashe tribe, one of the ten tribes exiled by the Assyrian kingdom in the eighth century BC, and since then their traces have disappeared. The study compared DNA samples taken from several hundred members of the tribe with DNA samples taken from known Jews, as well as members of other tribes living near the Kukis and who served as a control group.

The result of the study is very interesting: on the one hand, no relationship was found on the male side of the genetic chain (chromosome Y) between the genetic profile of the Kuki people and the Jewish profile, or the Middle Eastern people in general. On the other hand, on the female side of the genetic profile ("mitochondrial DNA") a certain closeness was found to the genetic profile of the people of the Middle East as well as to that of the Jews of Uzbekistan (who also have a tradition of referring to the ten tribes), a closeness that distinguishes the Kuki people compared to members of other tribes living near them. The team of investigators stated that Kuki's claim of Jewish origin "cannot be ruled out".

Bassiyar Mayiti, one of the study's editors, says that the initiative for the study is the Indian government's, as part of a comprehensive study it is conducting on the data of the various groups in the country.

At the same time as the Indian research, it turns out that in recent months genetic research on the origin of the "sons of Menashe" (the nickname chosen for themselves by those thousands of members of the Kuki tribe who began in recent decades to adopt a Jewish life) is also being conducted at the Technion in Haifa. Prof. Carl Skortsky, director of the "Rapoport Institute for Scientific Research at the Technion", says that the research is conducted in a similar way to that of the research in India: collecting DNA samples from the Kuki people and comparing them, on the one hand, to the Jewish genetic profile, and on the other hand, to the genetic profile of tribes close to them in the area their residences. According to him, his team has not yet reached the stage where conclusions can be drawn.

On the other hand, he maintains that it is difficult to trust the conclusions of the Indian study, at least as they have been published so far: "From the conversations I had with you, it became clear that they did not conduct a complete 'genetic sequencing' of the entire DNA, and therefore it is difficult to trust conclusions derived from 'partial sequencing,' And they themselves admit it." He also emphasizes that in any case the results of the study will not provide an unequivocal answer regarding the origin of the cookie: "Genetic incompatibility still does not mean that the cookie does not originate from the people of Israel, because it may be difficult to identify the remains of the common genetic origin after thousands of years. On the other hand, a positive answer can give a significant indication."

The two genetic studies take place at a crucial time for the Jewish future of the sons of Menashe. The change of ministers in the Ministry of the Interior allows the members of the tribe and their public patrons, members of the "Amishab" and "Shabi Israel" associations, to hope that the freeze on immigration instituted by the previous Minister of the Interior, Avraham Forez, will be stopped, and perhaps even the quota of immigrants that was used before him (XNUMX people per year at most) will be raised. The chief rabbi, Shlomo Amar, sent two emissaries to India last August to re-examine the rabbinate's position regarding them, assuming that if the rabbinate does recognize their connection to the people of Israel, it will also raise its voice to encourage their immigration. Yesterday, a meeting was held at Amr's office on the subject, and at the end of it, it was decided to continue the activity of returning the members of the group to Judaism and even conduct conversions in India itself (since in any case, the members of the group must undergo a full conversion before being recognized as Jews) - which should force the Ministry of the Interior to approve their immigration, according to the law of every Jew.

The tribe numbers about one and a quarter million people

Rabbi Eliyahu Avihil, who has been tracing the descendants of the Ten Tribes for decades and their connection to Israel and even founded the "Amishab" association for this purpose, is the one who connected the Kuki to Israel. According to him, Kuki-Chin-Mizu are three names of one tribe, the Shinlong, which numbers about one and a quarter million people (according to the tribe members, they number four million). In his book "The Tribes of Israel" Avichail says that in the tradition of the tribe, many customs were preserved that remind of the Torah.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, following an encounter with Christian missionaries, the members of this tribe went through an intensive process of Christianization. However, the tradition that binds them to the people of Israel in general and to the tribes of Manasseh and Ephraim in particular, has not disappeared. In the early XNUMXs, a movement of return to Judaism developed among them, the "Jews of North-East India", which began with the establishment of Jewish communities and synagogues, circumcision ceremonies and observance of Sabbaths and holidays. The members of the group even send their children to be educated at the Jewish school in Bombay - on the other, western end of India.

Avihil traveled to India to examine the group and decided that their tradition was reliable. Therefore, he began to work for the elevation of those interested in returning to Judaism to Israel. According to him, today there are only about 7,000 people: "This is an area in a fairly good economic situation, and people have no economic interest in arriving en masse in Israel. Those who are interested in immigration are those who are really interested in returning to Judaism." Avihil emphasizes that for him, the genetic research is meaningless and he refused to cooperate with its editors: "I believe in the origin of this group from the people of Israel not because of genetic considerations, and in general Jewish identity is not determined by genetics but by lifestyle and signs of cultural identity."

There is no official Israeli policy

In recent years, another supporter joined the acquaintances of Kuki's Jewish origin. This is Hillel Halkin, a secular journalist and translator. This tribe intrigued him and he made a trip to India, the description and conclusions of which appeared in a book he published about three years ago called "Across the Sabbath River" (an allusion to the legend according to which the descendants of the ten tribes live beyond the legendary Sambation River, which flows every day of the week and rests on the Sabbath). Halkin discovered many Jewish traditions, even more than those discovered by Avihil, as well as texts and prayers that are very reminiscent of Jewish prayers. Halkin, who actually cooperated with the research at the Technion and even organized the bringing of the samples to Israel, believes that the genetic research is indeed interesting but will not tip the scales in his favor.

The Israeli government was never asked to formulate, and in any case did not establish, an official policy regarding the status of Bnei Menashe. However, since 1992 Avihil has reached an "understanding" with several interior ministers on the permit for the immigration of about a hundred people a year. The winners of the aliyah permit come to Israel as tourists, without immigrant rights. They convert and only then officially receive immigrant status and citizenship. To date, about 800 Menashe children have arrived in Israel, a number lower than the quota given to them. Most of the immigrants settled in the territories - in Gush Katif (about 250 people), in Ofra, Beit El, in Kiryat Arba - as well as in Jerusalem. Rabbi Eliyahu Birenboim, another of the group's patrons, explains the choice of the territories by saying that "there are communities there that have opened their arms and give them a warm reception, which is of course essential for such a group, the low apartment prices also have an effect."

Ezra Chak-Chavak, one of Menashe's sons who were absorbed into Gush Katif, came to Israel about four years ago, studied and went through a conversion process in Jerusalem, and then came to Nuh Dekalim. Today he is the father of a child and studies at the local yeshiva "Torat Chaim". According to him, he came to the settlement "because Rabbi Avichail sent me to study here", but is satisfied with his reception. Like most of his friends in the Yishuv, he hopes that the evacuation decision will not be implemented, and especially that "ten thousand of our brothers will come here, and then they won't be able to move us." However, he emphasizes that if the evacuation is carried out, "we will not resist by force." We are not violent people, and we certainly won't hurt our brothers. If God wants us to leave, we will leave quietly."

Advertisement As mentioned, the previous Minister of the Interior Forez also canceled the limited immigration quota previously given to Bnei Menashe. Chak-Chavak and Birenbaum suspect him that the reason for this is their anger over their settlement in Yesha. But Porez's assistant, Tibi Rabinovitch, says that "when we entered the office, it became clear that their immigration permit was never based on any official decision, so we froze it until a new review." Forez even considered traveling to India to investigate the issue. But then the people of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs came and asked us not to do this, because it would harm our relations with India and the whole matter is not acceptable to it. Beyond that, all the experts you consulted told us that we wouldn't dare touch it, because it would become a 'bottomless barrel' of millions of Indians seeking to immigrate to Israel."

Avihil and Birenbaum reject the claim and maintain that the number of applicants for aliyah and return to Judaism has remained stable throughout the last few years, even in the years when the possibility of aliyah existed.

The office of the new Minister of the Interior, Ofir Pines, said that "at this stage, the intention is to continue with the policy of Forez and not to approve their immigration." Freund from the "Shabi Israel" association says that his organization will continue to fight for a comprehensive examination of the issue: "It is impossible that an issue that affects the lives of so many people will be decided without any orderly examination of the issue and getting to know the members of the group."

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