Israel's Chief Rabbinate Officially Recognizes Benei Menashe of India, Burma & Thailand As Descendants Of The Lost Tribe Of Menashe – 6,000 To Be Brought To Israel Over Coming Years

Israel's Chief Rabbinate, at the urging of grass-roots groups, has offically recognized the Benei Menashe Tribe of India, Burma and Thailand as "descendants of Jews." The tribe claims descent from the Biblical tribe of Menashe, one of the 10 lost tibes of Israel.

6,000 members of Benei Menashe will be brought to Israel in the coming years.

The rabbinate is sending a conversion court to India to supervise the conversion process of the entire tribe.

This is exactly what large parts of the Israeli government fears. An influx of third world "potential Jews" with few marketable skills.

The inexplicable review by JDC offical Amir Shaviv of Stephen Spector's new book on Operation Solomon (please see the post below this one) is a response to this fear.

Is it a coincidence that Shaviv's review appears in this week's Forward?

Surely not.

Comments

[John K. Diamond]

This is wonderful news!!!!

Several years ago, the B'nei Menashe were featured on a video about the search for the "Ten Lost Tribes" which I purchased and viewed many times.

Praise Hashem!!!!!!

[Mifletz]

Notice how the Bnei Menashe are looking forward to mikveh & full geirus: a sign that they have "chelek Elokai mema'al neshomos" (Tanya ch 32).

How unlike the Falashas, 99.999% of whom refuse on pain of death to this day to step into the mikveh or have hatofos hadam: a sure sign that they are plain Ethiopian black Cushan Chom goyisher nefoshos m'gimel klippos hatemeyos l'gamrei (Tanya ch 1) & who threaten Eretz Yisroel with AIDS & future back-stabbing collusion with the Bnei Yishmoel, Erev Rav, Klippos d'Tarmodai & Gog uMagog!

[Ariel Sokolovsky]

By the grace of G-d
Shalom uBrocha!
Mifletz there are historical reasons for the respective behaviour of both communities Ethiopeans have some for of organized religious Jewish leadership who have respect of the community and their own interpretation of various halochos which is somewhat similar to Karaite interpretation.With that and the incitement of the Sohnut people who brought them to Israel not to convert it's much harder for them to overcome their emotions and follow logic that would dictate that it's right and is within their own best interest to halachikly convert.
Most of the Bnei Menashe from India have converted to Christianity tricked by missionarys who were the ones to actualy discover them in the begining of the centure however later many of them realized that Christianity is false and started returning to Judaism thus they had to bring in Rabbinic leadership from the outside to teach and guide them so they have more respect for halachik norms and it's easier for them to convert.
Unless you want to argue that Ethiopeans are from the tribe of Dan many of whom never abandoned idolworship even in the generation of the desert.But #1 that would defeat your whole arguement that they are not descendants of the Jews and #2 it would simply mean that their tikkun is harder and thus didn't happen yet for most of them for whatever reason.And despite their current behaviour I can also quote to you from the same chapter of Tanya # 32 you are quoting: as for the soul and spirit, the differences between his own soul and that of his fellow surely will not diminish the love between them, for who can know their (the soul and spirit’s) greatness and excellence in their source and root — the living G‑d

How, then, can one claim that his soul is superior to his fellow’s

בשגם שכולן מתאימות, ואב אחד לכולנה

Furthermore, they are actually all equal; 2 and not only equal yet separate, but, furthermore, they all have one father — one source, and within their source they all comprise one entity.

ולכן נקראו כל ישראל אחים ממש מצד שורש נפשם בה׳ אחד

It is on account of this common root in the One G‑d that all of Israel are called “brothers” — in the full sense of the word, and not only figuratively, in the sense of “relatives” or “similar in appearance” and the like; 3

רק שהגופים מחולקים

only the bodies are distinct from each other.
http://www.chabad.org/library/archive/LibraryArchive2.asp?AID=7911

with respect and blessing:
Ariel Sokolovsky
Long Live our Master our Teacher and our Rebbe King Moshiach Forever and Ever!

[Paqach]

Mifletz u r a true mifletzet .
U are tomei , so with your dead rabbis as well as those alive , all the way down from the tanya. Calling you Amolek would be a compliment.
Yochress hashem sifssey cholokos loyshon medaberet gedoylos

[Ariel Sokolovsky]

By the grace of G-d
Shalom uBrocha!
Shmarya give credit where credit is clealy due even by your standards why don't you mention the connection of the Rebbe King Moshiach Shlit"a to the return of Bnei Menashe is it a symptom of your rebbephobia or a simple case of bad journalism?:-)

here is a link for your readers who want to know the truth and there is also story in Beis Moshiach somewhere i'll try to find and post here that gives more info on the Rebbe's help in bringing back Benei Menashe
http://216.239.63.104/search?q=cache:NujLZUGZeawJ:www.kulanu.org/india/menasheschildren.html+Bnei+Menashe+lubavitcher++rebbe+india&hl=en

Think about this Rabbi Avichail (who brought many of the lost tribes back to Eretz Yisrael )didn't go ahead bringing them back before getting encouragement from the Rebbe King Moshiach Shlit"a ...
Chabad also established schools for them in India.
I seriously think Shmarya is not working hard enough to expand his "good news section" doesn't he want at least to apear objective...?
Brocha veHatzlocha
Ariel Sokolovsky
http://www.bostonchabad.com
Long Live our Master our Teacher and our Rebbe King Moshiach Forever and Ever!

Are Ethiopic Schwartzers who are tested & found to be HIV+ allowed to emigrate to Israel?

[SS]

Who cares if the Rabbanut accepts them. Haven't you heard how the London Beth Din doesn't accept the confeersions of the rabbinate.

[Harbona]

Mr SS (sic)
no , I haven't heard , which LBD are u talking about ?
Any proof ?

[Shmarya]

See my new post. Sadly, this sick news seems to be true.

[pushkina]

my father (of ethiopian descent), of blessed memory, used to tell me to stay away from american jews and american orthos in particular because " they haven't got jewish souls."

reading the comments of some of the posters here confirms this.

"Are Ethiopic Schwartzers who are tested & found to be HIV+ allowed to emigrate to Israel?"

let me ask you this: are rumanian gonaivim from constanza (a place notorious as the entry point for AIDS into the balkans) tested and allowed into israel?

are russian mamzerim tested and allowed into israel?

i think the answer is yes.

after having lived in boro park and crown heights for years, i am and remain ashamed of the ignorance that flourishes there...in the name of yiddishkeit.

in ethiopia, whilst the yidden of europe slobbered after shabtai zvi, the jews of ethiopia heard of their debasement and prayed for them and their redemption and return to the true ways of torah.

after reading some of the posters here and having faced the overt racism of central and eastern european jews, i see that those prayers remain unanswered.

you should be ashamed of yourselves. i know that i am of you.

[Now What?]

Check out this http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/562474.html

So much for no Chabad schools accepting them....

Shmarya, maybe, just maybe, you made a little mistake somewhere along the way and this whole site is based on nothing.

[Shmarya]

Dude, don't be stupid.

1. She came as a child in 1981.
2. She had a full conversion.
3. She married an Ashkenazi in Israel, therefore she was recognized as a Jew without question by the Rabbinute.
4. Her story is atypical. Most Ethiopian Jews had a pro forma conversion and are not married to Ashkenazim.
5. In more than one year of challenging Chabad about this issue, all we have are two small 1/2 Ethiopian children in a kindergarten. Against that we have articles by Haaretz, the Jerusalem Post, the Christian Science Monitor and reports from the Ethiopian community itself, all saying that Chabad banns Ethiopian from its schools. On top of that, we have my personal experience with Berke Wolf, o.h.

We don't even know if the Chabad gan realized the children were 1/2 Ethiopian when they took them. Remember, their family name is ROSENTHAL.

[mosh]

The Bney Menashe are of all the Lost tribes candidates the most unlikely! They are not Jewish, never were considered by any one and their story is tied to appearance of British Christian missionaries in Burma! So, it is clear that they have to undergo full giyur. Unlike the Beta Israel, who were considered Jewish by Halakhic authorities of past as well as those of our days! Radbaz, Rav Ovadiya Yosef, Rav Moshe Feinstein and many others! I can understand why they refuse to undergo full giyur, it is really shame, to read such crap produced by "frum" jews! Shame and more shame on you!

[yishay]

We have to remember first that a jew is the one who comes from the tribe of yehuda and binyamin. the sh'chorim ha'goyim mi'ethiopa were never jews, shivah was ethiopian and there is no proof of her convertion, even if there was one, a jew is born not made. there is no magic stick to turn GOYIM into jews or anything like that, furthermore israel is not a safe haven for any refugee who is looking for money or any better life, we have enough problems in israel to deal with, we dont need the help of those blood-suckers black goyim nor anyone else who enters israel with false pretentions. we are being infested already and G-d forbid within 10-15 years the state of israel will have a goyim identity rather than a jewish one. we are already losing it, we have become the shame of the world and a huge laughing stock for our enemies, we have fought too many wars,the blood of our purest sons has been shed, for what??? for those goyim who only defile our jewishness and our beautiful land???
SIMPLY WE CANNOT TOLERATE IT!!!
lets stop together the atrocities that sochnut hayehudit does, we have to stop the goyim aliyah now!!!
because staying still is cooperating with the transgressors
for anyone who shares my views please contact bneizion@hotmail.com

[Yochana]

Hi yishay,

You are a jewish fool.