Netanyahu vows to bring entire Bnei Menashe community home to Israel

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pledged to bring the entire 6,000-member Bnei Menashe community from northeast India to Israel within the next four years, calling them “an inseparable part of the Jewish people” and declaring, “Israel is your home. Welcome back.”

Netanyahu made the announcement during a ceremony in Nof HaGalil honoring newly arrived members of the Bnei Menashe community, who recently fulfilled their dream of immigrating to Israel.

The Bnei Menashe, who live in the Indian states of Manipur and Mizoram, believe they are descendants of the biblical Tribe of Manasseh, one of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel exiled more than 2,700 years ago. After generations of preserving traditions they believe connect them to the Jewish people, thousands have undergone conversion recognized by Israel’s Chief Rabbinate and made aliyah.

Around 600 members have already arrived in Israel this year, with another 600 expected by the end of 2026 as the government advances a historic plan to reunite the entire community with the Jewish state. The new immigrants will settle in northern Israel, where they will receive Hebrew instruction, housing assistance, and support as they begin a new chapter in the homeland their ancestors longed to return to for centuries.