Waiting for the magic carpet
By Natasha Mozgovaya
CHURACHANDPUR, India - When Asher Kipgen is asked the Hebrew name of his father, who immigrated to Israel six years ago from a village in the northeastern Indian state of Manipur, he blurts out "Netanyahu" without thinking twice. The real name of his father, who lives in Kiryat Arba, is Natan, but the mention of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's name is no coincidence. Many of the 7,232 members of the Kuki, Mizo, Lushai and Shin tribes carefully followed the elections in Israel, in the hope that the new prime minister of Israel would bring them to the country.
That's because they consider themselves Bnei Menashe, residents of northeastern India, along the border with Burma and Bangladesh, who claim descent from one of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel, who were sent into exile by the Assyrian Empire more than 27 centuries ago.
Since hearing rumors last summer that the Israeli government planned to bring the Bnei Menashe to Israel, Kipgen and his family have been waiting - though they aren't concerned about what to bring with them.
Since hearing rumors last summer that the Israeli government planned to bring the Bnei Menashe to Israel, Kipgen and his family have been waiting - though they aren't concerned about what to bring with them.
Read All at :
Waiting for the magic carpet - Haaretz - Israel News
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment