Israel to resettle all remaining 5,800 Jews from India's Northeast
Israel will relocate all the remaining 5,800 Jews from north-eastern region, commonly referred to as Bnei Menashe
- Nov 26, 2025,
- Updated Nov 26, 2025 9:48 AM IST
Israel has approved a proposal to settle all remaining 5,800 members of the Bnei Menashe community from India's Northeast by 2030, marking the largest and most organised Aliyah initiative undertaken for the group.
The Israeli government cleared the proposal on Sunday, with the Jewish Agency describing it as a "significant, wide-scale initiative" that will complete the community's immigration over the next five years.
According to the agency, "This historic decision will bring approximately 5,800 members of the community to Israel by 2030, including 1,200 already approved in 2026."
For the first time, the Jewish Agency will handle the entire pre-immigration process-conducting eligibility interviews alongside the Chief Rabbinate of Israel, the Conversion Authority, and the Population and Immigration Authority, arranging flights, and managing absorption upon arrival.
The plan is estimated to cost 90 million shekels (USD 27 million), covering flights, conversion programmes, housing support, Hebrew classes, and other benefits.
An expanded delegation of rabbis is scheduled to visit India in the coming days. "It will be the largest delegation sent to date and the first in more than a decade," the agency said. The team will interview about 3,000 Bnei Menashe with first-degree relatives already living in Israel.
Most members of the community who migrated earlier were resettled in the West Bank, and more recently in northern Israel, particularly Nof Hagalil, a mixed Jewish-Arab city near Nazareth. The thousands set to arrive will also be settled there under the cabinet's plan.
In its statement, the agency said: "This government decision reflects the shared responsibility of the State of Israel and The Jewish Agency for a national effort that is meaningful, values-driven, and deeply moving. Our extensive professional involvement in planning, preparation, transport, and absorption is central to ensuring the success of this initiative."
The Bnei Menashe trace their origin to the Menashe tribe, one of the ten tribes exiled by the Assyrians around 2,700 years ago. Intense debates surrounded the community's Jewish status until 2005, when Rabbi Shlomo Amar, then Chief Rabbi of the Sephardi community, recognised them as "descendants of Israel".
Around 2,500 Bnei Menashe already live in Israel, and local reports say many of their young members serve in combat units of the Israel Defence Forces.
(With inputs from PTI)
Israel has approved a proposal to settle all remaining 5,800 members of the Bnei Menashe community from India's Northeast by 2030, marking the largest and most organised Aliyah initiative undertaken for the group.
The Israeli government cleared the proposal on Sunday, with the Jewish Agency describing it as a "significant, wide-scale initiative" that will complete the community's immigration over the next five years.
According to the agency, "This historic decision will bring approximately 5,800 members of the community to Israel by 2030, including 1,200 already approved in 2026."
For the first time, the Jewish Agency will handle the entire pre-immigration process-conducting eligibility interviews alongside the Chief Rabbinate of Israel, the Conversion Authority, and the Population and Immigration Authority, arranging flights, and managing absorption upon arrival.
The plan is estimated to cost 90 million shekels (USD 27 million), covering flights, conversion programmes, housing support, Hebrew classes, and other benefits.
An expanded delegation of rabbis is scheduled to visit India in the coming days. "It will be the largest delegation sent to date and the first in more than a decade," the agency said. The team will interview about 3,000 Bnei Menashe with first-degree relatives already living in Israel.
Most members of the community who migrated earlier were resettled in the West Bank, and more recently in northern Israel, particularly Nof Hagalil, a mixed Jewish-Arab city near Nazareth. The thousands set to arrive will also be settled there under the cabinet's plan.
In its statement, the agency said: "This government decision reflects the shared responsibility of the State of Israel and The Jewish Agency for a national effort that is meaningful, values-driven, and deeply moving. Our extensive professional involvement in planning, preparation, transport, and absorption is central to ensuring the success of this initiative."
The Bnei Menashe trace their origin to the Menashe tribe, one of the ten tribes exiled by the Assyrians around 2,700 years ago. Intense debates surrounded the community's Jewish status until 2005, when Rabbi Shlomo Amar, then Chief Rabbi of the Sephardi community, recognised them as "descendants of Israel".
Around 2,500 Bnei Menashe already live in Israel, and local reports say many of their young members serve in combat units of the Israel Defence Forces.
(With inputs from PTI)