250 From India’s ‘Lost Tribe’ Community Arrive In Tel Aviv Under ‘Operation Wings Of Dawn’

Around 250 members of the Bnei Menashe community from India’s northeast arrived in Israel on Thursday, marking the first group to relocate since the Israeli government approved a plan last year to bring thousands more members of the community to the Jewish state under “Operation Wings of Dawn.”

The group landed at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv , where relatives and supporters welcomed them with cheers and Israeli flags as they walked down a red carpet. Many of the men wore traditional knitted kippas , while women covered their heads in accordance with Jewish custom.

Israel plans to bring about 1,200 additional Bnei Menashe immigrants during 2026 , with two more flights scheduled in the coming weeks. The broader programme aims to relocate most of the remaining members of the community— about 6,000 to 7,000 people still living in India , mainly in Manipur and Mizoram —over the next several years. Around 4,000 members have already immigrated to Israel since the 1990s , many settling in towns in northern Israel.

The relocation plan is estimated to require about 90 million shekels (around USD 30 million) to cover flights, housing assistance, Hebrew language classes, conversion courses and other benefits for the newcomers. The immigration process is coordinated by The Jewish Agency , the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration , the Population and Immigration Authority , the Conversion Authority , the Ministry of Foreign Affairs , and the organisation Shavei Israel , which has supported the community’s Jewish education and migration efforts.

The Bnei Menashe believe they descend from Manasseh , one of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel that were exiled after the Assyrian conquest of the northern Kingdom of Israel around 722 BCE . According to their oral tradition, their ancestors migrated over centuries through Persia, Afghanistan, Tibet and China before eventually settling in the hills of present-day northeast India.

Most members of the community belong to the Kuki-Mizo-Chin tribal groups and lived for generations in hill villages. While many were converted to Christianity by missionaries during the 19th century, sections of the community began reviving Jewish religious practices in the late 20th century. In India they observe customs such as circumcision, Sabbath observance and biblical festivals , though some practices developed differently after centuries of isolation from mainstream Jewish communities.

Their Jewish status was debated for years until Sephardi Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar recognised them in 2005 as “descendants of Israel,” allowing them to immigrate. However, those arriving in Israel must undergo formal religious conversion recognised by the rabbinate, Hebrew language training and integration programmes before receiving Israeli citizenship under the Law of Return .

Similar immigration drives have taken place earlier for other Jewish communities. Israel organised major airlifts such as Operation Moses and Operation Solomon to bring Ethiopian Jews to the country in the 1980s and 1990s, while earlier migration waves brought Jews from Yemen, Iraq and the former Soviet Union .

India itself has long been home to several Jewish communities, including the Bene Israel of Maharashtra, the Cochin Jews of Kerala and the Baghdadi Jews of cities like Mumbai and Kolkata . Most members of those communities migrated to Israel decades ago after its establishment in 1948, leaving only small Jewish populations in India today.

The newly arrived Bnei Menashe families are expected to settle mainly in northern Israel , joining relatives who migrated earlier as part of the continuing effort to reunite families and integrate the community into Israeli society.