| Week ending Shabbat, October 21, 2006 |
29 Tishrei, 5767 |
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Lost Tribe Celebrates Return
Hundreds of Bnei Menashe (sons of Menassah) immigrants from northeastern India gathered in Kiryat Arba (near Hevron) this week to celebrate their return to Israel and the Jewish people after some 2700 years of exile. A special day (during the Sukkot festival) was arranged on their behalf by the Jerusalem-based Shavei Israel organization. The Bnei Menashe were treated to a list of activities that ranged from drum lessons to Torah lectures to face painting for children and the construction of a traditional Indian bamboo hut. The event was organized in cooperation with the Kiryat Arba Municipal Council and its chairman, Tzvi Katzover.
The Bnei Menashe, who reside in the Indian states of Mizoram and Manipur, near the border with Burma, claim descent from the tribe of Menashe, one of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel exiled by the Assyrians over 2,700 years ago. Nearly 1,000 members of the community have made aliyah (immigrated to Israel) over the past decade thanks largely to the work of Rabbi Eliyahu Avichayil and Shavei Israel, which is headed by Michael Freund.
A primary focus of this week's celebration was the excitement running through the community over the impending arrival (in Israel) next month of 218 new Bnei Menashe immigrants. This is the largest group ever to come here at one time. The group underwent conversion to Judaism last year in India by a rabbinical court dispatched by Israel's Chief Rabbinate, and is slated to make aliyah in late November. It will be the first batch of Bnei Menashe immigrants allowed into the country since 2003, when Israel's Interior Ministry decided to halt their arrival. Through its team of emissaries, Shavei Israel operates three Jewish educational centers in India for the Bnei Menashe, where they study Hebrew and Jewish tradition. All of the organization's work is in accordance with Jewish law and is under the guidance and supervision of Israel's Chief Rabbinate.
Bringing Other Israelis Home
A delegation from the Ministry of Immigration and Absorption led by Minister Ze’ev Boim will head to the United States and Canada next week to host job fairs aimed at offering Israelis competitive jobs back home. The fairs will present Israelis with various possibilities of integrating into the Israeli job market including aid in establishing businesses, absorption of research and development personnel in academic institutions and integration into other positions in the market. Large and reputable Israeli companies who are joining the effort for the first time include Teva, Intel and Manpower. They are hoping to provide employment solutions for workers and actual jobs in Israel.
According to the Ministry of Absorption, there are currently 700,000 Israelis abroad. Sixty percent of them are in North America and have no intention of returning. Ten percent of these Israelis emigrated from North America in 2005. Nearly 25 percent of Israelis live in Europe and another 15 percent in other places in the world. The population in the United States and Canada has a typically higher percentage of professionals in academics, technology, engineering, different business branches and those involved in academic research. Between 2004 and 2005 the ministry recorded 7,489 Israeli immigrants who returned home, mostly from North America. Thirty percent of them were academics.
The job fairs will take place in six locations, which have the highest of Israeli residency: New York, Los Angeles, Boston, San Francisco, Miami and Toronto.
Yesha Leader: 'Time to Change Direction and Grow'
"With the melting away of [Israeli Prime Minister Olmert's] convergence plan [to unilaterally withdraw from most of Yesha]," said long-time Yesha leader and Shomron Regional Council head Bentzy Lieberman last Sunday, "we have decided to change direction and go towards Israeli-izing the Shomron region. The Sebastia conception brought us this far, but now it's time for a new language, a different type of building." Sebastia is the area where the Yesha settlement enterprise started over three decades ago when pioneers "persuaded" the Rabin government to permit settlement simply by refusing to leave. "There is no reason why the communities should remain so small," he later explained. "Why is Alon Shvut still only a few hundred families after so many years? And the same with Elon Moreh, Yakir, Peduel and others. It is time to stop being so selective, and to open the gates and grow."
Jewish population growth in Judea and Samaria has long been far higher than the rest of the country. The Central Bureau of Statistics confirms that Yesha's average annual growth rate of 5.5% is some three times higher than the rest of Israel. Lieberman wants even more. "There are plenty of places where it is possible to build, but they're (the Israeli government) not building. If there were more Ariels and Maaleh Adumims, our situation would be better."
Tour Israel for Hanukkah
It's still not too late to join us as we explore Israel from a genuine Biblical Zionists perspective. Meet the people who are continuing the Biblical narrative in the Land today. See for yourself how ancient prophesies are being fulfilled. Discover how you too can participate in the ongoing process of Biblical Redemption. Join us for an opportunity of a lifetime, to see the real Israel from the viewpoint of those who are living the Bible today. The experience will change your life. The tour has been coordinated and will be guided by Associate Pastor Jon Klein [pictured left].
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