NINE married couples from Mizoram, belonging to a community, which claims they belong to a lost tribe of Israel, have reaffirmed their wedding vows according to Jewish rites in Aizawl recently. The couples from ‘Benei Menashe’ community, who immigrated here, exchanged wedding vows at the Great Synagogue, shortly after they completed a six-month formal conversion course in Jewish torah (Bible) studies and customs, to reaffirm their faith according to orthodox Jewish law. Among the officiating Jewish clergies were Rabbi Eliyahu Avihayil, founder-chairman of ‘Amishav’, an organization which assists Jews from Mizoram and Manipur to immigrate to Israel. Some experts claim that these Jews, numbering some 5,000, are descendants of ‘Menashe’, one of the 10 lost tribes of Israel whose ancestors were exiled by the Babylonians from the northern kingdom of Israel 2,700 years ago. In India, they maintain customs and rituals that appear to be biblical in origin, but they are not recognized as Jewish in Israel and so had to undergo religious conversion and reaffirm marriage vows according to strict Jewish rituals. Some 800 persons from Mizoram and Manipur have settled in Israel in the past decade. Some 100 members of the ‘Benei Menashe’ community already settled in different parts of the country, participated in the nine ceremonies conducted by nine rabbis. Until recently, 100 immigrants were allowed into Israel each year, under an agreement with Amishav - which means ‘my people returns’ - and the Chief Rabbinate.  Six months back, Israeli Interior Minister Avraham Poraz cancelled the arrangement in a general review of the Ministry’s contracts and obligations. Most Benei Menashe Jews have completed high school and many of them had good academic qualifications and steady jobs in India, Jaffa Yatzkon, spokesman for the small community in Israel, said. ”They came here because they want to lead Jewish lives in a Jewish environment,” “We have invited Poraz to visit our centre in Mizoram and to personally meet and speak with members of our community,” said Mr Yatzkon. ”To date, he has neither accepted our invitation or restored our confidence that gradual immigration of our community to Israel would resume under the existing arrangements.’’

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