A number of Mizos who regard themselves as one of the lost tribes of Israel, will be leaving for that country on Thursday.
AIZAWL: A number of Mizos who regard themselves as one of the lost tribes of Israel, will be leaving for that country on Thursday.
Police officials said 218 "Bnei Menashe" planned to leave Aizawl for Israel and the first batch would be leaving on November 16.
Their leaders refused to say when they would leave the state to go to Ramtiam' (Promised Land) even as two representatives of the organisation responsible for finding Israel's lost tribes, had already arrived here on 4 October.
Sources close to the Jewish congregation said that all 218 will not be able to go together as a single Aizawl-Kolkata flight will not be able to accommodate them.
Sources claimed that there were more than 800 Mizo 'Jews' who wanted to go to Israel but were unable to do so due to restrictions imposed by the Israeli Interior Ministry.
Their leaders claimed the Israeli government had already accepted these 218 as Jews who would be "coming home".
They pointed to an Israeli media report which quoted Michael Freund, leader of the organisation responsible for "finding the lost tribes of Israel" as saying, "These people were the lost tribe who left the Holy Land 2,700 years ago. They are finally coming home."
A spot for 'Mikvah' or spiritual bath had already been marked at Zuangtui locality here where "believers" were formally converted to Judaism by Rabbis.
Chief Sephardi Rabbi, Shlomo Amar, head of the Rabbinical court had announced the recognition of the "Bnei Menashe" - Mizo enthnic community in Mizoram and Manipur – as descendants of Israel.
The "Bnei Menashe" claim descent from the tribe of 'Mannasseh', one of the ten tribes exiled from the land of Israel by the Assyrians over 2,700 years ago.
The chief Sphardic Rabbi's announcement, the 'Amishav Hebrew Centre', the institute for learning Hebrew language, Jewish religion and culture on Republic Veng Street here, had been renamed 'Shavei Israel Hebrew Centre'.
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