Northeast To Israel : Why Israel Is Airlifting This ‘Lost Tribe’ From India’s Northeast

24th April 2026 at 6:08 PM

2 minutes read

New Delhi : Around 4,000 km from Iran, Israel is undertaking another operation in India. The mission, named Operation Wings of Dawn, begins in the hills of the northeast to relocate around 5,000 members of the Bnei Menashe community from Manipur to Tel Aviv. The Israeli government airlifted the first batch of around 250 community members, via Delhi, on Thursday. You must be wondering who the Bnei Menashe are? How did they reach India’s far northeast from Israel? Stay with us, and we will explain the history behind it.

The Bnei Menashe community claims to be descendants of Menashe. They were exiled in 722 BC by Assyrian conquerors after the defeat of the Kingdom of Israel. After a centuries-long exodus through Persia, Afghanistan, Tibet and China, around 10,000 members of the community reached India’s northeast and settled in Manipur and Mizoram. “Bnei means children, and Menashe is for grandchild,” Asaf Renthlei, a sociology researcher from IIT-Delhi, told my colleague Yudhajit Shankar Das, while referring to the community’s origins.

Benjamin Haokip, a Manipur resident, told The New York Times that limited access to religious infrastructure in the remote hills was a key hurdle. “Here, we cannot follow all our customs. Some prayers require a minyan or quorum, which is hard to find in the hills. We want to go to Israel for our religion,” Haokip said. Minyan is a Hebrew word that describes the quorum of 10 Jewish adults required for religious obligations.

Most of the Bnei Menashe people who relocated from India before 2005 settled in places like Hebron and in Israeli settlements in Gaza. The 250 members who arrived on Thursday will settle in northern Israel, parts of which faced missiles fired by Hezbollah in Lebanon as early as last week. A fragile ceasefire is now in place. The Israeli PM has said their relocation would “strengthen” the North and Galilee regions.

Israel, which has been involved in a prolonged war with Hamas in Gaza and later with Iran, is facing a labour crunch. Much of its workforce has been depleted due to conflicts that began with the offensive by Hamas in 2023. The decline in migrant labour from countries such as Nepal and Thailand due to the war has also affected the economy. The relocation of the Bnei Menashe community will help replenish its workforce. The Israeli government’s move to settle the community in border areas, like Galilee, is also being seen as a bid to balance the Arab-Israeli population.

The ethnic clashes in Manipur between the majority Meitis and the Kukis, which broke out in May 2023, have further hit their incomes. The situation remains tense even today. Haokip said life has become more difficult after the clashes. The tough part, however, is getting accustomed to a technologically sophisticated environment in Israel. Previously, those from the community who have settled in Israel have complained of broader challenges, like racism and economic hardships.