Israel to convert Indian tribe to Judaism

Thousands people in India's northeast who claim to be descendants of a lost Israeli tribe are celebrating a reported Israeli government decision to formally convert them to Orthodox Judaism -- a step that would allow them to emigrate to Israel.

"We have been dancing and celebrating ever since we heard the news," Peer Tlau, a 48-year-old electronics engineer, said by telephone from the northeastern city of Aizawl, the capital of Mizoram state. "We have been mentally prepared for years to go back to our promised land and now the time has come and we are very happy."

Israeli reports said the country's chief rabbi, Shlomo Amar, has ordered the conversion of about 6,000 Indians, and a team of rabbinical judges will visit India to formally convert them to Orthodox Judaism. The Indians are members of a group called the "Bnei Menashe," or children of Manasseh, and claim descent from one of the lost tribes of Israel.

In New Delhi, Israeli Embassy spokeswoman Michal Gur-Aryeh said she had no comment on the issue.

Some members of the community met on Tuesday in Aizawl and decided to have a grand celebration on May 1, Tlau said.

About members of the Bnei Menashe have been taken to Israel from northeast India over the last decade by a group called Amishav, Hebrew for "my people return."

According to Amishav, there is ample evidence to show that the Bnei Menashe -- comprised mainly of the Mizo, Kuki and Chin ethnic groups -- are of Jewish descent. Their customs, including mourning rites, hygiene and the use of a lunar calendar, closely mirror Jewish traditions.

"I would like to say Hallelujah. The recognition ... by the Israeli Rabbinate is indeed a historic decision," said Zaithangchungi, a Mizo who wrote a book linking the Bnei Menashe to the lost tribe. She uses only one name.

"My stand has been vindicated, this has been the most exciting news in the Mizo history," said Zaithangchungi, who is a Christian.

However, some say the reported links of Mizos with Israel are exaggerated.

"Spiritually we may have linkages with Israel, but the Mizos have no blood bonds with the Jews," said P.C. Biaksiama, a retired Indian federal official who has researched the subject.

"The Israeli Rabbinate is free to make any claims. But the talk of the Mizos' Jewish ancestry is a myth and this has the potential to destabilize the Mizo identity and its Indian ethos," he said by telephone from Aizawl.

Aizawl 500km south of Gauhati, the largest city in India's northeast.

The Bnei Menashe were animists when they were converted to Christianity by British missionaries in the 19th century. In 1953, a tribal leader named Mlanchala had a dream that his people would return to Israel.