GUWAHATI: Ethnic Kuki and Mizo tribals belonging to the 'Bnei Menashe' community are feeling proud fighting a war far away in their new-found homeland – Israel.
Wishes poured in last week for 206 Israelis, belonging to the community, when news broke that they had been called for "reserve duty" in Israel’s war against Hamas. It was a WhatsApp message that was shared within the community as the war was raging.
All Israeli citizens are required to serve in the military mandatorily (three years for males, two years for females) once they attain the age of 18 years. These 206 people, who have already served, were called from the reserve.
'Bnei Menashe' is a community of Indian Jews – Kukis and Mizos – from Manipur and Mizoram. People from the community claim that they belong to one of the 12 'Lost Tribes' of Israel. Nearly half of the 'Bnei Menashe' population migrated to Israel over a period of time and became its citizens.
"There was a social media announcement that 206 Bnei Menashe had been called up for reserve duty. It was followed by an outpouring of blessings," Isaac Thangjom, who is the executive director of Degel Menashe, told this newspaper from Tel Aviv.
Established in 2019, Degel Menashe is a non-profit organisation that works for the welfare of 'Bnei Menashe' in Israel as well as India. Official figures are not available but it is estimated that a few hundred 'Bnei Menashe' regular Army personnel are already fighting the war in Israel.
Natanel Touthang, a Kuki soldier, was injured in an attack on the Lebanon border on Wednesday evening. This is the first such case in the ongoing war recorded by Degel Menashe.
Thangjom said the 'Bnei Menashe' population is about 10,000, almost equally divided between Israel and India. "Our immigration was initiated by a Jerusalem Rabbi Avichayil Eliyahu since the early 1990s. People from our community live in 14 towns and villages from the rocket-battered Sderot in the south to Kiryat Shmona in the north. Several others are living in the Galil and Jezreel Valley region in towns like Afula, Migdal HaEmek, Tiberias and others," he said.
The residents of the south on the Gaza periphery, including Sderot where 120 'Bnei Menashe' families live, have been evacuated to hotels in Jerusalem and resorts on the Dead Sea shores.
Talking about the ongoing war, Thangjom said while no 'Bnei Menashe' lost his or her life so far, the empty house of a couple was hit by a rocket in Sderot. The family was away, visiting a relative at the time of the attack.
"It (attack by Hamas) is quite reminiscent of what happened 50 years ago during the Yom Kippur War. It is a surprise attack as it was then. The casualties from both (sides) speak for themselves. The sheer treachery and the magnitude of the attack have made all of us resolute and stand up against such acts of terror. This has come at a time when our own community is facing existential threats in Manipur," Thangjom said.
Lalam Hangshing, who is the chairman of 'Bnei Menashe' Council India, said the community in India was worried about the war in Israel. "We have been in constant touch with them. Sderot was hit hard. A lot of Kuki 'Bnei Menashe' are settled there. Fortunately, there were no casualties," he said, adding that 'Bnei Menashe' means the "Sons of Menashe."