This is going to be a very personal blog post.

KOHIMA, Nagaland – As the ceremony at Ben Hur’s home was winding down and the last songs were sung, Eyal the guide suggested we should all sing Hatikva. The group didn’t need much convincing and we all turned to the right, to what Ben Hur said was the direction of Jerusalem. I love my anthem, and it almost never fails to move me. This time, and in this setting, it was even more so. Hatikva brings tears to my eyes and strength to my heart, and I let myself feel the hope in the song, the happiness of singing it knowing how hard it is to live as an Israeli, what an absolute miracle we are every day; and I let my eyes well up with tears. Continue reading →

So much has happened today, both for me personally and for the group. A lot of new information has come my way, and with it many more questions. For instance, experts back home in Israel say there are about 7,200 Bnei Menashe in Nagaland and that the vast majority of them want to convert to Judaism and immigrate to Israel.

Well, today I heard from a retired Nagaland government spokesperson, and who is now the advisor to the Kuki Cultural Committee, who said that there are some 30,000 people belonging to the Kuki tribe in this area who are Bnei Menashe, and that they all want to come. So who’s right, how many are there? Well, if the latter is true, then the whole story just got infinitely bigger and more complicated. One of the criticisms against those converting the Bnei Menashe and lobbying for their aliya is that these people are doing it because they want to settle the Bnei Menashe in Judea and Samaria and thus minimize somewhat the Arab demographic gap in the West Bank, i.e. using the Bnei Menashe as a tool for the political purpose of bringing more Jews to the West Bank. Continue reading →