CHURACHANDAPUR, Manipur – This dusty, smoky and dark town is much smaller and quieter than Imphal, the capital of the North Eastern Indian state of Manipur, but it has a jewel in its crown – a colorful monthly magazine called Cholla, Hindi for ‘get a move on’ [identical to the Arab 'yalla']. The magazine is bilingual – English and Hindi, and features stories and informative articles about life in Manipur and the region, news about the Kuki tribal people, international news, sports, entertainment and a personals section called Heart To Heart [with a logo of cupid's arrow through a heart]. It also features stories and news about the Bnei Menashe communities in Manipur, especially when someone is given permission to make aliyah. And it’s all run single-handedly by a Bnei Menashe Judaism-practicing Kuki called Bennny Khongsai. Continue reading →

IMPHAL, Manipur – We leave Churachandupur and head towards the airport for our flight to Assam province, due west. We’re not going to spend any real time in Assam or meet any of the Bnei Menashe there, but the road we were going to take to Mizoram for the next leg of our journey has been closed by the authorities, so we have to fly to Assam and then drive to Mizoram through a mountain range. The whole North East region is seeing sporadic violence between assorted militants and the security forces, who are on high alert everywhere. Leave it to Israelis to trek their way through a war zone. Last night two drivers from the Manipur irrigation and flood control department were found dead on the outskirts of Imphal. Continue reading →

CHURACHANDAPUR, Manipur – Friday morning we get up at 05:30! We leave Imphal with a tfilat haderech [prayer for the traveler] and a parasha about the life of Sarah, Abraham’s wife. Amen. Yishar Koach. I didn’t know that the first piece of real-estate the Jews bought in Canaan was a piece of land that Abraham bought so that he could bury Sarah. The first piece of land in Eretz Israel was a grave.

As we head out of Imphal we drive past an army base. On the base’s entrance is a large sign: Prove your identity. I love the English here. The group is getting more disciplined with every passing day [I'm grudgingly becoming more disciplined too]. We are told to get up at 05:30, so we’re up at 05:30. Shacharit [morning prayer] is at 06:00 [I do yoga]. By 6:30 the bags need to be packed and outside our hotel room doors. Breakfast is between 6:30 and 7:30, and in this time we also need to make sandwiches for lunch. For breakfast we have omelettes, salad, tuna, cereal and banana shake. This group is so disciplined that we’re even shaving time off – everyone is ready to go before 07:30, and Mosh is happy. Continue reading →

LOKTAK LAKE, Manipur – We head to a huge lake called Loktak [Lok is lake in Indian so it's actually Lake Tak]. The lake is huge, some 25 km long and 20 km wide. During WW2 Japanese forces swarmed into Manipur from this direction.

This expedition is not all about meeting with Bnei Menashe, it is also going to interesting places that most regular tourists have never been to are not on the tourist map. This is something that Mosh from Shai Bar Ilan tours has done for a living for decades, pioneering routes for Israeli travelers to places that were closed to them. Mosh has gone into every corner of this world to seek out adventures and learning opportunities for Israeli tourists. The Geographical Company he worked for first took Israelis to Eastern Europe when the Iron Curtain fell, and he’s also taken Israelis to Yemen, Tunisia and Morocco, as well as further afield in places like China. I think he’s one of those people you meet in life that you think to yourself, ‘wow, this person has an interesting job’. Continue reading →

SAJAL, MANIPUR – Another Shavei Israel Beit Shalom visit, this time in Sajal, Sadar Hills, Manipur. As usual, dozens of people wait outside to greet us, and as we disembark our group starts to sing: Hevenu Shalom Aleichem [We bring peace upon you]. My group is so cute: everything we give the Bnei Menashe “is from Israel”: balloons “from Israel,” chocolates “from Israel,” embroidery with passages from the Tanach “from Israel.” Continue reading →