Limmud-Oz 2015

The Benei Meanshe from North-East India are a tribal group who identify as descendants of ancient Israelites and practise Orthodox Judaism. Members of the group have been settling in Israel since 1989, with over 3,000 of them now living as Jews and as citizens. While their claims were often looked on with suspicion, they were accepted by the Chief Rabbinate in 2005. In this session we shall look at how well they have settled in Israel, their attachment to Israel, the problems they have faced and overcome, the extent to which racism or suspicion of them as economic migrants - or as pawns of the ultra-orthodox settler movement - have affected their reception and their adjustment in the land of their dreams and aspirations.