(AFP/Times of India) Tribal Jews in northeast India said Tuesday they would press ahead with their plans to emigrate to Israel despite the closure of their intended settlement destination in the Gaza Strip. Israel's Chief Rabbi, Shlomo Amar, announced in Jerusalem in March that members of the 6,000-strong Bnei Menashe tribe in Mizoram and Manipur were descendants of ancient Israelites or one of the biblical 10 "Lost Tribes." "We were planning to go to Gaza. Now we do not know for sure where the Israeli government will put us up but we are determined to migrate," said Y. Ralte, a Mizoram youth who is part of the group preparing to leave for Israel next month. Around 800 tribal Jews from Mizoram and Manipur who emigrated to Israel in the past decade have been uprooted from their Gaza settlements.
2005-08-26 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive