Israel has announced that it is planning to bring thousands of Indians from the northeastern states of India to resettle them in the Galilee region of northern Israel.

The Israeli government has approved a proposal by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in which people from Mizoram and Manipur, who are identified as desecendants of the biblical Tribe of Manasseh, will be brought back to Israel over the coming years.

Describing the plan as “important and Zionist”, Netanyahu said it would help bolster Israel’s north, a region heavily affected by conflict with Lebanon’s Hezbollah, forcing several thousands of residents to flee in recent years.

According to the proposal, 1,200 members of the Bnei Menashe community from northeast India will immigrate by the end of 2026. The total number of migrants is likely to be 5,800 by 2030. The Bnei Menashe are a Jewish group, which has made Manipur and Mizoram their home. They are believed to have descended from the ancient Israelite Tribe of Manasseh.

The immigration plan, including housing, labour-market integration and Hebrew instruction, is estimated at $27 million.

The prime minister’s office confirmed that in the past two decades about 4,000 Bnei Menashe had immigrated to Israel. – editor@nrifocus.com