After Rabbi Amar's ruled in 2005 that the Bnei Menashe would be accepted as a lost tribe and Jews after completing conversion, the plan was for Bnei Menashe to undergo conversion while living in India, at which time they would be qualified for aliyah. He named the group as the Bnei Menashe.[7][8].

The rapid rise in conversions also provoked political controversy in Mizoram, India. Our enemies, O ye folks, are thick with fury, The Indian government believed that the conversions encouraged identification with another country, in an area already characterized by separatist unrest. A Kolkata study in 2005, which has been criticized, suggested that a small number of women sampled may have some Middle Eastern ancestry, but this may also have resulted from intermarriage during the thousands of years of migration of Jewish peoples. As more sites have been excavated, there has been a growing consensus that the main story of Joshua, that of a speedy and complete conquest (e.g. Some resisted such testing, acknowledging that their ancestors had intermarried with other peoples but saying that did not change their sense of identification as Jews.

Israeli Professor Skorecki said of the Kolkata studies that the geneticists "did not do a complete 'genetic sequencing' of all the DNA and therefore it is hard to rely on the conclusions derived from a "partial sequencing, and they themselves admit this. [22] "Kuki-Mizo tribal rivalries and clans have also played a role in the split, with some groups supporting one man and some the other. [20] His decision allows the Bnei Menashe to immigrate as Jews to Israel under the country's Law of Return.

West Manasseh occupied the land to the immediate north of Ephraim, thus just north of centre of western Canaan, between the Jordan and the coast, with the northwest corner at Mount Carmel, and neighbored on the north by tribes Asher and Issachar.

One such is the traditional Hmar harvest festival (Sikpui Ruoi) song, "Sikpui Hla (Sikpui Song)," which refers to events and images similar to some in the Book of Exodus, is evidence of their Israelite ancestry. A group from Iquitos, Peru had immigrated in the late 20th century; they also had to undergo formal conversion.

Come out with your shields and arrows. [citation needed]. Also, given their long migration and intermarriage, they had lost the required maternal ancestry of Jews, by which they might be considered as born Jews. After missionaries abandoned this policy during the 1919–24 Revival, the Mizo began writing their own hymns, incorporating indigenous elements. The Bnei Menashe are a small group who started studying and practicing Judaism since the 1970s in a desire to return to what they believe is the religion of their ancestors. There is a [genetic] pattern which is very common in the Middle East, 40% of Jews worldwide have it and 60% do not have it. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company)(, "Early Israel in Recent Biblical Scholarship". Later that year, Israel began to refuse to issue visas to these peoples after India objected to Israeli teams entering the northeast states to perform mass conversions and arrange aliyah. According to the late Isaac Hmar Intoate, a scholar involved with the project, researchers found no genetic evidence of Middle-Eastern ancestry for the Mizo-Chin-Kuki men. 11.23: 'Thus Joshua conquered the whole country, just as the LORD had promised Moses') is contradicted by the archaeological record, though there are indications of some destruction and conquest at the appropriate time.[4]. Bnei Menashe’s Moshe Devashaiym from Zion Tora center- Erode, India, Lost tribe of Bnei Menashe celebrates Sukkot in northeast India. (2 Kings 16:9 and 15:29) The diminished kingdom of Israel was again invaded by Assyria in 723 BCE and the rest of the population deported.

Depending upon their affiliations, each tribe identifies primarily as Kuki, Mizo/Hmar, or Chin.

The Kuki and Mizo tribes comprise about 1.5 million people. In a 2004 study Weil says, "although there is no documentary evidence linking the tribal peoples in northeast India with the myth of the lost Israelites, it appears likely that, as with revivalism, the concept was introduced by the missionaries as part of their general millenarian leanings. In November 2005, the Israeli government withdrew the rabbinic court team from India because of the strained relations. According to the Torah, the tribe consisted of descendants of Manasseh, a son of Joseph, from whom it took its name. "Ten Lost Tribes", in Raphael Patai and Haya Bar Itzhak (eds. After the death of Saul, all the tribes other than Judah remained loyal to the House of Saul, but after the death of Ish-bosheth, Saul's son who succeeded him to the throne of Israel, the Tribe of Manasseh joined the other northern Israelite tribes in making Judah's king David the king of a re-united Kingdom of Israel. "[3][4] ”Recent decades, for example, have seen a remarkable reevaluation of evidence concerning the conquest of the land of Canaan by Joshua. In June 2003, Interior Minister Avraham Poraz of Shinui halted Bnei Menashe immigration to Israel. [21] In 2005, additional tests of MtDNA were conducted for 50 women from these communities. With the growth of the threat from Philistine incursions, the Israelite tribes decided to form a strong centralised monarchy to meet the challenge, and the Tribe of Manasseh joined the new kingdom with Saul as the first king. The Samaritans claim that some of their adherents are descended from this tribe. They tested a total of 414 people from tribal communities (Hmar, Kuki, Mara, Lai and Lusei) of the state of Mizoram. (1949: 220–223).[13]. Hundreds emigrated to Israel, some completing the required formal conversions there in order to be accepted as Jews. The population of these territories were taken captive and resettled in Assyria, in the region of the Khabur River system.

Leaders of the Presbyterian Church in Mizoram, the largest denomination, have objected to the Israelis' activity there. Certain members of the congregation who easily fall into ecstasy are believed to be visited by the Holy Ghost and the utterings are received as prophecies." Younger members have had more opportunities to learn Hebrew, as they are more involved in society. Each of the two men have attracted the support of some Bnei Menashe in Israel. Critical scholars[who?] According to biblical scholar Kenneth Kitchen, this conquest should be dated slightly after 1200 BCE. The point is losing one's identity and then rediscover their roots is itself is a miracle and its G-d own plan. Most Jews today are descended from the southern kingdom. In c. 732 BCE, Pekah, king of Israel (Samaria) allied with Rezin, king of Aram, and threatened Jerusalem. However, a positive answer can give a significant indication. By that time, he had been involved for years in promoting the Bnei Menashe as descended from Jews and working to facilitate their aliyah to Israel. Further afield, in northeast India,the Chin-Kuki-Mizo Jews claim descent from Manasseh, and call themselves Bnei Menashe; in 2005 Shlomo Amar, S… The Post article is the first known print reference to Miriam's Prayer, aka "Sikpui Hla. Some Bnei Menashe supporters said that Israeli officials failed to explain to the Indian government that the rabbis were formalizing the conversions of Bnei Menashe who had already accepted Judaism, rather than trying to recruit new members. And they continued to yearn to return to the land of their ancestors, the Land of Israel. But he requires them to undergo formal conversion to Judaism to be fully accepted as Jews, because of their long interruption from the people. T.F. However, several modern day groups claim descent, with varying levels of academic and rabbinical support.

In the time of the first temple, Israel was divided into two kingdoms. Critics thought the government's policy of settling the Bnei Menashe immigrants in the unstable Judea, Samaria and Gaza Strip was part of a recruiting campaign to help increase Israel's population. Believing that these people were descendants of Israelites, Avichail named the group Bnei Menashe. (2004), exploring this issue. They had no connections with other Jewish groups in the diaspora or in Israel. These territories abounded in water, a precious commodity in Canaan, thus constituting one of the most valuable parts of the country; additionally, Manasseh's geographic situation enabled it to defend two important mountain passes - Esdraelon on the west of the Jordan and Hauran on the east.

The people identify most closely with their subtribes in the villages, each of which has its own distinct dialect and identity. "[47], Work of aliyah groups, Amishav and Shavei Israel, Weil, Shalva.