Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, one of the world’s most controversial political leaders amid the ongoing war in Gaza, personally welcomed 650 new immigrants from the Bnei Menashe community in Nof HaGalil on Thursday.
The group, which includes members from Mizoram and Manipur, arrived in Israel over the past month under Operation “Wings of Dawn,” an initiative aimed at facilitating the immigration of Bnei Menashe families from Northeast India.
The Bnei Menashe community traces its ancestry to the biblical Tribe of Menashe, one of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel. Over the past two decades, thousands of Bnei Menashe from Mizoram and Manipur have migrated to Israel, where many have settled in communities across the country.
Addressing the new arrivals, Netanyahu described their immigration as a homecoming and linked aliyah, or Jewish immigration to Israel, with national security and the development of northern Israel.
“I came to tell you — welcome back home. This is your home. We are happy that you are here with us,” Netanyahu told the gathering.
According to Israeli news agency JNS, Netanyahu also pledged to bring the remaining members of the Bnei Menashe community to Israel within the next four years. The event was attended by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, Aliyah and Integration Minister Ofir Sofer, and Nof HaGalil Mayor Ronen Plot.
“After years of strengthening the bond between Israel and India, thanks to the warm relationship with my friend Prime Minister Narendra Modi, I am thrilled to see the Bnei Menashe returning home,” Netanyahu was quoted as saying.
“We are going to bring the entire community to Israel over the next four years. You are an inseparable part of the Jewish people, and Israel is your home. I wish you successful absorption and great success in the Galilee and in Nof Hagalil. Welcome back home to the State of Israel.”
The welcoming ceremony comes at a time when Netanyahu remains at the centre of international attention over Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. The war began following Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which killed around 1,200 people and saw more than 250 hostages taken into Gaza.
Since then, Israel’s military operations have resulted in tens of thousands of Palestinian deaths and widespread destruction in the territory, drawing criticism from human rights organisations, the United Nations and governments around the world.
Israel has rejected allegations that its actions amount to genocide or ethnic cleansing, maintaining that its military campaign is directed at Hamas and aimed at securing the release of hostages and preventing future attacks.
Against this backdrop, images of Bnei Menashe immigrants from Mizoram and Manipur standing alongside Netanyahu attracted attention on social media in Mizoram.
A video shared by Loz Hnamte, a member of the recent group that relocated to Israel, showed Mizo men and women dressed in traditional puanchei and customary headgear standing beside Netanyahu as a painting was presented to him.
The artwork depicted Bnei Menashe children waving Israeli flags in front of the aircraft that brought them to Israel.
In the caption accompanying the video, Hnamte expressed pride that the Israeli Prime Minister had personally welcomed the group.
“We are very honoured that PM Benjamin Netanyahu has come to welcome us. If we change our nationality, we will be Israeli and no longer Indian, but we will always be Mizo. We will be Mizo who hold the Jewish faith,” he wrote.
The video subsequently sparked discussion among Mizos on social media, reflecting differing views on the Bnei Menashe migration to Israel and the country’s ongoing military operations in Gaza.
Among those commenting on the development was an Aizawl-based photographer, who questioned the decision to migrate to Israel amid the conflict.
Referring to allegations of ethnic cleansing and human rights abuses against the Israeli government, he wrote on social media: “Migrating to a state that kills other ethnic minorities and taking part in the biggest genocide and ethnic cleansing, I wish to question them on which ground of justice they stand for.”
Operation “Wings of Dawn” forms part of Israel’s efforts to facilitate the immigration of the remaining Bnei Menashe community from northeastern India. Israeli officials have indicated that thousands more members of the community are expected to relocate to Israel in the coming years, with Netanyahu stating that the entire community could be brought to the country within the next four years.
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