Another Bnei Menashe Casualty in Lamka

Kuki-Zo village volunteers manning a post at the buffer zone. File photo.

(March 3, 2024) Binyamin Thangneo Haokip, 37, of the new B’nei Menashe settlement of Maoz Tsur was injured last Friday when an explosive device went off while he and other volunteers were patrolling the contested area between Kuki-dominated Lamka and Meitei-controlled Bishenpur. One of the injured men later died of his would, while Binyamin and the other casualties were evacuated to a local health care center, where they are now recovering and out of danger. Sources informed our newsletter that he will be undergoing a surgery to remove splinters from his legs. Binyamin and his family had previously lived through a May 3 Meitei attack on the heavily B’nei Menashe village of Sajal, as a result of which they were forced to flee their homes.

See our newsletter's report on Sajal at the beginning of the conflict in May 2023:

https://www.degelmenashe.org/post/a-sajal-survivor-tells-his-story

OPERATION EXODUS COMES TO AID AGAIN

B'nei Menashe receiving aid from Operation Exodus at Ma'oz Tsur..

(February15) Once again, Operation Exodus has generously stepped in to help displaced B’nei Menashe families in Manipur. Last week, the Kerala-based, pro-Christian Zionist organization delivered yet another shipment of rice, pulses,  assorted food items, and hygienic products to the new B’nei Menashe community of Ma’oz Tsur near Lamka, itself inhabited by B’nei Menashe who lost their homes in Manipur’s ethnic violence; there, the aid was distributed to representatives of 70 families numbering 350 individuals. Supervising the distribution was Nechemiah Lhunjang Haokip, vice-chairman of the B’nei Menashe Council.

Rabbis Visit Mizoram

Rabbi Arie Greenspan with a displaced child at Thingdawl, Mizoram.

(February 7, 2024) One small gift can make a difference in more than one life. Such a gift has been made by Arie Greenspan, an American-born rabbi living in Israel. Rabbi Greenspan, along with Rabbi Eliyahu Birnbaum, recently visited the northern Mizoram DP camp of Thingdawl, where many homeless B’nei Menashe from Manipur are now staying. The two men were on a  mission for an Israeli rabbinical court that is seeking to facilitate the divorce of a separated B’nei Menashe couple.

While in Thingdawl, Rabbi Greenspan heard of the plight of Binyamin Haokip, an inhabitant of the new  B’nei Menashe agricultural community of Ma’oz Tsur in Manipur. Haokip, whose knowledge of Judaism equipped him to teach Ma’oz Tsur’s children, had stopped doing so because, being hard of hearing and unable to afford a hearing aid, he had difficulty communicating with his pupils. At once Rabbi Greenspan had such an aid purchased and delivered to Ma’oz Tsur, where Haokip, with its help, is now back to teaching and is leading a happier life. His thanks go to Rabbi Greenspan – as do those of Ma’oz Tsur’s children.

Binyamin Haokip with his new hearing aid.

Rabbi Greenspan and Rabbi Birnbaum with the community at Shlom Tzion Synagogue, Aizawl, Mizoram.