A Shabbat With Young B’nei Menashe: Our Managing Director Visits A Yeshiva

(January 19, 2023) Degel Menashe’s managing director Yitzhak Thangjom and his wife Jessica spent last weekend with young B’nei Menashe immigrants at the yeshiva of Nahal Yitzhak at which they are studying. Here is his account.

The call came from Gemuel Lotzem, the counselor of the thirty young B’nei Menashe now studying and living at the Nahal Yitzhak Yeshiva, which is located in the village of Nehalim on the outskirts of Petach-Tikvah, a suburb of Tel Aviv. Gemuel and his wife Re’ut were inviting Jessica and me to spend a Shabbat with the group, whose members immigrated to Israel in 2020-21 and are now between the ages of 13 and 18. He felt that there were many things regarding Israel and their futures in it that they did not have a clear grasp of and were curious to learn more about, and he wanted the two of us to discuss some of these things with them. He was concerned, he told me, about the possible effect on B’nei Menashe youth of the murder of Yoel Lhanghal and

Re'ut and Gemuel Lotzem.

the fear it might arouse in them of not being wanted in Israel. This was a special cause for concern, so he thought, because of an incident that had taken place in the yeshiva a few weeks previously, in which, in the course of a soccer game, a brawl broke out between some B’nei Menashe boys and other students.

Yet from our general observations, and from the three sessions that Jessica and I spent with the B’nei Menashe contingent at Nahal Yitzhak – the first one on Friday night after Shabbat dinner, the second following Kiddush on Shabbat morning, and the third at the Se’udah Shlishit, the “Third Meal,” that afternoon – it wasn’t our impression that the question of anti-B’nei Menashe prejudice weighed on them. When asked about their relations with the other students at the yeshiva, their answers were all in the “there’s no problem”-“we get along”-“everything’s all right” category, and watching them interact with the others as they prayed, sang, ate, and joked together seemed to confirm that this was the case. We felt no tension and were impressed by the efforts the yeshiva makes genuine efforts to integrate the B’nei Menashe youngsters in its life. At the Kabbalat Shabbat, the Sabbath evening service that we attended, the youth chosen to lead the prayers was a B’nei Menashe boy.

Of course, since teenagers are shy in general, and B’nei Menashe teenagers tend to be even more so, it’s possible that that the youngsters we spoke to did not tell us everything that was on their minds. Once the ice was broken, however, they were not reticent about other subjects. Mostly, they were full of questions for us. How important was it for them to get their high-school diplomas? What awaited them in the army? (Three of the boys will be getting their call-ups this year.) Did they stand a chance of being accepted into any of its best units? What careers might be open to them afterwards? What professions that they might qualify for earned the best?

A view of the Nahal Yitzhak Yeshiva campus.

There were lively discussions about these things. We already knew from Gemuel that Nahal Yitzhak provided its B’nei Menashe students with a special program of their own in order to equip them for life ahead. “The yeshiva route is chosen by the Ministry of Immigration and Absorption for most B’nei Menashe boy, their age,” he told us. (Girls are placed in a parallel track in religious institutions of their own.) “Nahal Yitzhak has the largest such group, but there are many others scattered at yeshivot throughout the country. Because they’re new in Israel, haven’t had much of an education in India, and are still learning to master Hebrew, we don’t mix them educationally with the other boys. They have classes of their own, divided into two age groups – the 13-to-15 year olds, and the 16s-to-18s. In the religious field, they study mostly Bible and simple rabbinic texts. In their general studies, besides intensive Hebrew classes, they concentrate on math, English, and history, which is what they’ll most need for their matriculation exams. The Ministry of Education lets them take these exams in a simplified form, so that their chances of getting diplomas are good.”

The 29-year-old Gemuel, a B'nei Menashe from Kiryat Arba, is a fairly new immigrant himself, although by now a thoroughly acclimatized one; he arrived in Israel in 2014, began his military service in the air force soon after, and has been a counselor at Nahal Yitzhak since October, 2021. “I took the job,” he says, “because I wanted to do something for my community. I’ve seen how so many B’nei Menashe immigrants, both young and old, end up stuck in low-paying factory or cleaning jobs because there are no other options available to anyone with their skills. It’s sad. There’s not much that can be done for the older people, But the younger ones can be given opportunities: they can have careers and not just jobs. I don’t look at what I am doing as just a job, either. It’s more of a mission.”

A dorm room at the Yeshiva.

It’s a full-time one. “I’m with the students most of the day, including Shabbat,” Gemuel says. ”I have to make sure they’re up on time for morning prayers and classes, that they attend all their lessons, that they turn up for meals on time, that they get the help they need if they run into any difficulties, that they have someone to talk to about their problems. If I can’t solve them myself, I’ll look for someone who can. Recently, a group of them came to me and complained that they weren’t being given rice to eat, which is the mainstay of every B’nei Menashe diet. I went to the kitchen staff and explained this to them, and now rice is served for those who want it at almost every meal.”

Rice isn’t the only thing the B’nei Menashe boys miss. When Jessica and I came for our visit, she brought with her a special dish she had prepared for the Shabbat meal, mepoh, which is a kind of slow-cooked B’nei Menashe cholent based on rice, meat, and fresh herbs and spices. It was fallen upon with relish, and her only regret was that she hadn’t made more, especially since there were quite a few non-B’nei Menashe boys who wanted a taste, too. There was a lot of laughter over it, as well as over other things, and a lot of singing and merriment. In fact, it was the noisiest Shabbat dinner we’d been at in quite a time!

Despite what seems to be the successful integration of the B’nei Menashe youth in the yeshiva’s life, we were struck by its lack of knowledge of Israeli society in general. Especially at a time like this, when the country is in a turmoil, we would have expected these young people, to know and want to know more about their new homeland’s politics, divisions, and controversies. No questions were asked about any of these things. I was made to think of the fourth son, the one we read about in the Passover Seder, who did not know how to ask. Both Nahal Yitzhak and the other yeshivot where young B’nei Menashe are currently placed need not teach them not only Jewish and matriculation subjects but also more about the country that is now theirs.

With some of the Bnei Menashe Yeshiva students..

They need to understand Israel better than they do. The culture they have grown up in emphasizes conformity rather than individuality, whereas Israel is much the opposite. They are going to have to deal with the line between these two worlds and learn how to cross and recross it. Gemuel feels that they have already come a long way since he first met them. “They lacked confidence,” he says. “I have tried and mostly succeeded in bringing them out of their shells. They are now more sure of themselves than they were a year ago. The reward I truly look forward to is that one day they will be able to find good, fulfilling jobs, raise children of their own, and contribute to their and our only home: Israel.”

Shavei Violence, Aliyah Blacklist, In Aizawl

(January 12, 2023) Most reports of verbal and physical assaults on B’nei Menashe who defy the dictates of Shavei Israel have come in the past year from Manipur. If this has made anyone think that the situation in Mizoram is different, two accounts that have reached our Newsletter of recent Shavei behavior there should put such illusions to rest.

Here, in their own words, are the stories of two B’nei Menashe residents of Aizawl. Translated from Mizo, each has been abbreviated for reasons of length.

1. The story of Zodingliana Chenkual.

“My Hebrew name is Ben Aryeh. I live in Aizawl with my mother Rohmingthangi (Ruth) and my sister Laldingngheti (Eva). Neither is in good health. My mother has stage 3b prostate cancer and has been undergoing chemotherapy, and my sister has been diagnosed with schizophrenia since 2007. My sister’s son, my nephew, who lived with us too, died of bone cancer two years ago.

“In the past, we were members of the Shavei Israel-run Khovevei Tzion congregation. Having a professional background as a singer, I had previously organized and directed a youth vocal group, the Mizo Cardinal Choir, that won many accolades, including three gold medals and a championship trophy at an Asian Pacific Choir tournament and a silver medal at a World Choir tournament, and when I joined the congregation in 2021, I started a synagogue youth choir. Although it met for rehearsals in my home and was not sponsored by Shavei Israel, Shavei sought to take the credit for it and to name it The Shavei Israel Youth Ensemble.after its warm reception when it performed for a Ministry of Aliyah/Jewish Agency delegation that visited Mizoram last June.

Interior of Shalom Tzion Synagogue.

During the Covid epidemic, my mother’s condition made exposure to public gatherings inadvisable for her, as it was for me, too, as her and my sister’s sole caretaker. Since the B’nei Menashe Council-affiliated Shalom Tzion synagogue was closer to where we lived, and its congregation was smaller, it made sense for us to start attending prayers there. This past Hanukkah, when my mother was too weak from a chemotherapy treatment to light candles with the congregation, some of its members graciously came to our home and joined us in candle lighting there.

“That same week, on December 21, when my mother was feeling better, we attended a BMC Hanukkah celebration. On December 28, the chairman of Khovevei Tzion, Jeremiah Hnamte, phoned me. He told me that he had seen my family in a photograph of the BMC celebration and that I had to choose sides: either I was with Shavei Israel or with the BMC. I answered that we were all B’nei Menashe practicing Judaism and should be allowed to pray in the synagogue of our choice without repercussions. Jeremiah thought otherwise, and subsequently I was barraged with calls from friends and acquaintances at Khovevei Tzion warning me that my participation in Shalom Tzion’s activities was a grave mistake and urging me to reconsider it. Among them was Khovevei Tzion’s secretary, Azriel Pachuau. Once again I replied that I was a member of neither Shavei Israel, the BMC, nor Degel Menashe, and that, as opposed to Khovevei Tsion, no one at Shalom Tzion had asked me to take sides or to cut my ties to Shavei.

“I soon found myself the target of slander and defamation. Several of these attacks were so ugly that, had I wished to press charges, I could have done so under the Indian Penal Code. Khovevei Tzion also revoked my position of youth leadership on the pretext that I was no longer a member of the congregation, even though my absence from it was temporary and due to my mother’s illness. This hurt me to the core, because I had taken great pains in encouraging the synagogue’s youngsters to be active in its services and affairs. Still, my affection for these young people, my knowledge that they continue to hold me in esteem, and my attachment to Judaism have enabled me to take the campaign against me in stride.

2. The story of Hmingthangsanga (Elishama) Hauzel

“I was born and raised in Kolasib, a town north of Aizawl, and moved to Aizawl in 2020 because it was the center of Jewish life in Mizoram and I wanted to be able to prepare for my interview with the rabbis who would approve my candidacy for Aliyah. Once in Aizawl, I also tried helping other families that had come from the provinces as I had. Although some of them had been nominally practicing Judaism for twenty or even thirty years, they were not as well-versed in it as they should have been.

Things came to a head one day last December, when I went to a Khovevei Tzion Hanukkah celebration.

“One day in June, 2021, I paid a Shabbat visit to three of these families, They came from Rengdil [a town in the far northwest of Mizoram] and had been denied the opportunity for an Aliyah interview by Shavei Israel because of their affiliation with the B’nei Menashe Council. Now, however, they had agreed to accept Shavei’s authority and move to Aizawl like me to prepare for their interviews. When I saw that they did not even know the basic blessings of Jewish ritual, I said to them, ‘You’ll never pass an Aliyah interview unless you study and know more.’ Their answer was: “We don’t have to bother, because when Yitzhak Kawlni [a Shavei emissary from Israel] was in Rengdil he told us, ‘Don’t worry about studying – Shavei Israel will see to it that you pass your Aliyah interviews anyway.’ I made some remarks critical of Shavei, these families then told others what I said, and I was accused by Shavei of conceit and not minding my own business.

“The whispering campaign against me grew worse in 2022 when I ran in elections for the leadership of Khovevei Tzion’s Youth Division. In September of that year, my one-year-old daughter Edna had to be hospitalized for pneumonia; not a single member of Khovevei Tzion called me, let alone came in person, to express their solidarity. Things came to a head one day last December, when I went to a Khovevei Tzion Hanukkah celebration.

Lalnunpuia Khiangte

“What happened was this. As it got on toward evening and the holiday meal was about to be served, an announcement was made that the women and children should take their food first. When the turn came of the young people and the men, I took my place in line. At that point, Lalnunpuia Khiangte, the Youth Division’s Assistant Director, told me to go to the back of the line. When I said I was hungry, not having eaten since morning, he physically pushed me from my place. I declared that in that case I would go home and eat there. As I was heading for my motorbike, Amos Khawlring, Khovevei Tzion’s Vice-Chairman, yelled at me, ‘Go on, get out of here, we’ll never allow a fathead like you to make Aliyah.’ I answered him, ‘Fine, if Shavei Israel won’t let me make Aliyah, I’ll count on The Jewish Agency to do it.”

Amos Khawlring.

That enraged him. He ran toward me and tried to punch me and I grappled with him to deflect the blow. Meanwhile, someone else, Rony Lalruatdika, struck me in the head from behind. Amos was now able to land his punches, and several others piled on and attacked me, too. No one came to my defense. All I could do was cover my head for protection. Several onlookers took out their cell phones and photographed the incident to record my humiliation.

“The next day, I went to the Aizawl Police station to file a complaint. The officer on duty suggested that, since the charges were serious, I try first to resolve things harmoniously. I agreed and he proceeded to phone all the people I had named as my assailants. None was willing to meet with me, let alone apologize. On December 21, I was officially informed by the synagogue leadership that I had been blacklisted for Aliyah for the rest of my life.

Rony Lalruatdika.

“Following this, I went back to the station on December 24 and filed a formal complaint. That night, Amos Khawlring called me at a late hour to tell me that news of the incident had reached Israel and to threaten to take me, the victim, to court. Since then I have cut all my ties with Khovevei Tsion .and I now attend prayers at the BMC-sponsored Shalom Tzion synagogue.”

Both these accounts are damning, Elishama Hauzel’s in particular. It confirms once again two things that have long been known. One is that Shavei Israel keeps an Aliyah blacklist on which it places, or threatens to place, whoever does not toe its line. The other is that Shavei manipulates the interviews of Aliyah candidates, who must communicate with the rabbis sent from Israel to vet them via a Shavei translator, thus determining their outcome in advance. Elishama puts his trust in The Jewish Agency’s to take the B’nei Menashe’s Aliyah into its own hands. Let us hope he will not be disappointed.

Looking to 2023: A Degel Menashe Editorial

(January 5, 2023) The start of 2023 also marks the start of the fourth year of Degel Menashe’s activities. We were granted our Israeli NGO or amuta status by the Registrar of Non-Profit Organizations in Jerusalem at the end of 2019, and began to operate in January 2020.

We’ve come a long way since then. Although we’re still a small organization, we’ve grown greatly. Our income, our budget, and the scope of our activities have expanded from year to year. We’ve accomplished much and hope to accomplish much more.

All this was spelled out at our annual Board of Directors meeting held in the last week of December. As presented to the board, our 2022 record was impressive. In Israel, it included our academic and vocational scholarship program that awarded grants to 21 winners, the highest number ever; our oral history project, which culminated in the publication last summer of the already much-acclaimed Lives of the Children of Manasia; the help extended by us, some of it openly and some behind the scenes, to members of the B’nei Menashe community in need of counseling and aid; and our active participation in events of the Indian Jewish community, which – in part due to our efforts -- now regards the B’nei Menashe as an integral component.

In India, we can point to our educational programs in Manipur and Mizoram, where Jewish schools, with our financial and administrative assistance, are now functioning for the first time on a daily basis; to our backing of Manipur’s resuscitated B’nei Menashe Council, which once again, after long years of abeyance, has become a hub of communal activity; to our musicology project, which has been collecting traditional B’nei Menashe songs with an eye to issuing one or more CDs of them; and to our unwavering legal and moral support for Sarah Baite, whose battle against injustice, followed by the entire B’nei Menashe community, has made her a B’nei Menashe heroine.

All of this will be continued in 2023 with the addition, we hope, of additional projects, such as a leadership training program to provide young leaders for the B’nei Menashe community in Israel; a socio-economic survey of Israel’s B’nei Menashe to pinpoint their problems and needs with an eye to developing government and private programs to deal with these; a “peace corps” of young Israelis who will travel to India to teach the B’nei Menashe Hebrew and other subjects while interacting with them and learning about their history and culture, and still other things.

This leaves for last our campaign for reforming and quickening the process of B’nei Menashe Aliyah and having it transferred from the hands of the private organization, Shavei Israel, that now has exclusive control of it to a public body, preferably The Jewish Agency, so that it can be administered fairly, expeditiously, and without the many abuses that have characterized it until now. 2022, a year which witnessed no B’nei Menashe Aliyah at all, saw a continuance of this campaign, culminating in a commitment obtained by us from the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration not to extend Shavei Israel’s monopoly on the B’nei Menashe Aliyah process on the future. If the Jewish Agency does not step in, the Ministry promised in an official document, the process will be opened to competing organizations.

Now that 2023 has ushered in a new government, we have every hope that the Ministry, which is as new political administration, will honor its predecessors’ commitments. Degel Menashe will do all it can to see that this happens and will continue to lobby with the Ministry, The Jewish Agency, and the Israeli Rabbinate to help press its campaign for B’nei Menashe Aliyah reform to a successful conclusion.

.A happy new year to all our readers!