Oral History Book Launched At Indian Cultural Center

Ronia Lunkhel chairing the book launch.

(September 15, 2022) At a celebration in its honor held at the Indian Embassy’s cultural center in Tel Aviv on Thursday evening, the newly published “Lives of the Children of Manasia,” a book resulting from Degel Menashe’s Oral History Project, had its official debut. Among those attending the event were the book’s editors Hillel Halkin and Isaac Thangjom; four of its twelve interviewees; its publisher Ilan Greenfield, and senior staff of the Indian embassy. Also present were Sabra Minkus, former president of the Jewish Federation of New Mexico and a long-time supporter of Degel Menashe and its Oral History Project, and Mimi Efroymson, the donor behind Degel Menashe’s Academic and Vocational Scholarship Program. Chairing the proceedings was Ronia Lunkhel, herself a scholarship recipient.

Hillel Halkin speaking.

The evening began with a reception and food featuring Indian dishes, followed by a welcome by Mr. Pawan K Pal , the embassy’s Secretary, Public Diplomacy, and remarks by Hillel Halkin. “'Lives of the Children of Manasia,’” Halkin said, “is an important book. In it, twelve elders of the B’nei Menashe community in Israel, several of whom belonged to its founding generation in northeast India, have narrated their life stories. This is the first time that the history of the B’nei Menashe, and of the Judaizing movement that led to their emergence, has really been told. Until now this history has been surrounded by myths and misconceptions. Now, in the words of those who lived it and made it, we have for the first time a full and reliable account of it. Or rather, we have twelve different accounts, each fascinating in its own right, that complement one another and together paint a comprehensive picture. Anybody, now or the future, wanting to know about the B’nei Menashe will have to start with ‘Lives of the Children of Manasia.’ It will be an indispensable volume.”

The interviews in the book, Halkin related, which were edited by him after being conducted by Isaac Thangjom, who also translated them from the northeast Indian languages of Kuki and Mizo ainto English, “took place in the nick of time. Had I and Isaac waited with this project just a year or two longer, it would not have been possible. Of our twelve interviewees, whose accounts were chosen for their scope and interest from among dozens that Isaac recorded, two have since passed away and several others were unable to be with us tonight because of failing health. If we hadn’t reached them when we did, their memories, and with them, the real story of how the B’nei Menashe movement was born and grew in its early years, would have been lost forever. We owe each of them our deepest thanks for participating in our project. “

Four of the participants – Miriam Gangte of Bet-El, Mangsat Kipgen of Kiryat Arba, Ruth Binyamin of Nitzan, and Elitsur Haokip of Migdal Ha-Emerk -- were then invited to receive their copies of the book; a fifth book was given to Lalam Hangshing, chairman of northeast India’s B’nei Menashe Council and currently on a visit to Israel, whose father, T. Aviel Hangshing, the book’s oldest interviewee, died a year ago at the age of 96. Books also went to Mimi Efroymson and Sabra Minkus, who spoke about her long involvement with the B’nei Menashe and of how it began, and to Ilan Greenfield. “We at Gefen Publishers in Jerusalem,” Greenfield said, “want to publish books that are good for the Jewish people. That’s one reason we chose ‘Lives of the Children of Manasia.’ It will help make the B’nei Menashe story the part of Jewish history that it deserves to be. We’re proud to have published it.”

The book recipients. From left to right: Isaac Thangjom, Snehirt Borgam, Ruth Binyamin, Miriam Gangte, Elitsur Haokip. Natan Kipgen, HIllel Halkin, Ilan Greenfield, Lalam Hangshing and Pawan K Pal.

Yosef Ngaite presents his gifts to Sabra Minkus (center) and Mimi Efroymson (right).

A highlight of the evening was Degel Menashe’s presentation to Sabra Minkus and Mimi Efrymson of a gift commissioned from Yosef Ngaite, a B’nei Menashe woodworker who lives in Kiryat Arba. Each of the two received a unique mezuzah and a specially crafted Hanukkah menorah.

The event was brought to a formal close by Mr. Snehit Borgam, the Indian embassy’s Director of the Cultural Center, who talked about its desire to make the story of India’s Jews better known. Afterwards, the guests lingered for a long time. “It’s always a sign of a successful evening,” one of them was heard to say, “when no one wants to go home at the end of it.”

Snehit Borgam speaking.

Degel Menashe Announces 2022-23 Academic Scholarships

(September 9, 2022) Degel Menashe officially announced this week the launching of its 2022-23 academic scholarship program. This will be the fourth annual round of such scholarships since their inception in 2020. Thus far, some 40 students have received awards in diverse fields, from Special Education and Computer Science to English and Architecture. With the help of the grants received by them, many have obtained their Bachelors degrees and several have completed their Masters studies.

Applications for scholarships will be accepted from September 9 through October 25. All members of the B’nei Menashe community currently enrolled, or intending to enroll in the coming year, in an undergraduate or graduate program leading to a diploma from a recognized institution of higher learning in Israel are eligible to apply.

Applications should be sent to Degel Menashe’s managing director Yitzhak Thangjom at his email address, isaacmeizap@gmail.com. They should include: 1) A statement by the applicant of his or her personal and academic background, chosen field of study, reasons for choosing it, and professional goals; 2) proof of acceptance by the institution at which the applicant hopes to study; 3) documentation of the applicant’s tuition costs for 2022-23. Yitzhak will be happy to answer any questions concerning the applications. “Degel Menashe thinks nothing is more important for the B’nei Menashe community in Israel than the education of its young people,” he told our Newsletter. “We’re proud of each and every one of our scholarship winners to date. All have been substantially helped by the grants they received, and some would not have been able to study without them. We’re confident that our 2022-23 winners we’ll be as successful as those who have come before them.”

Hanna and Dina Singson Reunite in Israel

(September 1, 2022) Two weeks ago, our Newsletter posted a story about 74-year-old Hanna Singson and her daughter Dina. Hanna had been hospitalized in Israel for a blood disease after months of neglect by Shavei Israel staff in the Galilee city of Nof Ha-Galil to which she immigrated from Manipur last October, while Dina was still in India, separated from her mother by Shavei’s cruelly discriminatory and punitive Aliyah policies. Now, the two women are together again. Arriving on a flight from New Delhi on Thursday evening, Dina was met at the airport by Degel Menashe managing director Yitzhak Thangjom and his wife Jessica and taken directly to

Dina and Jessica Thangjom at Ben-Gurion Airport.

the Sderot home of Rivka and Zvulun Guite, the B’nei Menashe couple with whom Hanna has been staying since fleeing Nof Ha-Galil and to whose care she returned when released from the hospital.

Dina traveled to Israel with a special entry permit issued by the Ministry of the Interior and arranged for by Milka Zeiler, an Israeli businesswoman and long-time friend of the B’nei Menashe who intervened on her behalf after reading and her mother’s story. Within a matter of days, a ticket was booked and paid for by Degel Menashe, which saw to it that Dina was escorted to Imphal and New Delhi airports. Everything went smoothly, she told our Newsletter, until she landed in Israel, where border control officials were bewildered by the unfamiliar document she handed them

“When my turn in line came,” Dina related, “I presented my passport with the permit. The woman at the booth looked at it and said, ‘This isn’t a visa.’ I said, “Read what’s written there.’ She did and said she’d never seen anything like it, and she passed me on to the next booth. The woman there told me to wait while she made some phone calls. She must have made about four of them, which took some twenty minutes, after which she asked me a few questions and stamped my passport. I can’t say I wasn’t anxious, but it wasn’t really a bad experience.”

On the hour-long drive to Sderot with the Thangjoms, Dina says, she was flooded with phone calls from well-wishers who had already heard of her arrival through the social media. “I can’t tell you how wonderful I felt,” she went on. “When we got there, my mother was waiting. For a moment, we just stood there looking at each other. It was all so unbelievable. But then we gave each other a big hug and I knew it was real. We chatted and then sat down to dinner with the Guites and the Thangjoms. We were all hungry and the food was delicious, but my mother didn’t eat a thing. She was too happy and excited to have an appetite.”

Dina’s last evening in Churachandpur on Monday, August 30 was marred by by an unpleasant incident with Shavei’s Manipur Administrator Sehjalal Shlomo Kipgen.

Sehjalal Shlomo Haokip.

As she tells it, "My family, friends and some friend of the Menashe Council, of which I’m a staunch supporter, had gathered at my home in the community of Buoljol, the area of Churichandpur in which I live, for a farewell party.. There were about forty of us, and each of the guests said a few words to wish me well. When that ended about 8:30, we lit a bonfire and grilled some chicken over it for those who wanted to remain.

At about 9:30 or 10, Dina says, Sehjalal, Shavei Administrator, who is also Buolojol’s recognized chief or administrative authority, appeared on the scene. “He was reeking of alcohol,” Dina relates, “and obviously drunk. He started shouting and demanding to know how we could have a get-together in his community without his permission. Although we tried calming him down, he grew more and more agitated and went from ranting to weeping and back again. Then he started to threaten Ohaliav Haokip, the BMC’s general secretary, who was recording him on his cell phone, and when he saw that no one was taking his side, he went off to bring reinforcements.”

Sehjalal: Ohaliav what are you doing in my community?
Ohaliav: Brother, have a seat.
Sehjalal: This is my community. I should punch you in the nose. What could you do to me if I slapped you around a little?
Ohaliav: Have a seat, have a seat.. 
Sehjalal: Or maybe I should smash your cell phone. Are you recording me?
Ohaliav: What are you so angry about?
Sehjalal: Where is Samson? [Samson Singson, a relative of Dina’s who was present.] Samson, come over here. You dumb yokel, you! What are you doing? Why didn't you invite me if you were having a party? To hell with you and all your kin! What do you say to that, eh? [To everyone] No one leave, everyone stay where you are! Where are my men”?

Taped conversation between Sehjalal and Ohaliav at Boljol.

At that point, Dina says, Ohaliav and the other BMC members left and went to the home of Menashe Kipgen, who lives in the nearby community of Petach Tikva, where Sehjalal has no jurisdiction. After a while, she relates “Sehjalal came back with a few of his henchmen and resumed his drunken ranting.. He shouted at me that he had authority over all the B’nei Menashe and could have my visa cancelled if he wanted to, and he had one of his people pour water on the fire and put it out. He was clearly not in his right mind. At that point, I decided to leave and go to Menashe’s home, too. I spent the night there with the others, because I was afraid my home might be attacked by Sehjalal if I stayed in it. Even then I was afraid he might ambush me on my way to the airport in the morning, but fortunately, he was still sleeping off all that liquor.

“When I landed in New Delhi on Tuesday, I was picked up at the airport by Tongkhohao Khongsai and his wife Hoinu [B’nei Menashe who live in Delhi], who welcomed me warmly to their home.

Dina and Hoinu Khongsai in New Delhi.

I was supposed to fly to Israel on Thursday, but that evening I received a phone call from Yitzhak Thangjom, who told me that my reservation had been changed to Wednesday afternoon. I was glad of that because it meant I would be seeing my mother a day earlier.”

And what did Dina have to say the morning after, her first morning of waking in Israel? “Honestly,” she responded to our question, “I never thought I’d get a visa to Israel. I thought only Shavei had the power to grant one. Now I see that’s not so and that the decisions are God’s. I’m grateful to all those who did His work, especially to Milka Zeiler and the Thangjoms.”

And Hanna? “I always knew Dina would come one day,” she says. “Now that she’s here, I feel much better and more alive. I won’t have to feel lonely anymore.”