The Blessing of Miriam Comes to Ma'oz Tzur: Residents Exult

Kibbutz Ma'oz Tzur children take joy in water coming to their homes.

(November 29, 2024) Finally there is an abundance of water at Kibbutz Ma'oz Tzur. Ever since last Sukkot when about four families moved into Ma'oz Tsur, the 200-acre property had nothing, not even a name. These were desperate people whose lives and homes had been destroyed in the valley where the Meitei supremacists carried out their ugly and atrocious ethnic cleansing, hunting down members of the Kuki (of which the B'nei Menashe belong to) tribe like animals. There were harrowing stories of families who spent days in the jungle with children, infants with nothing to eat except for wild berries and jungle herbs, until finally, they found relative safety in Lamka and Kanggui where the Kukis resides and are a majority. Ma'oz Tzur is situated in Lamka, about a 10 minute drive from the town. It is situated in an area called Suongpi (great rock, in Kuki) on a property owned by Lalam Hangshing, who also serves as the chairman of the apex B'nei Menashe body, BMC(I). He made it available to the displaced B'nei Menashe who fled the Imphal valley in the wake of the violence that began on 3rd May 2023. It started to take shape when more desperate families with nowhere to go started to join and their number doubled by December 2023. It was Hannukah when it was decided to give it a name and turn it into B'nei Menashe Jewish village with the blessings and approval of Lalam, the BMC chairman and Hillel, chairman of Degel Menashe. Thus was born Kibbutz Ma'oz Tzur, keeping in the spirit of Hannukah and Jewish resilience.

Pipes procured to bring water home.

Kibbutz Ma'oz Tzur had electricity soon after its establishment but water was, relatively, not a priority since there were several monsoon-fed streams and rivulets running into it. However, they had to be fetched by containers and carried to the houses which was on a higher level. This meant that a lot of time had to be invested in it with children often participating and helping out at the cost of their study hours. Something had to be done. The executive director of Degel Menashe, Isaac Thangjom, visited and surveyed Kibbutz Ma'oz Tzur in early April this year with a team consisting of residents and followed the largest rivulet, upstream, from the east to the higher reaches in the west. A source was found where there was a pool of water with a steady stream of water, even during the driest month which fell during the visit. The pre-monsoons had not begun yet. It was determined that it must be perennial and hence a dependable source. Plans were afoot to lay a pipe which will bring water to the settlement.

The first stream of water into Kibbutz Ma'oz Tzur.

Funds had to be raised to buy the pipes and it has never been an easy job. The task to do that fell on Jessica, wife of the executive director, who began to reach out to donors, especially members of the community in Israel. Because of the monsoon rain in the region, work could not begin until after it had ceased. So it was put on a stand-by until the last drops of rain fell in the last week of October. The drive began in early November and the response was overwhelming. The funds were dispatched by the third week of November. Procurement and fitting began. Our newsletter was told that all the residents of Kibbutz Ma'oz Tzur, regardless of age, took part in the project under the leadership of elders Reuven and Yitzhak. Laying of the 2.5 kilometer long pipe was completed in two days! One resident even said the water is gushing with great pressure. Now, that being the first phase, there is a need to prepare for the future and management will be a key factor. There are plans to build a kind of a reservoir in the vicinity of the settlement. And more importantly, a kind of a catchment will have to be devised at the source of the water to ensure there will be enough water even during the driest of months. Besides domestic purposes, the availability of water will promote agriculture, children will have more time for their studies and for others myriad of convenience to be more productive. Elder Reuven says, "We have plenty of water now, more than we need but we must plan how this can make our livelihood grow. It is a moment of joy and a beginning of new possibilities".

Degel Menashe wishes to thank all our donors!

Below are file photos of how residents used to fetch water at Kibbutz Ma'oz Tzur:

Children of Kibbutz Ma'oz Tzur contribute by helping their parents.

A couple make an arduous climb to bring water home.

A HERO OF ISRAEL IS LAID TO REST

Gary Zolat's funeral at the Afula Military Cemetery

(October 14, 2024) Four IDF soldiers were killed when a shell feel on them while clearing an enemy encampment in Gaza on the Tuesday, 11th November 2024. One of them, Staff Sgt. Gary Lalhruaikima Zolat was a B'nei Menashe, 21, from Afula in Northern Israel. Along with him three others, Staff Sgt. Orr Katz,20, from Ma'ale Adumim, Staff Sgt. Nave Yair Asulin, 21, from Carmit and Staff Sgt. Ofir Eliyahu, 20, from Holon fell in the battle. They are all from the Kfir Brigade's Shimshon Battalion. According to reports, it is still being investigated whether it was an explosive device or an anti-tank missile.

Gary Zolat, a supreme sacrifice.

His parents Dagan and Shaked are devasted, his father recalls fondly that Gary had always wanted to be a soldier and serve his country, Israel, in the IDF. He was a popular kid in school as well as in the army beloved by all around him, he continues. "I last spoke to him on Sunday night when he said his leg hurt but he was ready to take the call of duty whenever." Despite the apparent grief, he proudly says that he has four children and three of them are serving in the IDF. The youngest will serve when he comes of age, he says defiantly. They are from Kolasib, a town in northern state of Mizoram in north eastern India bordering Myanmar. Gary was on the verge of completing his mandatory military service when the tragedy unfolded. His father told our newsletter that he'd have gone on the serve in the IDF. While Israel is facing continuous attacks from Gaza, in the south and Hezbollah, in the north, several B'nei Menashe

The Zolat family in 2007, post aliya.

youths are serving in the IDF. The numbers are hard to estimate but it is safe to assume that their number exceeds the others in terms of their proportion to the general population.

The Zolat family came on an aliya to Israel in 2007 when Gary was barely 4 years old. They lived in an absorption center in Carmiel for a while, till shifting to Sderot, after a couple of years, while his parents looked for stable jobs to feed their growing family. It was in 2012 when they decided to move to Afula, their current residence, permanently. After all, there were a lot of Mizo speaking families who had moved there over the years. It was a mix of Gaza evacuees and new olim. There were old friends who lived there, they would feel right at home. It was a right decision, they have been living for over a decade now.

Family members grieve at the funeral.

A hero is laid to rest.

The funeral took place at the Afula Military Cemetery on the 12th of November at 03:30 pm. Among the attendees were the Minister of Aliya & Klita, Ofir Sopher and his deputy director-general, Moshe Pines. The Minister along with the mayor Avi Alkabetz and their commanders gave fitting eulogies to Gary. It was followed by the parents and other family members who poured out their grief and love in Mizo and ably translated by the community rabbi into Hebrew for the masses. The younger ones did not need it, though. It was a huge crowd that attended the funeral in hundreds. Fellow B'nei Menashe who travelled from all over Israel, local residents, many who did not know the family but came out to stand with the family in its time of grief, soldiers from the brigade and many others who were there. Shaked, Gary's mother, summed it all up, "Maker of heaven and the earth, You have given me a beloved son, for whatever it may be worth it was worth taking him away for this noble cause, Israel."

While the social media was filled with unprecedented show of sympathy and outpouring of grief, it may be noted that this is the second fatality the B'nei Menashe have faced (with three other wounded) since the war began last October. They have been covered comprehensively, interested readers may scroll back on our newsletter to read them. The chairman of apex B'nei Menashe body, BMC also sent out a letter of condolences. A screen capture is below:

SUCCOT AT MA'OZ TZUR & A BOUNTIFUL AUTUMN HARVEST: A year since establishment

Ma'oz Tzur residents pose in front of their Succa.

(October 21, 2024) It was a year ago when about 4 families moved into Ma'oz Tzur marking modest beginnings of the first and only kibbutz in India. Although it wasn't under the most pleasant of circumstances since it was established to house displaced Jewish B'nei Menashe families fleeing an ethnic-cleansing perpetuated by the majority Meitei community in the valley in India's northeast. Now, it has about a hundred residents with most taking advantage of the available land to farm to eke out a living. While it cannot be stated that they have prospered yet but it can stated with certainty that they have survived and are on the road to making progresses in improving their lives. Happily, this Succot, Operation Exodus gave out gifts, in the form of rice, lentil, cooking oil for the festival and Degel Menashe sponsored all meals, beginning with Rosh HaShanna and for Succot.

Harvest in progress.

Some of the produce.

Ever since the beginning, residents have struggled to farm the land with limited success but now with grit and determination, that is changing. The autumn harvest, this year, was plentiful enough to produce a surplus. Our newsletter was informed that the surplus will be sold in the local vegetable market thereby giving the residents modest earnings. Even though progress has been made, they are still dependent. Degel Menashe still provides for their most basic needs such as grains, pulses and similar items including building shelters. Hopefully that will soon become things of the past in the near future. As things stabilize and become more organized, there will be a move towards sustainability and self-sufficiency in the form of a cooperative or similar entity. The goal is to provide residents a means of decent livelihood with dignity and at the same time, a provision to practice their faith. "I think we have succeeded up to a degree." says a resident. "We have a synagogue for our spiritual needs and fields for our worldly needs. What we need now is a school for our children".

HAPPY SUCCOT & MO'ADIM L'SIMCHA!

One of the several farms at Ma'oz Tzur.