B’nei Menashe Take Part in Dinner Hosted By Indian Ambassador

(December 15, 2022) At a dinner hosted last week in his official residence in Herzliya by India’s ambassador to Israel Sanjeev Singhla, some 20 young Israelis of Indian descent met for an evening of celebrating Indian-Israeli ties. The dinner was held as part of a worldwide Indian government program aimed at connecting Indian diasporas in different countries to the land from which their parents, grandparents, or more distant ancestors emigrated. Among the Israeli youngsters taking part in the event were three members of the B’nei Menashe community: Avi Hangshing, Yosef Naite, and Levana Changloi.

In his remarks to his guests, our Newsletter was told by Avi Hangshing, Ambassador Singhla stressed the importance for the identity of young people everywhere to stay in touch with the country of their or their forbearers’ origin. “It was fascinating for me,” Hangshing said, “because while I’ve always been interested in history, I never knew anything about the historical ties between India and Israel – such as the fact, for example, that Indian soldiers fighting with the British army played a key role in the World War I battle for Haifa, from which they helped drive the Turkish army.”

Asked by us whether he still felt a connection to India, from which he came with his family to Israel in his high-school years, Hangshing, a security trainer and competitive marksman, replied: “You can leave the place you were born in and spent your childhood in, but it never leaves you. There are moments -- a song that reminds you of something, a taste that brings back memories – that make everything come back to you. Israel is my home, but India will always be a special place for me. It makes me happy to see the two countries enjoying such a good relationship. I was honored to participate.”

Yosef Naite gives the ambassador a Hanukkah menorah.

Yosef Naite, a woodworker from Kiryat Arba who presented Ambassador Singhla with a Hanukkah menorah made in his workshop was impressed by the solidarity of the young Israelis at the event. “I never realized,” he said,, “how tightly-knot and mutually supportive the Indian Jewish community in Israel is. It made me feel that I’m part of something beyond just the immediate environment in which I live.” Naite, whose family settled in Israel when he was a small child, has always been proud to be part of the B’nei Menashe community. “Now,” he says. “I feel proud to be part of the Indian Jewish community, too.”

Levana Chongloi, a computer engineer who came to Israel at the age of 23, feels the event at Ambassador Singhla’s reconnected her to roots she had pushed to the back of her mind. “The evening made me feel nostalgic,” she says. “Although I knew almost no one there at the beginning, I had amazing conversations with many young people who have an Indian side to them just as I do. Talking to them and getting to know them was a kind of homecoming for me. It gave me a sense of community and belonging, and that’s something we always long for and seek.”

An invitation

(December 13, 2022) Degel Menashe is pleased to invite all scholarship beneficiaries and their families on the 22/12/22 to come for the ceremony. The event will take place at the Indian Community Club, Ramla, near the Magen Shalom Synagogue. For those of you using waze/gps may enter 'Magen Shalom Synagogue, Ramla'. This is to remind all of you that the ceremony will begin at 1800. Please reach the premises by 1730. Light dinner will be served along with lighting the Hannuka candle. Thank you all and looking forward to seeing you.

Degel Menashe Announces 2023 Scholarship Awards

(December 8, 2022) The names of Degel Menashe’s 2023 scholarship winners were announced this week. Twenty-one recipients will share IS75,000 in award money averaging 30 to 50 percent of their tuition fees for the year.

Arbi Hnamte

The winners come from all over Israel, from Kiryat Arba, Nitzan, and Sderot in the south to Afula and Yesud Hama’ala in the north. They range in age from 37-year-old Arbi Hnamte, who is starting her last year of nursing school at the Hebrew University, to 11-year-old Dan Haokip (see last week’s Website article “Helping A Star to Be Born”), who trains at football with the junior youth team of Hapoel Jerusalem. They are planning for careers in such diverse fields as education, molecular biology, interior design, statistics, health management, and traditional Chinese medicine. Two are studying full stack development, which involves the application of computer technologies to commercial projects. Some were born in Israel, others came from India with their families at a young age, others have arrived in the last decade. All of them B’nei Menashe, they are a diverse group.

Their scholarships will be a great help to them. “I’m now starting my first year as a B.A. student in economics and business administration at Ariel University,” wrote Shoshana Menashe on her application form. “Because it’s far from where my parents live, I have to take a room in the dormitories, for which they pay. But they’re trying to save money to buy a home of their own and I can’t ask them for more, and so the tuition is up to me. It’s hard to have to work to earn the money for it while studying at the same time, which is why I’ve asked for financial assistance.”

Simcha Chenkual

Many of the scholarship winners feel that they are being enabled to fulfill an ambition that might otherwise be beyond their means. “My parents came to Israel in 1999,” wrote Simcha Chenkual, “and ever since I was small, the desire to study and contribute to Israeli society has been an important part of me. This year, I’ll be starting the Open University in Haifa, where I’ll major in psychology and education for those with learning disabilities. I have three younger brothers, and I hope our generation will be the first in our family to have the opportunity for academic study. A scholarship that will pay for part of my tuition will help me to make my dream come true.”

Yael Lunkhel

Yael Lunkhel, who is studying at Shenkar College in Tel Aviv, spelled her dream out more poetically. She wrote:

“I’m now on my way to obtaining a B.A. degree in industrial design and material engineering. This involves courses in math, chemistry, physics, and art. Everything in this world is made of something, and it will be my job to use these materials for both my personal vision and the products I design. For me, industrial design is like a magic show: matter from different spheres is taken and combined to make something new, which is revealed at the end when the magician removes his cloak in front of an amazed audience. Yet the magician knows that it’s not magic but a dance of science with creativity.

“When I think of myself at the end of my studies, I imagine being able to make the world a better place with my knowledge and skills. At the age of 24, I’ve finally taken the plunge and gotten down to fulfilling myself.”

Degel Menashe wishes all our scholarship winners a year of learning and achievement!