search

Interior minister says he’ll take ‘liberal policy’ on immigration

Silvan Shalom ‘immensely excited’ by arrival of 80 Bnei Menashe from India, hopes to enable more Falasmura to come from Ethiopia too

About 100 "Bnei Menashe" (Sons of Menashe) from India landed at Ben Gurion Airport, on June 25, 2015, immigrating to Israel (Flash90)
About 100 "Bnei Menashe" (Sons of Menashe) from India landed at Ben Gurion Airport, on June 25, 2015, immigrating to Israel (Flash90)

Israel’s interior minister on Thursday said he’d adopt a “liberal policy” to enable greater immigration and conversion of Bnei Menashe and Falasmura from India and Ethiopia, respectively.

Speaking to Haaretz at a ceremony marking the arrival of 80 new Bnei Menashe immigrants from northeast India, Silvan Shalom expressed “immense excitement” at welcoming the new arrivals.

“They’re returning here to the land of Israel after thousands of years, they’re also returning to Judaism, they’re reconnecting with the people of Israel and I will tackle this issue with the most liberal policy there is to bring people from everywhere around the world where people want to arrive,” Shalom said.

“I know that in the past there was a lot of opposition to bringing them here,” he said, referring to the disputed Jewish heritage of groups such as the Bnei Menashe, “but I will adopt a completely different policy.”

Silvan Shalom (photo credit: FLASH90)
Silvan Shalom (photo credit: FLASH90)

Over 3,000 members of the Bnei Menashe group, who claim Jewish roots but are not Jewish according to halacha, have immigrated to Israel thus far.

The mass aliyah of the community was put on ice for a number of years before being restarted in 2013. Some 7,000 Bnei Menashe live in India, according to Shavei Israel, an organization working to promote immigration.

read more:
Never miss breaking news on Israel
Get notifications to stay updated
You're subscribed
image
Register for free
and continue reading
Registering also lets you comment on articles and helps us improve your experience. It takes just a few seconds.
Already registered? Enter your email to sign in.
Please use the following structure: [email protected]
Or Continue with
By registering you agree to the terms and conditions. Once registered, you’ll receive our Daily Edition email for free.
Register to continue
Or Continue with
Log in to continue
Sign in or Register
Or Continue with
check your email
Check your email
We sent an email to you at .
It has a link that will sign you in.