Jerusalem - With an arduous journey ahead, 7,232 members of the Bnei Menashe population, who live in northeastern India, will be immigrating to Israel.
The Bnei Menashe believe they are an offshoot of the Jewish people.
According to the tradition that is handed down to the community’s younger generations, they are the descendants of the tribe of Menashe, one of the 10 tribes that were exiled from Israel at the end of the First Temple period.
The Shavei Yisrael organization, which has been working among the Bnei Menashe community in India, established centers over the past decade for the study of Hebrew and Judaism for them in order to help them strengthen their Jewish identity and assist those who wished to immigrate to Israel.
This is a very organized group with approximately 50 synagogues and an umbrella organization that unites all the communities. Shavei Yisrael, with its director, Michael Freund, has been working with the Israeli government for several years as well in order to persuade it to bring all the Bnei Menashe here. Individuals from the Bnei Menashe community began to immigrate to Israel as early as 1982.
By 2003, approximately 1,250 members of the community entered the country on tourist visas provided by the Ministry of the Interior and in small groups.
In March 2005, Israel’s Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar recognized the Bnei Menashe community’s connection to the Torah and to the people of Israel, and decided “they must be helped to return to the homeland of the Jewish people.”
Incidentally, the matter of the Bnei Menashe entered Israeli public discourse in 1996, when members of the community sent an emotional letter asking for help to the prime minister at the time, Benjamin Netanyahu. The one who opened the letter and took the matter under his responsibility was an adviser in the Prime Minister’s Bureau by the name of Michael Freund, an immigrant from the U.S., who later took the matter on as a personal project.
View the original story at The Philadelphia Bulletin: Jewish Group From India Plans To Immigrate To Israel
Showing posts with label Shavei Yisrael. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Shavei Yisrael. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
The Philadelphia Bulletin: Descendents of Inquisition Victims Support Israel
by David Bedein
Dozens of people whose ancestors were forced to convert to Catholicism during the Inquisition over 500 years ago, often referred to by the derogatory term “Marranos,” gathered this past weekend in Barcelona for a special seminar run to train them to make Israel’s case to the media.
Amid rising anti-Semitism and anti-Israel sentiment throughout Europe, especially in Spain, the Shavei Israel (Hebrew for “returning to Israel”) organization convened a special seminar this past weekend in Barcelona with the aim of training to become effective advocates for Israel and its cause in their home countries.
A number of experts on Israel advocacy were brought in to take part in training sessions for the participants and to provide them with guidance and tools to defend the Jewish state in the local and international media.
The seminar was held at the Jewish community center in Barcelona and drew some 70 participants from Spain and Portugal.
This marks the first time these “Marranos” have organized themselves to promote Israel in their own countries.
The idea behind the seminar arose several months ago when descendants of the Inquisition rose at a demonstration in support of Israel that was held in front of the Israeli Embassy in Madrid during the recent Gaza conflict. Many had traveled for hours to Madrid for the sole purpose of expressing their support for Israel.
According to “Shavei Israel” Chairman Michael Freund, there are tens of thousands, and possibly hundreds of thousands, in Spain and Portugal who are conscious of their actual identity and their special relationship with Israel and the Jewish people. Mr. Freund said they “can serve as a wonderful corps of goodwill ambassadors for the Jewish state, and it behooves us to reach out to them and forge a stronger relationship with them.”
Shavei Israel is a nonprofit organization founded by Mr. Freund, who immigrated to Israel from the United States, with the aim of strengthening ties between the State of Israel and the Jewish people and descendants of Jews around the world. The organization is currently active in nine countries and provides assistance to a variety of distant Jewish communities in India, Spain, Portugal and South America, and even in Kaifeng, China.
Historical Background
The Jewish community in Spain in the early Middle Ages was one of the oldest and most successful Diaspora Jewish communities. Despite this, from 1391 onward, a series of terrible disturbances and great tribulations befell the local Jewish community. One of the direct results was an unprecedented wave of forced conversions. These events continued on through 1492, when they reached their peak, and the remaining Jews were formally expelled from Spain. Many of those who had been compelled to convert to Catholicism - known by the Hebrew term “Bnai Anousim” - remained behind, where they continued to preserve their Jewish identity and to practice Jewish tradition covertly. As a result, this unique phenomenon is still evident even today, even though the Inquisition invested enormous efforts over the centuries to eradicate it.
Bnai Anousim in Portugal
In 1497, the Portuguese monarch forced the Jews of his kingdom to convert to Catholicism. Despite this, these “New Christians” did their utmost to remain loyal to their Jewish roots, secretly passing on their identities down through the generations, despite the wrath of the Inquisition. Many of those who were caught practicing Judaism in secret were made to pay a heavy price by the Inquisition for their fidelity to the faith of their ancestors. One of the most famous examples of Portuguese Bnai Anousim was the community of Belmonte, in northern Portugal, which was discovered 80 years ago by a visiting Jewish engineer. Two decades ago, the Bnai Anousim of Belmonte were formally restored to the Jewish people by a rabbinical court sent from Israel.
Bnai Anousim In Brazil
When the doors of the New World swung open in the 16th century, Brazil came to play an important role for those with initiative, opening new opportunities for a better life. In addition, because of its geographical distance from Portugal, many Bnai Anousim saw Brazil as a possible place of refuge that might put them beyond the reach of the Inquisition. Nonetheless, the long arm of the Church reached across the Atlantic and continued to pursue the Bnai Anousim. But many remained undeterred, and continued to preserve Jewish rituals and traditions in secret, passing down their covert Jewish identity from generation to generation.
View this story in the Philadelphia Bulletin
View this story at Israel Behind the News
Dozens of people whose ancestors were forced to convert to Catholicism during the Inquisition over 500 years ago, often referred to by the derogatory term “Marranos,” gathered this past weekend in Barcelona for a special seminar run to train them to make Israel’s case to the media.
Amid rising anti-Semitism and anti-Israel sentiment throughout Europe, especially in Spain, the Shavei Israel (Hebrew for “returning to Israel”) organization convened a special seminar this past weekend in Barcelona with the aim of training to become effective advocates for Israel and its cause in their home countries.
A number of experts on Israel advocacy were brought in to take part in training sessions for the participants and to provide them with guidance and tools to defend the Jewish state in the local and international media.
The seminar was held at the Jewish community center in Barcelona and drew some 70 participants from Spain and Portugal.
This marks the first time these “Marranos” have organized themselves to promote Israel in their own countries.
The idea behind the seminar arose several months ago when descendants of the Inquisition rose at a demonstration in support of Israel that was held in front of the Israeli Embassy in Madrid during the recent Gaza conflict. Many had traveled for hours to Madrid for the sole purpose of expressing their support for Israel.
According to “Shavei Israel” Chairman Michael Freund, there are tens of thousands, and possibly hundreds of thousands, in Spain and Portugal who are conscious of their actual identity and their special relationship with Israel and the Jewish people. Mr. Freund said they “can serve as a wonderful corps of goodwill ambassadors for the Jewish state, and it behooves us to reach out to them and forge a stronger relationship with them.”
Shavei Israel is a nonprofit organization founded by Mr. Freund, who immigrated to Israel from the United States, with the aim of strengthening ties between the State of Israel and the Jewish people and descendants of Jews around the world. The organization is currently active in nine countries and provides assistance to a variety of distant Jewish communities in India, Spain, Portugal and South America, and even in Kaifeng, China.
Historical Background
The Jewish community in Spain in the early Middle Ages was one of the oldest and most successful Diaspora Jewish communities. Despite this, from 1391 onward, a series of terrible disturbances and great tribulations befell the local Jewish community. One of the direct results was an unprecedented wave of forced conversions. These events continued on through 1492, when they reached their peak, and the remaining Jews were formally expelled from Spain. Many of those who had been compelled to convert to Catholicism - known by the Hebrew term “Bnai Anousim” - remained behind, where they continued to preserve their Jewish identity and to practice Jewish tradition covertly. As a result, this unique phenomenon is still evident even today, even though the Inquisition invested enormous efforts over the centuries to eradicate it.
Bnai Anousim in Portugal
In 1497, the Portuguese monarch forced the Jews of his kingdom to convert to Catholicism. Despite this, these “New Christians” did their utmost to remain loyal to their Jewish roots, secretly passing on their identities down through the generations, despite the wrath of the Inquisition. Many of those who were caught practicing Judaism in secret were made to pay a heavy price by the Inquisition for their fidelity to the faith of their ancestors. One of the most famous examples of Portuguese Bnai Anousim was the community of Belmonte, in northern Portugal, which was discovered 80 years ago by a visiting Jewish engineer. Two decades ago, the Bnai Anousim of Belmonte were formally restored to the Jewish people by a rabbinical court sent from Israel.
Bnai Anousim In Brazil
When the doors of the New World swung open in the 16th century, Brazil came to play an important role for those with initiative, opening new opportunities for a better life. In addition, because of its geographical distance from Portugal, many Bnai Anousim saw Brazil as a possible place of refuge that might put them beyond the reach of the Inquisition. Nonetheless, the long arm of the Church reached across the Atlantic and continued to pursue the Bnai Anousim. But many remained undeterred, and continued to preserve Jewish rituals and traditions in secret, passing down their covert Jewish identity from generation to generation.
View this story in the Philadelphia Bulletin
View this story at Israel Behind the News
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