The State of Israel has launched a major government-led initiative to complete the aliyah and family reunification of the Bnei Menashe community, marking a shift from privately run efforts to full state responsibility.
The project, known as Operation Kanfei Shahar (Wings of Dawn), is being coordinated by the Aliyah and Integration Ministry in partnership with the Jewish Agency, the Chief Rabbinate, the conversion system (Ma’arach Hagiyur), and multiple government ministries.
The Bnei Menashe, a community from the northeastern Indian states of Manipur and Mizoram, trace their ancestry to the biblical tribe of Menashe, one of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel. Though practicing Judaism for generations, they remained geographically isolated, and many community members have only recently begun to make aliyah.
Today, roughly 5,000 Bnei Menashe live in Israel, primarily in northern towns such as Kiryat Yam and Nof Hagalil, with thousands more still in India. The current initiative focuses on reuniting family members – spouses, children, and parents – after years of separation.
Moshe Pines, the ministry’s deputy director-general, said the initiat
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