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Last update - 06:04 24/08/2007
Pardes Hannah mayor angered by Indian Jews' conversion course
By Fadi Eyadat, Haaretz Correspondent
Tags: Pardes Hannah, Indian Jews 

Pardes Hannah's mayor is up in arms over the arrival of some 100 Bnei Menashe, members of an Indian community that claims to have Jewish roots, at a religious seminary in his town.

According to Mayor Haim Gaash, the Bnei Menashe arrived secretly, under the auspices of a nongovernmental organization that did not coordinate with him first.

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Those who organized the arrival of the members of the tribe belong to a private organization," he said. "Private organizations are not supposed to deal with new immigrants; they deal with tourists or foreign workers."

The Bnei Menashe were brought to the Noam seminary by the Shavei Israel organization, which assists small Jewish communities. They will stay at the seminary for a few months while they undergo conversion, at which point they will be eligible for citizenship.

According to the organization's rabbi, Eliyahu Birnbaum, the Bnei Menashe are descendants of the tribe of Menashe, which was lost 2,700 years ago. For decades, he said, they have observed Jewish traditions in their homeland of northeast India, including maintaining some 40 synagogues.

He said that there was no intention of doing anything secretly and apologized to the mayor for any misunderstanding. The organization, he explained, sought a religious school with sufficient dormitory space at which the immigrants could study for conversion.

The president of the Bnei Menashe community in India, Yigal Anshin, said that he had been waiting for this moment for 15 years.

"This is a wonderful evening, and it will be even better in the future," he said. "This is a historic moment for us. We have returned to the land of our forefathers, our motherland."

Approximately 1,500 Bnei Menashe are currently in Israel, and some 5,000 remain in India.

The Interior Ministry said that members of the community are allowed into Israel on special tourist visas, and that their status will be altered immediately after their conversion is completed.


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  1.   Why Does Anyone Have To Convert? 06:53  |  Yosemite 24/08/07
  2.   Another non-story poorly reported 09:14  |  FOX 24/08/07
  3.   PARDES HANNAH MAYOR 09:41  |  M 24/08/07
  4.   another example of racism 10:54  |  lakshmi 24/08/07
  5.   Mayor of Pardes 11:15  |  Simcha 24/08/07
  6.   The mayor was upset... 12:11  |  El_Justiciero 24/08/07
  7.   Lakshmi is a hypocrite 13:37  |  Frank 24/08/07
  8.   What Secret? 14:05  |  Mike 24/08/07
  9.   judaism 14:38  |  Rab Burns 24/08/07
  10.   Conversion? 15:13  |  curious 24/08/07
  11.   6El Justiciero,not so far fetched,recently there was an article 15:13  |  lakshmi 24/08/07
  12.   Indian community that claims to have Jewish roots 15:19  |  David 24/08/07
  13.   Lakshmi 15:37  |  Greg 24/08/07
  14.   Why 16:24  |  Lakshmi 24/08/07
  15.   13 Greg,I can`t speak for saudi arabi but in Iran there are large 16:29  |  lakshmi 24/08/07
  16.   7 Frank,I don`t deny the iniquities of the caste system,I am not 16:40  |  lakshmi 24/08/07
  17.   Shavei Israel 16:45  |  wonderful! 24/08/07
  18.   12David,you may be right about left overs from other countries, 16:46  |  lakshmi 24/08/07
  19.   Welcome Home! Please Hashem bring remaining 5,000 within a year 16:48  |  Linda Rivera 24/08/07
  20.   #11 lakshmi - another one of your fictional sources? 16:50  |  * BEN JABO 24/08/07
  21.   #15 lakshmishit 16:52  |  * BEN JABO 24/08/07
  22.   jews #15 16:54  |  j10 24/08/07
  23.   Jews in Iran 17:16  |  Michael T 24/08/07
  24.   Lakshmi 17:20  |  Margie in Tel Aviv 24/08/07
  25.   Lakshmi 17:24  |  Israelit 24/08/07
  26.   Lakshmi has a lot to say considering she doesn?t live here 17:25  |  Israeli guy 24/08/07
  27.   #14 17:29  |  marbpl 24/08/07
  28.   The title of this article makes no sense 17:34  |  Jake 24/08/07
  29.   I like Indians, and am very glad theyre here in Israel 17:47  |  AV 24/08/07
  30.   26 israeli guy & ben Jabo,BJ here we go again,I never quote 18:23  |  lakshmi 24/08/07
  31.   25israelit,yes and let me tell you an interesting story,and I 18:33  |  lakshmi 24/08/07
  32.   25israelit,part 2, the African tribal leader talking to a 18:40  |  lakshmi 24/08/07
  33.   Fake Post Alert 14 ! 19:00  |  lakshmi 24/08/07
  34.   Lakshmi and others 19:17  |  Israeli guy 24/08/07
  35.   34israeli guy,thanks for the invite,it sounds pretty good,but 19:37  |  lakshmi 24/08/07
  36.   Cheap labour fpr the zionists? 20:18  |  Hannah 24/08/07
  37.   Lakshmi 20:27  |  concerned 24/08/07
  38.   amazing... 22:15  |  marbpl 24/08/07
  39.   #36 Hannah`s an expert on Judaism (LOL) 00:45  |  * BEN JABO 25/08/07
  40.   The mayor would have had no problems 11:26  |  David Teich 26/08/07
  41.   Lakshmi`s not just a jihadist, she`s an ignorant one 11:29  |  David Teich 26/08/07
  42.   Is the author of this article Jewish? 09:59  |  Jake 16/11/08
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