About 240 immigrants from the Bnei Menashe community in northeastern India landed at Ben Gurion Airport last night (Friday night), as part of a joint operation by the Ministry of Aliyah and Absorption and the Jewish Agency.
Upon landing, they were welcomed in a moving ceremony in the presence of Minister of Aliyah and Absorption Ofir Sofer, Chairman of the Jewish Agency, Maj. Gen. Doron Almog, and Rishon LeZion Rabbi David Yosef.
Over the past two decades, approximately 4,000 members of the community have immigrated to Israel as part of previous government decisions.
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According to the plan, by the end of 2026, approximately 1,200 members of the community are expected to immigrate, and by 2030, the process of bringing approximately 4,800 additional immigrants living in the states of Mizoram and Manipur in northeastern India will be completed. In total, approximately 6,000 immigrants are expected to arrive as part of Operation "Wings of Dawn," thus completing the immigration of the Bnei Menashe community to Israel.
This is the first of three flights of immigrants expected to arrive in the next two weeks, and on board are approximately 600 new immigrants from Bnei Menashe.
The flight that landed tonight brought dozens of young families, who will be absorbed after landing at the absorption center in Nof HaGalil, where they will also be reunited with their family members who immigrated to Israel in previous years.
Operation 'Wings of Dawn' is being launched following a government decision last November, initiated by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Minister of Immigration and Absorption Ofir Sofer, and Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich, with the aim of completing the immigration of members of the Bnei Menashe community to Israel, enabling family reunification with their relatives who immigrated in previous years, and assisting in their absorption in the country.
The operation is managed by the Ministry of Aliyah and Absorption and the Jewish Agency, in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Conversion Directorate, the Population and Immigration Authority, and other bodies.
The task of preparing the Bnei Menashe for aliyah and flying them to Israel was entrusted to the Jewish Agency, which operates with the assistance of donations from Diaspora Jewry and friends who love Israel.
The immigrants are expected to be absorbed in absorption centers operated by the Jewish Agency with the assistance of the Ministry of Aliyah and Absorption in the northern cities of Nof HaGalil and Kiryat Yam, in cooperation with the local authorities.
