You won't believe where they named a synagogue after Mayor Ronen Plot • Watch

January 30, 2022   

Ronen Plot could enter the Guinness Book of World Records with the unique title of the only secular mayor in the world to have a synagogue in India named after him, while he was still alive. Starting today, the mayor's name is emblazoned in large Hebrew letters and translated into Hindi on the sign of the new synagogue building, 'Nachalat Ronen,' which was inaugurated this morning (Sunday) in the village of Kangtsopan in the state of Manipur. The synagogue was established in recent months by the Shavei Israel organization, headed by Rabbi Michael Freund, for the benefit of the approximately 300 Jews remaining in the Menashe community in the village of Kangtsopan, after the majority, over 1,000 people, immigrated to Israel in the past year and were absorbed into the Galilee landscape, thanks to the special efforts of Mayor Ronen Plot. "The community would like to thank Mayor Ronen Plot for his special work in bringing the Bnei Menashe community and their absorption in the city of Nof HaGalil together with the Shavei Israel organization, headed by Michael Freund," said the head of the community in the village, Elkana Knight. Zvi Hauta, director of Bnei Menashe absorption at Shavei Israel, added: "The Menashe community throughout the country numbers about 5,500 people, spread across 15 cities, mainly in the north, with the largest community in the country being in Nof HaGalil and numbering about 1,300 people, most of whom arrived during the past year thanks to the special efforts of the mayor and Michael Freund.". The absorption of the Menashe in the Galilee landscape has made the city the capital of the community in Israel and a center of attraction for long-time immigrant families from all over the country: "The city's door is wide open to all the Menashe girls and boys in Israel and India. I see the arrival of a quality community as a great blessing for the city and its residents. These are good, contributing, hardworking residents, and almost all of them are young couples with small children," said the mayor. He said that he fell in love with the community when he arrived to welcome the immigrants at Ben Gurion Airport and saw them get off the plane and spontaneously kneel and kiss the soil of the Land of Israel, while reciting the Shema prayer. "It is moving to tears to see how the Jews have preserved their Judaism in India for thousands of years. They know the prayers by heart, wear a kippah and maintain a religious lifestyle." [Gallery] The inauguration ceremony of the 'Nachalat Ronen' synagogue took place today with the participation of hundreds of community members. Due to the difficulty in connecting to the internet in the village, it was not possible to watch the ceremony live. However, community members filmed videos and photos and sent them to the happy groom, the mayor and the people of Shavei Israel. "This is a great and very moving gesture," said an excited Plot. "Who would have believed that in India a synagogue would be named after me? "I hope that soon we will be able to bring the small community that remains in the village to Israel, and that the 'Nachalat Ronen' synagogue will remain a historical representation that will testify to the special connection between the Jewish people in Israel and the Diaspora. I don't know of another place where a mayor who immigrated from Russia and the head of an immigration organization that came from the US - Michael Freund - are bringing together immigrants from India, descendants of the tribe of Menashe.".