India-Mizoram-Tribal Jews
Hundreds of newly converted tribal Jews in India's northeastern state of Mizoram were devastated after New Delhi refused permission to immigrate to Israel following protests by Christian groups, community leaders Wednesday said.

"We were all shattered with the Indian government rejecting our applications for migrating to Israel," Jeremia Hnamte, administrator of the Mizoram chapter of the Shavei Israel Organization (SIO), said.

The SIO is a group headquartered in Jerusalem and dedicated to searching for lost tribes of Israel and helps them to migrate to Israel.

Rabbinical leaders announced in 2006 that some 6,000 members of the Bnei Menashe tribe in India's northeast were descendants of ancient Israelites or one of the Biblical 10 lost tribes.

The recognition from Israel came after tribe members sent scores of applications seeking to migrate to Israel.

"We understand that a group of Christians lodged a formal protest with the Indian external affairs and home ministries saying they should not allow Mizo Jews to migrate to Israel and stop conversions," Hnamte said.

"We are fighting for our right to migrate and hope to get a positive nod from the Indian government soon.

"There was tremendous pressure from the church and the Mizoram government on New Delhi to force Israel to ban the conversions," a community elder of the Bnei Menashe tribe said requesting anonymity.

Meanwhile, a group of about 200 Mizos were awaiting clearance from the government after they were officially recognized as Jews.

After the recognition, a group of rabbis visited Mizoram last year and converted the batch of nearly 200 Mizo tribal people to Judaism after they took a holy dip at a mikvah or a ritual bath.

"The new converts are practicing the religion perfectly. Once they are allowed to migrate to Israel, they will undergo a year-long course there to learn other aspects of Judaism at government expense," Itzkhak Colney, a Jewish clergy, said.

Colney was a convert and migrated to Israel in 1997 and is now in Mizoram to help the locals here to preach Judaism and teach Hebrew language among the Mizo Jews.

Some 1,000 people from Mizoram and neighboring Manipur state have migrated to Israel since 1994 when a private body, the Amishav Association took up their case.

The last batch of 218 Mizos left the northeast for Jerusalem in 2006.

Mizoram is a predominantly Christian state, while most Manipuris follow Hinduism. Most Jews in the two states were Christian by birth.

Apart from names, the converts share many practices in common with traditional Jews -- such as keeping mezuzahs or parchment inscribed with verses of the Torah at the entrance to their homes. The men wear a kippah or headgear during prayers.