Thousands of members of the Bnei Menashe community from across northeastern India gathered on Tuesday to light candles for the first night of Hanukkah.
The Bnei Menashe are descendants of the tribe of Manasseh, one of the Ten Lost Tribes exiled from the Land of Israel more than 2,700 years ago by the Assyrian empire. So far, some 3,000 Bnei Menashe have moved to Israel over the past 15 years, thanks to Shavei Israel, including more than 250 this year. Another 7,000 Bnei Menashe remain in India waiting for the chance to return home to Zion.