UKHRUL: Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed 650 new immigrants from the Bnei Menashe community on Thursday in Nof HaGalil after they arraived in Israel over the past month as part of Operation “Wings of Dawn.”
During the meeting, Netanyahu linked aliyah (Jewish immigration to Israel), northern security, and the development of the Galilee as part of a single national effort. The Bnei Menashe are immigrants from the Indian states of Mizoram and Manipur whose roots are believed to trace back to the Tribe of Menashe. They have been migrating to Israel over the past two decades.
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Nof HaGalil has become one of the main absorption centers for the community. According to Hebrew-language local media reports, more than 2,500 Bnei Menashe immigrants now live in the city.
“I came to tell you — welcome back home. This is your home. We are happy that you are here with us,” Netanyahu told the immigrants.
According to the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, the name “Operation Wings of Dawn” is derived from Psalm 139:9. The organization stated that “these urgent charter flights are the latest chapter in an odyssey stretching back 2,700 years, an exile that is finally coming to an end, fulfilling the promise of Isaiah 43:5, where God says He will bring His children from the east.”
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During the COVID-19 pandemic, planned flights carrying hundreds of community members from Delhi to Israel were abruptly halted after dozens of passengers tested positive for the virus, prompting emergency airlifts.
The Bnei Menashe ethnically belong to the Kuki community. In 2023, ethnic violence in Manipur displaced more than 2,000 people, led to the death of a community member, and resulted in the destruction of a synagogue. Following the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel, more than 200 recent Bnei Menashe immigrants were called up for combat duty within weeks. By late 2024, that number had risen to around 300, with many serving in elite units. Two staff sergeants from the community were killed while fighting for Israel.
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In November 2025, the Israeli government launched “Operation Wings of Dawn,” a historic initiative aimed at bringing the entire remaining Bnei Menashe community which is approximately 5,800 individuals to Israel by 2030. The Jewish Agency was tasked with managing the process.
