Shavei Israel

Shavei Israel (Hebrew: שבי ישראל‎, Returners of Israel) is an Israeli-based Jewish organization that reaches out to Gentiles around the world who are descendants of Jews in order to strengthen their connection with Israel and the Jewish people. Founded by Michael Freund, Shavei Israel locates lost Jews and hidden Jewish communities and assists them with returning to their roots and, sometimes, with aliyah. The organization’s team is composed of academics, educators and rabbis.

Amishav is an organisation distinct from Shavei Israel, which it predates and to whose creation it contributed. It was founded in 1975 by Rabbi Eliyahu Avichail and follows goals similar to those of Shavei Israel.^[1] Several years after founding Amishav, Rabbi Avichail stepped aside as leader of the organisation in favour of Michael Freund, a younger man who was a Jerusalem Post columnist and former deputy director of communications and policy planning in the Prime Minister's office. After the two men quarreled, Freund founded another organization, Shavei Israel. Each of the two men have commanded the support of some of the Bnei Menashe in Israel.^[2]

Goals and objectives

The Shavei Israel organization seeks to help people who became separated from Judaism through cultural assimilation to reconnect with the Jewish people.^[3]Shavei Israel sponsors rabbis and teachers to work with groups of "lost Jews," provide them the Jewish education and assist them in aliyah if they choose. Its affiliated rabbis are posted in Palma de Mallorca, Barcelona, Valencia, Granada, and Sevilla in Spain; Belmonte in northern Portugal, San Nicandro in southern Italy, Brazil, Krakow and Wroclaw in Poland; and in Mizoram and Manipur, in North-East India. In December 2010, Rabbi Shlomo Zelig Avrasin was sent to work with the Subbotnik Jewish communities in Russia, particularly Vysoky.^[4]

In Jerusalem, it operates Machon Miriam, a Spanish-language "conversion and return institute."^[5] Dozens of Spanish and Portuguese crypto-Jews graduate from Machon Miriam each year, and undergo formal conversion by Israel's Chief Rabbinate.

History

The organization supported the Bnei Menashe of India in being recognised as "descendants of Israel" by the Israeli Chief Rabbi in March 2005. Shavei Israel assisted with teachers in India.^[6] As of 2013, a total of 2,000 Bnei Menashe have made aliyah (immigrated to Israel). The organization assists immigrants with their integration into Israeli society. Some 7,200 Bnei Menashe in India hope to emigrate to Israel; the organization is teaching them Hebrew and normative Judaism.^[7]

As part of its educational efforts, the organization has published a series of books on Judaism in a dozen languages, including Chinese, Japanese, Mizo, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Russian and German.^[8]

In 2003, 350 genetic samples of Mizo-Kuki were tested in the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology of Haifa under the guidance of Prof. Karl Skorecki. In agreement to the late Mizo research scholar, Isaac Hmar Intoate, who helped collect the samples, no proof was found which seemed to indicate a Middle Eastern origin for the Mizo-Chin-Kuki.^[9][10][11]

In March 2005 Rabbi Shlomo Amar announced the recognition of the Bnei Menashe by Israel and their possibility of immigration under the Law of Return. Those who wanted to immigrate were required to undergo a formal, full conversion as their people had been separated from Judaism for so long.^[12] In June 2005 the Bnei Menashe completed the construction of a mikvah in Mizoram under the supervision of Israeli rabbis to start the process of conversion to Judaism.^[13] Short afterwards, a similar mikvah was built in Manipur (Shavei was involved in all this mass conversion and immigration process^[14]

Freund supported the resettlement of 218 Bnei Menashe in Upper Nazareth and Karmiel in November 2005.^[15] A total of 1,700 Bnei Menashe moved to Israel, mainly settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip (until the disengagement in 2005).^[16]

Criticism

Shavei has been criticised for offending followers of non-Orthodox spiritual traditions and favoring Orthodox Israeli Judaism.^[17]

The mass conversion of Mizo-Kuki peoples aroused the concern of the Indian government, as it prohibits proselytizing. In November 2005 Israel recalled the Rabbinic Court teams which had been preparing several hundred Bnei Menashe for conversion to calm the concerns of the Indian government. At the time, some Hindu groups complained that the government had paid more attention to Christian complaints of proselytizing than to their own about Christian missionaries.^[18]

After suspending the issuance of visas to Bnei Menashe for a few years, in January 2010 the Israeli government announced that the remaining 7,200 Bnei Menashe could make aliyah within a period of 1–2 years after completing conversion at facilities in Nepal. This allowed them to avoid problems with India.^[19]

See also

• Gathering of Israel

References