First Bnei Menashe Flight Lands as Israel Launches Operation to Complete Community’s Aliyah

Israel welcomed 240 new immigrants from India’s Bnei Menashe community this week, marking the launch of a broader government-backed effort to complete the group’s aliyah. The arrivals, who landed at Ben-Gurion Airport on Thursday, April 23, are part of Operation “Wings of Dawn,” a joint initiative led by the Aliyah and Integration Ministry and the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI). The flight is the first in a series expected over the coming weeks.

Approximately 600 immigrants are set to arrive in three waves. Many of the new arrivals are young families who will initially settle in absorption centers in Nof HaGalil, where some will reunite with relatives who immigrated in previous years. The broader initiative aims to bring the remaining members of the Bnei Menashe community, currently living in Mizoram and Manipur states in northeast India, to Israel. Some 1,200 additional immigrants are expected by the end of 2026, with the full relocation of approximately 6,000 community members projected by 2030.

The “Wings of Dawn” operation follows a government decision approved in November 2025, spearheaded by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Aliyah and Integration Minister Ofir Sofer, and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. The initiative is intended both to reunite families already in Israel and to support the community’s long-term integration into Israeli society. Officials emphasized that the effort is being carried out in coordination with multiple government bodies, including the Foreign Ministry, the Population and Immigration Authority, and the Conversion Authority, as well as international Jewish organizations and pro-Israel groups.

(JPost/VFI News)

“Father, we praise You for fulfilling Your ancient promises to gather Your people from the four corners of the earth back to the Land of Israel. We thank You for the 240 Bnei Menashe Olim who safely arrived at Ben-Gurion Airport, and we ask Your blessing upon their absorption into Israeli society. We pray for the remaining members of the community still in Mizoram and Manipur, that You would prepare their hearts and pave the way for their journey home. We ask that You grant strength to the families being reunited and that this aliyah operation be a powerful testimony to Your faithfulness, in Yeshua’s Name.”