The Fellowship is preparing to bring the first group of 1,200 members of the Bnei Menashe tribe from India to Israel this week in a historic aliyah, recently approved by the Indian government. For many members of this small and isolated Jewish community, moving to the Holy Land has been a lifelong dream. Fellowship staff who arrived in India met with some of them. 22-year-old Rut spoke on behalf of her family.
“In just a few days, we will leave everything we know and make aliyah to Israel. We have been waiting for this moment for more than 20 years. It is hard to describe what that feels like. There is excitement, and more than anything, there is gratitude. Of course, there is some nervousness, but mostly there is a deep feeling that something we have dreamed about for so long is finally becoming real,” she said.
The Bnei Menashe tribe lives in isolated, jungle regions of India. For Rut and her family, Jerusalem is not just a city—it is a place they have grown up reading about, praying for, and hoping to reach one day.
“The journey also carries pain. Our father passed away last year, on August 8. His absence is with us in everything. However, in a way, this step feels like moving forward as a family—like completing something we began together,” Rut said. “To those who helped us, especially Christians in the United States—thank you. There are no words to express how grateful we are. You made it possible for us to turn this dream into a reality. We have always prayed for this moment.”
Rut and her family will join her grandparents—who made aliyah in 2014—and other relatives as they begin building a life together in Israel. She hopes to be fully settled within a year and continue her studies. For her family, this is not simply a move, it is a homecoming.
