Rini Kakati <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Mizo tribals create historySyed Zarir Hussain/ Aizawl
More than 200 tribal people in Mizoram have made history by becoming the first batch to be formally converted to Judaism, religious leaders Thursday said.
"We are extremely happy to be officially converted to Judaism. Me and my family can now proudly claim to be Mizo Jews," 48-year-old Peer Tlau, an engineer, in Aizawl, said.Christian by birth, Tlau, his wife and two sons, were among 218 tribal Mizos who were pronounced Jews after they took a holy dip at a 'mikvah' or a ritual bath last weekend under strict supervision by a team of nine Rabbis or religious leaders from Israel.
"The holy bath by 218 Mizo people at the mikvah was indeed a historic event as they became the first batch to be formally converted to Judaism," Rabbi Yehuda Gin, an Israeli preacher, deputed by the Chief Rabbinate or religious jurist, said."A bath at the mikvah forms an important ritual in Jewish tradition. A holy dip is considered mandatory and the final step towards becoming a complete Jew for any converts," he said.
Sephardic or oriental chief Rabbi in Jerusalem, Shlomo Amar, announced in March that members of the 6,000-strong Bnei Menashe tribe in the northeastern states of Mizoram and Manipur were descendants of ancient Israelites or one of the Biblical 10 lost tribes.The recognition by Israel came in the wake of mounds of applications from northeastern tribals seeking to migrate to Israel, or the "Promised Land", which they say is their right. According to Israeli law, every Jew enjoys the "right of return" or the right of abode in Israel.
"Now we can surely make preparations to migrate to our Promised Land. Nobody can stop us from going to Israel forever," Tlau's wife Shulamith said. There were at least 600 Mizos who queued up to perform the holy dip at the 'mikvah', the construction of which was completed earlier this month."We had two rounds of oral interviews before we allowed the people to take the holy dip and become a Jew. We followed a strict conversion drill so that people who were not serious about the religion cannot simply come and get converted," Rabbi Zion Buharon, the leader of the Israeli team, said.
Those rejected would be given another chance to perform the holy bath in six months time. "There is no need to be disheartened. Those people who were not selected should try and master their knowledge on Judaism and Hebrew so that they clear the interviews for conversions next time," Mr Rabbi Gin said."And those who have now become Jews after the conversion need to strictly follow Judaism without any compromise," he said.
Although recognised as Jews, the tribal people will have to undergo conversion rituals as they have not been following Judaism as practiced in Israel. Some 800 people from Mizoram and Manipur have managed to migrate to Israel since 1994 when a private body, called the Amishav Association took up their case, despite fears among the Israeli authorities that the Indians were simply seeking a better life.The last batch of 71 tribals left the Northeast for Jerusalem in May 2003. "The holy bath is considered as a passport to Israel and we have cleared the test," said Peer Tlau who until recently was a worker at the Presbyterian Synod in Aizawl.
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