Inserts:

00:02 Report by / Adil Bhat & Sharique Ahmad
00:25 Zevulun Haokip / Bnei Menashe community member
01:23 Thanzaholen / Bnei Menashe community member
02:03 Natan Kipgen / Migrated to Israel 20 years ago
02:32 Seithang Khongsai / Jewish preacher

Script:

ATMO: (2 sec)
Morning prayer and recitation

0:02-0:23
Every morning, Zevulun Haokip begins his day in prayer with his family.
For him, it’s more than a ritual - it’s about identity and belonging. 
Haokip is from the Bnei Menashe – a community in northeastern India that identifies as Jewish.
He now hopes to migrate to Israel with thousands of others in the coming years.

SOT 0:24-:42 
Zevulun Haokip (Kuki language)
"The reason I want to migrate to Israel is because it is the promised land given to our great ancestors. The thought of thousands of us returning fills me with excitement. Ever since I was a child and began following Judaism, I have always felt that my heart already belongs there."

00:44-01:05 
The Bnei Menashe claim to be descendants of the biblical tribe of Manasseh, one of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel said to have been exiled nearly 2,700 years ago.

They live mainly in India’s northeastern state of Manipur - a remote, mountainous region marked by poverty and long-running ethnic conflict.

1:06- 1:21
Israel’s plan would re-settle them in Galilee, in the north - an area bordering Lebanon and often a target of Hezbollah rocket attacks. 

But even the risk of moving to a conflict zone hasn’t shaken their determination.

1:22- 1:35 
VOX 1 Thanzaholen, Farmer (Kuki)
"War and conflict exist everywhere in the world. Many people have died because of wars. But I don’t carry fear or worry in my heart. One day I too will pass away. What matters to me is to return safely to the Holy Land, Israel."

1:35-1:46
For many here, Israel is the promised land. But for this group of returnees, it’s a reality they have lived. And they say the experience hasn’t always been easy.

1:46- 2:02
Natan Kipgen migrated to Israel more than two decades ago and found work as a farm labourer.
He lives with his family in Nitzan, a community settlement in southern Israel.
This is his first visit back home since he left.  

SOT 2:02-2:16
Natan Kipgen, Returnee (Hindi)
"When we go for prayer in the synagogue they look down upon us. Some people wonder what kind of prayers we will say . They doubt us and treat our prayer as unimportant. So even inside the synagogue we are looked down upon. Sometimes, it makes me angry." 
. 
ATMO: 
Prayer in synagogue - 2 sec

2:18- 2:23
At this local synagogue, men gather each morning to read from the Torah.

2:25- 2:30
And in these spaces the calls for Aliyah, or migration to Israel, have grown louder.

SOT 2:31- 2:48
Seithang Khongsai, Preacher (Kuki)
"Nowadays practising Judaism is relatively peaceful. People are more tolerant than in the past, which was very challenging for us. Over the years, society here has gradually come to accept our religion. And practising Judaism today no longer attracts the stereotyping or discrimination it used to."

2:48- 3:00
But faith isn’t the only reason people want to leave.

Haokip is heading to the fields with his family. He says the land is less fertile now and it’s becoming harder to survive.

SOT 3:00- 3:16
Zevulun Haokip (Kuki)  
"There are no industries or companies in our region. jobs are extremely difficult to find, and employers usually do not hire us easily. Even daily wage work is hard to obtain. In Israel, there are many industries and companies that will give you work."

3:18-3:26
For him, and thousands of other Bnei Menashe, Israel is more than a destination.

It’s a homecoming and a way out. 

END