More than 250 Indians claiming descent from a biblical tribe landed at Ben Gurion Airport on Thursday, as part of a government operation to relocate them to Israel.

The newcomers passed under a balloon arch in blue and white, the colours of the Israeli flag, as dozens of well-wishers welcomed them with a traditional Jewish song.

They were the first Bnei Menashe (sons of Manasseh) to arrive in Israel since the government decided in November to fund the immigration of around 4,600 members of the community from the state of Manipur in northeast India.

The community claims to descend from Menasahe, the forefather of one of the biblical Lost Tribes of Israel exiled in 720 BCE by Assyrian conquerors.

Dagan Zolat, who has lived in Israel for 20 years, was at the airport to meet a man who he described as his brother.

“We were neighbors and among the only Jews in our village,” he told AFP, adding that it was nine years since he had seen his friend.

“When my son was little (in India), my friend often carried him in his arms,” he said.

The Shavei Israel organization, which seeks to trace the descendants of the Lost Tribes, said that some........

© The Times of Israel