[Thousands of immigrants will return to their ancestral homeland in the near future. Israel's borders will expand as far as the Euphrates River while her population grows dramatically.]
Group 'descended from Joseph' struggled to 'return home'

March 11, 2008
By Aaron Klein

JERUSALEM – Eighteen couples from a group of hundreds who recently moved here from India believing they are one of the "lost tribes" of Israel have been married in a massive, emotional ceremony, fulfilling for many a lifelong dream of starting a life in what they consider their homeland.

"For the first time, 18 B'nei Menashe couples – equal to chai ['life' in Hebrew numerical equivalent] – married in a joint ceremony under the wedding canopy in Jerusalem. This symbolizes their successful absorption into Jewish and Israeli society, and we wish the couples a lot of joy and success," said Michael Freund, chairman of Shavei Israel, a Jerusalem-based immigrant organization working with the "lost" Jews.