Guwahati: Posters asking Kukis to ‘go back to Israel’ have surfaced at Moirang town in Manipur’s Bishnupur district, amid the ongoing ethnic conflict between Meiteis and Kukis in the Northeastern states.
The posters surfaced after reports emerged that over 200 fighters of the Kuki community with roots in Manipur and Mizoram are set to fight for Israel in their fight against Hamas in Palestine.
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According to the reports, of the 3, 60,000 reserve soldiers of the Israel Defence Force (IDF), 206 are of the Kuki community, who have their roots in Manipur and Mizoram.
There are approximately 5000 people of the Kuki community in Israel.
These Kukis, and around 5,000 members of this community, are in Israel because they migranted under the country’s open-door policy to members of what Tel Aviv recognizes as a a ‘lost Jewish tribe’.
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Under the policy, members of what Israel recognizes as ‘lost Jewish tribes’ were allowed to immigrate to Israel. And as it happens, when Hamas terrorists entered Israel this small community was in the direct line of fire.
Most Kukis live in Sderot, a city near Gaza. This area faced the worst violence. There were no injuries, but one family’s home was burned. Bnei Menashe is the Hebrew name of this community.
In Aizawl prayer services have been held for those killed in Israel and the IDF. They said that we are proud of our boys. Perhaps, no one in India tracks the IDF’s promised land offensive in Gaza more closely than the small community for which they speak.
A middle-aged man in military attire, holding an assault rifle, is seen in a viral video, vowing to guard his homeland from enemy attacks. The person in the video is a native of violence-hit Manipur’s Churachandpur district.
At least 170 people have been killed and thousands of people have been displaced in clashes that started in May this year between Meitei and Kuki ethnic groups in Manipur.