Shavei Israel

Shavei Israel presents its mission as strengthening ties among the Jewish people, the State of Israel, and people seeking to renew a connection to Jewish heritage. It says that it responds to individuals’ own desire to reconnect and does not proselytize. Its activities include sponsoring educators, organizing seminars, publishing materials, maintaining online learning communities, and assisting some participants with conversion, aliyah, and absorption.[2][4]

The organization works with communities whose connections to Jewish history differ in kind and level of documentation. These include the Bnei Menashe of India, Bnei Anousim in Spain, Portugal, and Latin America, Subbotnik Jews in Russia, descendants of Kaifeng Jews in China, and people with Jewish roots in Poland.[1] Testimony to an Israeli government committee emphasized that many participants seek knowledge or cultural, national, and spiritual ties without converting or leaving their countries.[3]

Shavei Israel’s work grew out of Michael Freund’s contact with members of the Bnei Menashe community in northeastern India. The organization says Freund received a letter from community members in 1997, while he was Deputy Communications Director under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu; the writers said they descended from the tribe of Menashe and wanted to return to Israel.[2] Freund later said that the exchange inspired him to establish the organization.[5]

Sources give different dates for the organization’s founding and formal establishment. Shavei Israel and an Israeli government committee identify 2002 as its founding year.[2][3] The organization says it was formally incorporated in 2004, while Ynet reports that Freund established it in 2001.[2][5] These accounts appear to distinguish, or sometimes conflate, the start of Freund’s work in 1997, the founding of the organization, and its later incorporation.

The organization’s initial focus on the Bnei Menashe broadened to include people and communities with varied historical connections to Jewish life. A government committee describes Shavei Israel as active across the communities it examined, while JNS lists work with Bnei Menashe in India, Bnei Anousim in Spain, Portugal and South America, Subbotnik Jews in Russia, Kaifeng Jews in China, and descendants of Jews in Poland.[3][1] Shavei Israel itself lists additional communities, including Inca Jews in Peru and the Jews of San Nicandro in Italy.[1]

The organization’s stated purpose extends beyond arranging conversion or aliyah. Shavei Israel says it responds to people who wish to renew a connection to Jewish heritage and does not proselytize; Freund similarly told Ynet that its work could build cultural, national, or spiritual ties, and that conversion was not its sole aim.[2][5] In testimony to a government advisory committee, Freund said that only a small portion of the groups Shavei Israel works with seek full conversion and immigration, while others seek knowledge and ties to the Jewish people and Israel without leaving their countries.[3]

Shavei Israel’s activities include sponsoring rabbis and teachers abroad, holding traveling seminars, publishing educational materials, and running online learning communities. Its reported rabbis have served in Spain, Portugal, Brazil, Russia, Italy, Colombia, El Salvador, Chile, and Poland.[4] A 2013 report described permanent emissaries in Spain, Portugal, Brazil, Poland, Italy, and India, as well as Jewish education, programming, and Israel tours; it put the organization’s annual budget at about $1 million at that time.[6]

In Poland, the organization has supported religious life and education among people with Jewish roots. A scholarly article describes Shavei Israel’s support for Jewish Religious Communities there since 2006, including the work of Rabbi Yitzchak Rapoport, and discusses its emphasis on “hidden Jews”—people whose families had disavowed Jewish affiliation during the communist period or after the Holocaust.[7] Rabbi Michael Schudrich wrote that Shavei Israel supported three rabbis in Poland and ran an Israel summer program for Poles with Jewish roots to study Judaism; he characterized that program as “hugely successful.”[8]

Its Polish programming has included seminars in Poland and Israel, publications in Polish, and assistance with aliyah, conversion, and absorption for participants who choose to immigrate. Ynetnews reported that the organization distributed thousands of free copies of a Polish-language Hanukkah guide covering the holiday’s history, laws, customs, songs, and recipes.[9] A seminar in Oswiecim brought dozens of Polish participants together for Shabbat, prayer, and Torah study, followed by a guided tour of the former death camp; participants described differing levels of knowledge about their Jewish backgrounds and practice.[10]

In China, Shavei Israel representatives periodically taught at a school attended by children from the Kaifeng community, where students learned about Judaism and some Hebrew after regular school hours. Testimony to the Israeli government committee said that several small groups of young people, fewer than 30 in total, converted and immigrated to Israel, mainly with the organization’s help, but lacked ongoing guidance after arrival.[3] A separate account reported that Shavei Israel helped three Kaifeng community members immigrate in 2009; they later completed conversion and naturalization, and the article described them as the first Jews from Kaifeng to enlist in the IDF.[11]

The organization also operates Machon Miriam, an institute in Israel offering Spanish-, Portuguese-, and Italian-language study for people seeking conversion or return to Judaism, many of them descendants of Anousim. Shavei Israel describes the program as a year of intensive study of Jewish texts, history, and the Jewish calendar, with Hebrew study and help connecting students to a Jewish community; it reports that more than 700 students had completed the program since its start.[12]

The Bnei Menashe have been a central focus of Shavei Israel’s work, which has combined religious education in India with preparation for immigration and support in Israel. The organization says it established centers in Manipur and Mizoram for classes in Hebrew, Jewish history, religion, and culture, and reports building synagogues and ritual baths and supporting short-term emissaries.[13] Ynet described educational centers in India, including a Hebrew Center in Aizawl, Mizoram, and a center in Churachandpur, Manipur.[5]

The organization also reports training potential community leaders. Its Bnei Menashe program includes an annual seminar for 40 women aged 18–40, selected for leadership potential and trained to teach Hebrew and Judaism. In Israel, Shavei Israel describes employment and professional training, college scholarships, and educational and cultural activities at Bet Miriam, as well as material and spiritual assistance to immigrants.[13]

In October 2005, six rabbinical judges sent to India by Shavei Israel converted about 200 Bnei Menashe in a week, with the approval of Sephardi Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar. The World Jewish Congress report said Amar had recognized the community as “descendants of Israel” earlier that year and cited Shavei Israel in reporting that more than 800 members had emigrated to Israel by then.[14] Ynet later reported that Amar recognized the community’s Jewish roots after a two-year investigation, and that Israel’s conversion and immigration process allowed an annual group to come to Israel, undergo conversion, and receive citizenship.[15]

For participants immigrating to Israel, the process has included time in absorption centers, Jewish study, and conversion where required. A Jerusalem Post profile described newcomers spending time at an absorption center before conversion and qualifying for Israeli citizenship and related services; it also reported that candidates had to demonstrate Jewish knowledge and practice to the satisfaction of the Chief Rabbinate.[16] Shavei Israel’s account of a 2017 group said 250 Bnei Menashe arrived in November, studied Hebrew and prepared for conversion at a sponsored absorption center, and, after three months, had formally converted and become Israeli citizens; the account said families were living in apartments in Safed.[17]

The scale of migration has changed over time, and reported totals differ by source and date. An Israel Forever Foundation account described “Operation Menashe” as a campaign to help Bnei Menashe immigrate and said Shavei Israel had settled more than 3,000 members across Israel.[18] Shavei Israel’s pages give different organization-reported totals: its About Us page says over 3,000 have been brought to Israel, while its Bnei Menashe page says about 4,000 have made aliyah and more than 7,000 remain in India.[1][13] In 2026, the Jewish Virtual Library reported that more than 250 Bnei Menashe arrived as part of a government-backed initiative, with some reuniting with family and others beginning integration and any required conversion.[19]

Shavei Israel’s public profile has been shaped by its international network and by accounts of family reunification and renewed Jewish learning. Michael Freund, identified as the organization’s founder and chairman, has described the Bnei Menashe community’s connection to the Jewish people and Israel as “powerful and inspiring.”[20] In one account, Bnei Menashe coordinator Tzvi Khaute recalled an earlier understanding of Zion: “We thought Zion was in heaven. We didn’t know it was real.”[18]

The organization’s work has also had a practical family dimension. An Israel Forever Foundation article reported that Khaute’s parents were scheduled to immigrate with a group of 162 Bnei Menashe after 17 years apart, with the prospect of meeting grandchildren they had never met. The planned newcomers were to spend three months at the Kfar Hasidim absorption center learning Hebrew and adjusting before joining relatives or settling nearby.[18]

Internationally, Shavei Israel’s model combines emissaries, education, publications, and online resources with programs for participants who reach Israel.[4] Testimony to an Israeli government committee presented this work as a means of building ties not only with those seeking conversion and aliyah, but also with larger groups seeking an ongoing connection to the Jewish people and the State of Israel.[3]

The Bnei Menashe identify themselves as descendants of the biblical tribe of Menashe, and Shavei Israel presents their migration traditions as part of its account of the community. The organization describes ancestors settling in what is now northeastern India after journeys through Central Asia and the Far East; these are community and organizational accounts, not independently established historical findings in the sources available here.[13] Ynet reports disagreement among historians and anthropologists about the ancestry claim, while community members cite inherited customs and traditions.[15] The Jewish Virtual Library similarly says the Shinlung generally believe they are of Jewish descent while noting that the claim has found little support among scholars.[20]

Recognition and religious status are distinct from the ancestry claim. Reports describe Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar as recognizing the Bnei Menashe as having Jewish or Israelite roots while requiring conversion for recognition as Jews.[14][15] The Israeli government committee says the conversion process began in India with Shavei Israel’s assistance and was completed in Israel. It also emphasizes that conversion-and-immigration arrangements applied to particular groups through specific government decisions rather than constituting a general route for every community with affinity to the Jewish people.[3]

Shavei Israel’s work among people with Jewish ancestry also raises questions about the relationship between descent, identity, and halakhic criteria. A scholarly article discusses zera yisroel, or “seed of Israel,” as an approach that values conversion for people with Jewish ancestry who do not meet halakhic criteria. It places this approach alongside Polish community members’ views that Jewish affiliation and self-identification do not always conform to strict halakhic rules.[7] Separately, the Israeli government committee cautioned that clear-cut evidence had not been presented to it about the scope or seriousness of the broader phenomenon of converso descendants in Spain and Portugal and called for further study; that assessment did not establish a finding about every individual or community assisted by Shavei Israel.[3]

A legal dispute involving the association was reported in 2022. Globes said the Tel Aviv District Court ruled in Sarah Green’s suit that her signatures on association documents had been forged. The court accepted a handwriting expert’s opinion that Green had not signed the documents and that Freund had, found that she had never been an association or committee member, and ordered the Registrar of Associations to correct its records.[21]

The same report said Shavei Israel characterized Green’s suit as vindictive and baseless and that its lawyers would consider their next steps. It did not report an appeal or a final outcome of Green’s separate NIS 50 million claim, which it presented as an allegation rather than a court finding. Globes also reported annual turnover of about NIS 5 million and government support of about NIS 500,000, figures relating to the period covered by the 2022 report rather than current finances.[21]