Indian soldier from ‘lost Jewish tribe’ killed fighting for IDF in Gaza
An Indian-Jewish soldier who belonged to one of the “lost tribes” of Israel has been killed fighting in northern Gaza.
Staff Sgt Gary Lalhruaikima Zolat, 21, was a member of the Bnei Menashe community from north-eastern India who are recognised by Israel as the lost descendants of the ancient Israelite tribe of Manasseh.
According to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Staff Sgt Zolat was about to complete his service when he was killed in an explosion along with three other soldiers on Monday.
He belonged to the 92nd battalion of the Kfir Brigade who were fighting in the north of Gaza, where Israel launched a new ground offensive in early October to fight a Hamas resurgence.
Dagan Zohmingliana Zolat, his father, who moved his family to Israel in 2006, said that his son “wanted to be a warrior”.
The said: “He was a good boy. Loved his family and friends in the army. Loved animals. He wanted to be a warrior.
“I spoke to him on Sunday night, and he said he was fine.”
Staff Sgt Zolat’s two older sisters are also serving in the IDF.
In early September, Staff Sgt Geri Gideon Hanghal, 24, was the first member of the Bnei Menashe community to be killed in the war that followed Hamas’s Oct 7 attacks on Israel.
Staff Sgt Hanghal, whose family immigrated to Israel from Manipur in 2020, died in a car ramming attack near Asaf Junction, close to the West Bank’s Beit El settlement.
The Bnei Menashe, who are from north-eastern Indian states of Mizoram and Manipur, identify as descendants of the Manasseh tribe, one of the 10 “lost tribes of Israel” exiled at the end of the First Temple period by the king of Assyria more than 2,700 years ago.
In 2005, Shlomo Amar, the Sephardic chief rabbi at the time, declared the Bnei Menashe the descendants of Manasseh, paving the path for their immigration to Israel as members of a “lost tribe”.
At least 5,000 members of the community are said to have now immigrated to Israel, including almost 1,500 in the past five years.
Some 215 men from the Bnei Menashe are currently serving in the IDF, according to Shavei Israel, an organisation that encourages descendants of Jews and the lost tribes to return to the state of Israel.