Hundreds of members of the Bnei Menashe community from across northeastern India gathered in the town of Churachandpur in the Indian state of Manipur to celebrate Chanukah and light the traditional candles.

“The story of the Maccabees' heroic determination to preserve their Jewish identity under the most trying of circumstances is one that resonates very strongly with the Bnei Menashe, for they too have made enormous efforts down through the centuries to cling to their faith and that of their ancestors,” said Michael Freund, Chairman and Founder of Shavei Israel, a non-profit organization which aims to strengthen the ties between the Jewish people, the State of Israel and the descendants of Jews around the world.

“Even in far-off Manipur, the flame of Jewish survival continues to burn brightly, he noted.

The Bnei Menashe are descendants of the tribe of Manasseh, one of the Ten Lost Tribes exiled from the Land of Israel more than 2,700 years ago by the Assyrian empire. So far, some 3,000 Bnei Menashe have made aliyah thanks to Shavei Israel, and another 7,000 are still in India waiting for the chance to return home to Zion.