The Lost Tribes of Israel

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE LOST TEN TRIBES? TOP

The continued hidden existence or future public return of these tribes
is usually based on written religious tradition and/or speculation.

There is a vast amount of literature on the Lost Tribes
though no specific source can be relied upon for a complete answer.

for example

Wikipedia

Jewish Encyclopedia

Pictorial History
of the Jewish People,

Nathan Ausubel

(1953)

4 Groups claiming descent from specific Lost Tribes

Many groups claim descent from specific Lost Tribes but preliminary scientific evidence such as Y-DNA testing, specifically Haplogroup J,
would exclude many of them [citation needed].
Some of these groups include:

4.1 Bene Ephraim of
Southern India

4.2 Nasranis of Kerala
(ancient Malabar)

4.3 Bene Israel of South Asia

4.4 Bnei Menashe of India

4.5 Beta Israel of Ethiopia

4.6 Bukharian Jews of
Central Asia

4.7 Persian Jews

4.8 Igbo Jews of Africa

4.9 Samaritans

5 Groups claiming descent from a non-specific Lost Tribe

Some groups believe they are descended from one of the Lost Tribes, but don't know which one. These include:

5.1 Lemba people of Africa

5.2 Pashtuns of the
Afghanistan and Pakistan
region

5.2.1 Origin theories

5.3 Chiang Min people of
China

5.4 Kaifeng Jews

5.5 Bedul, Petra

6 Speculation regarding
other ethnic groups

6.1 Scythian / Cimmerian Theories

6.1.1 British Israelism variant

6.1.2 Brit-Am variant

6.1.3 Other variants

6.2 Kurds

6.3 Japanese

6.4 Irish

6.5 Native Americans

6.6 General dispersions,
via Media region

6.7 Nathan Ausubel's list

7 Other traditions

7.1 Latter-day Saints

Arabia, India, and Abyssinia.

Nestorians and
Devil-Worshipers.

Afghans.

Karaites
and the Caucasus.

Anglo-Israelism.

Japan.

America.

North-American Indians.

The Mormons.

Baghdad

Iran

Kurdistan

Yemen

Georgia

Bokhara

Hadhramaut

Mountain Jews

Afghanistan

Bene-Israel

Cochin Jews

China

Egypt

Algeria

Morocco

Libya

Tunisia

Djerba

The Sahara

Cave Dwellers of the Atlas Mountains south of Tripolitania and Tunisia. Closely related to the Jews of the Sahara,

The Falashas = Lake Tana, Ethiopia.

The Samaritans of Nablus (Shechem).

Karaites

SHAVEI ISRAEL (Hebrew: שבי ישראל, Israel Returns) TOP

is an Israeli-based Jewish organization that locates "lost Jews" and assists them in returning (Hebrew "teshuva" תשובה) to Judaism. Founded by Michael Freund it is a team of academics, educators and rabbinical figures.

SONG SHAVEI ISRAEL

Shavei Israel

* comprises a team of academics, educators and rabbinical figures who reach out to “lost Jews” and assist them in coming to terms with their heritage and identity in a spirit of tolerance and understanding.

* was founded by Michael Freund and has the support of different rabbinical authorities in Israel and the United States of America

* extends a helping hand to all members of our extended Jewish family and to all who seek to rediscover or renew their link with the people of Israel.

Shavei Israel focus’ on:

• the descendants of anousim (crypto-Jews in Spain, Portugal, South America and elsewhere);

• the descendants of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel (such as the Bnei Menashe of India);

• Subbotniks (descendants from a group from Russia who have converted to Judaism);

• Kaifeng Jews (descendants from an assimilated Chinese community);

• Hidden Jews from Poland (descendants from Jews adopted by Catholic families during the Second World War or Jews that hid their Judaism during the communist era);

• Jews from the Amazon who were descendants of assimilated Moroccan Jews who arrived for commerce

• Inca Jews. Peruvians from the Inca area of Peru who converted to Judaism

• San Nicandro An Italian community who converted to Judaism. Today most of them live in Israel though San Nicandro still a women's community.

• descendants of assimilated Jews who wish to rekindle their connection to Judaism and the Jewish people;

• anyone touched by the spark of Judaism and is sincerely considering conversion and requires assistance so helping anyone wishing to return to the Jewish people

KULANU TOP

Kulanu is a network of people with a variety of backgrounds and religious practices. They do not proselytize: groups and individuals ask for their help; they are not sought out.
Kulanu is involved with several "developing" Jewish communities around the globe that are not yet recognized by all of world Jewry. Some of these groups are returning to long-forgotten Jewish roots. Others have embraced Judaism on their own, often in complete isolation. In either case, Kulanu helps supply educational materials, scholarships, Jewish ritual objects and prayer books, teachers, and rabbis. The communities benefit by forming closer ties to the world Jewish community, and mainstream Jews benefit as they are reminded of the richness of their own religion. Below is a list of "developing" Jewish communities as well as a variety of other Jewish communities around the world.

Jewish Communities Worldwide

* Abayudaya (Uganda)

* Anousim

* Cameroon

* China

* Ethiopia

* Ghana

* India

* Lemba

* Mexico

* Nigeria

* Portugal

* Suriname

* Uganda (see Abayudaya)

References

TripAtlas - Ten Lost Tribes

Afghanistan: Home to the Lost Tribes of Israel (Ohr Sameach)

How Do We Link

Genetic studies on Jews (from Wikipedia)

Jews worldwide share genetic ties (from Nature News)

DNA Current Research

Finding Forgotten Jewish Ancestry Using DNA

VIDEOS (Note - This is only a selection, more can be found on YouTube)

Bnei Manasseh Documentary - From India to Israel (Shavei Israel)

Are Japanese Jewish?

Digging for the Truth - The Lost Tribe of Israel
In five parts. The story of the Lemba tribe of Africa

Quest for the Lost Tribes
In ten parts

Kaifeng Jews

The Jews of Ethiopia (Operation Soloman)

THE TWELVE TRIBES

According to the Old Testament Jacob had twelve sons and at least one daughter by two wives and two concubines.

When Israel was divided among the tribes of Israel by Joshua, the tribes of Levi and Simeon did not receive large areas but given cities with surrounding open space. Jacob elevated his grandsons Ephraim and Manasseh, the two sons of Joseph by his Egyptian wife Asenath to the status of full tribes replacing and multiplying the single Tribe of Joseph.

For more detail see the The Jewish Encyclopedia from www.ebibleteacher.com

THE DIVIDED KINGDOMS

The Kingdom of Israel (North)

and Judah (South)

The kingdom of Solomon was divided after his death in ca.931. His son Rehoboam increased taxes and provoked a rebellion of the ten northern tribes. They elected a king of their own, Jeroboam, and chose a new capital, Tirzah near Shechem. This was the beginning of the history of the two kingdoms:

Israel in the north, with a swift succession of ten dynasties. In ca722 it was made an Assyrian province and its population deported. These are the ‘lost tribes’.

Judah in the south, where the house of David continued to rule until 586. They are the ancestors of modern Jewry.

For more detail see The Jewish Encyclopedia

map from
Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs

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