The Bnei Menashe (, "Children of Menasseh", known as the Shinlung in India) is a community of people from various Tibeto-Burmese ethnic groups from the border of India and Burma who claim descent from one of the Lost Tribes of Israel, with some of them having adopted Judaism. The community has around 10,000 members. The movement began in 1951 when a tribal leader reported having a dream that his people's ancient homeland was Israel, with others then embracing the idea that they were Jews. All of them practiced Christianity prior to that. Members are from the Chin, Kuki, and Mizo ethnic groups amongst others. In the late 20th century, Israeli rabbi Eliyahu Avichail, of the group Amishav, named these people the Bnei Menashe, based on their account of descent from Menasseh. In 2003–2004, DNA testing of several hundred men of this group did not provide conclusive evidence of Middle Eastern ancestry. A Kolkata study in 2005 suggested that a small number of women sampled may have some Middle Eastern ancestry, but this may also have resulted from intermarriage during the thousands of years of migration of Jewish peoples. In the early 21st century, Israel halted immigration by the Bnei Menashe; after a change in government, the immigration was allowed again. The chief rabbi of Israel ruled in 2005 that the Bnei Menashe were recognized as part of a lost tribe. After undergoing the process for formal conversion, they will be allowed aliyah (immigration). History Biblical background In the time of the first temple, Israel was divided into two kingdoms. The southern one, known as the Kingdom of Judah, was made up mostly of the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, Shimon and Levi. Most Jews today are descended from the southern kingdom. The northern Kingdom of Israel was made up of the ten tribes (which include half of Levi). In approximately 721 B.C.E., the Assyrians invaded the northern kingdom, exiled the leading ~20% of the ten tribes living there, and enslaved them in Assyria (present-day Iraq). Adoption of modern Judaism According to Lal Dena, the Bnei Menashe have come to believe that the legendary Hmar ancestor Manmasi was the Hebrew Menasseh, son of Joseph. During the 1950s, this group of Chin-Kuki-Mizo people founded a Messianic movement. While they believed that Jesus is the promised messiah for all Israelites, these pioneers also adopted the observance of the Jewish Sabbath, the celebration of holidays,