A month after the fighter Gideon Hengehl, may his memory be blessed, fell in a ramming attack in Benjamin, his brother Aharon arrived today (Wednesday) after immigrating to Israel from northern India with the help of Ministers Sofer and Arbel.
The immigration will be carried out in full coordination between the Minister of Immigration and Absorption, Ofir Sofer, and the Minister of the Interior, Moshe Arbel, who worked together with the "Shavei Israel" organization and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to advance the procedures for bringing Aaron, his wife, and their three children from northern India. The family will reside near the Hengehal family in the city of Nof HaGalil, which has a large community of Bnei Menashe.
The soldier Gideon Geri Hengehal, may his memory be blessed, who fell about a month ago in a car-ramming attack in Binyamin, immigrated to Israel about four years ago with his family as part of the immigration of the Bnei Menashe. They settled in the Galilee landscape, a city where a large and supportive community of their community developed.
Aharon and his family will initially receive temporary resident status, thanks to the intervention of Interior Minister Moshe Arbel, and thereafter the immigration and citizenship process will be arranged.
Minister of Aliyah and Integration, Ofir Sofer: "Upon learning of the fall of soldier Gideon Geri Hengehal, may his memory be blessed, I instructed the Deputy Director-General of the ministry to examine how we can assist his family." It was discovered that the brother and sister remained in northern India and did not join the immigration. We worked in cooperation with the authorities to expedite their ascent to Israel as soon as possible, so they can attend the memorial service that will take place on Sunday at Mount Herzl. I thank Minister Arbel for his contribution and the Foreign Ministry for expediting the bureaucratic processes.
Rabbi Michael Freund, founder of the Shavei Israel organization that has been caring for the Bnei Menashe community for over twenty years: "We are very excited that Gideon Yad's brother, who was murdered by wicked people last month, is fulfilling his dream today to immigrate to the Land of Israel with his wife and children." We thank the Holy One, Blessed be He, bless the Minister of Aliyah and Integration, the Minister of the Interior, and the representatives of the IDF for their efforts and are proud to be partners in this initiative. With the new year approaching, there is now a new wave of immigration for the Bnei Menashe, and I sincerely hope this is the first step towards bringing all 5,000 Bnei Menashe who remain in India and are looking towards Zion.