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Operation Wings of Dawn Moves 6,000 Indian Immigrants to Israel

4/25/2026

26 4 Full Breakdown

Summary

Story summary

Operation Wings of Dawn will move up to 6,000 Bnei Menashe immigrants from India to Israel by 2030, an aliyah in years.
The first flight brought 240 immigrants to Ben Gurion Airport; 1,200 more are slated to arrive by end-2026.
The aliyah and integration ministry and the Jewish Agency will settle the immigrants in Nof HaGalil, a plan endorsed by Benjamin Netanyahu and Bezalel Smotrich to reunite families and address northern labor shortages.

History

Historical Context

In 1990 Israel launched the “Great Aliyah,” bringing roughly one million Soviet Jews—500,000 by 1991—under Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir, the Jewish Agency and Nativ. Operation Wings of Dawn repeats that state-driven model, relocating 6,000 Bnei Menashe families from India to Nof HaGalil to bolster the northern labor market and reunite families as part of Israel’s long-standing use of organized aliyah to fill demographic gaps.

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Story summary

Operation Wings of Dawn will move up to 6,000 Bnei Menashe immigrants from India to Israel by 2030, an aliyah in years.
The first flight brought 240 immigrants to Ben Gurion Airport; 1,200 more are slated to arrive by end-2026.
The aliyah and integration ministry and the Jewish Agency will settle the immigrants in Nof HaGalil, a plan endorsed by Benjamin Netanyahu and Bezalel Smotrich to reunite families and address northern labor shortages.

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