In Brief...World News Review
Lost Tribe of Israel?
The Canadian press has taken an interest in the lost tribes of Israel—at least in a group that some think is one of the tribes. An unusual community of 1.5 million Jews living on the India-Burma border has captured the attention of some influential people.
WorldNet Daily has picked up the story. Maclean's, Canada's national weekly magazine, has also run a feature about this unusual group. So have Toronto's Globe & Mail and the Canadian Jewish News. What is their purpose? The media wants to bring pressure to bear on the nation of Israel to accept these Jews into their country.
The group, which is known as the Children of Menmasseh-thought to be a variation of "Manasseh"-practices a religion that is a mix of Judaism and Christianity. Its members believe in Christ but also observe Purim. They hold to a number of other "Judaic customs such as male circumcision on the eighth day, the sacrifice of a goat on Passover with its blood painted on their doors, an obligation for a man to marry his brother's widow, the offering of sacrifices on altars, and the wearing of their shawls that resemble tallit with fringes and blue threads."
Of significant interest to those who have followed the subject of the ten lost tribes is what reporter Kaye Corbett wrote about this subject. "In the past 2,700 years, historians and Bible scholars have searched for these 10 lost tribes. The Scriptures suggest they will be identified and returned to Israel in the Last Days." She then adds a list of Bible references from the Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Isaiah and Zechariah.
Corbett suggests that the making of a documentary called "Quest for the Lost Tribes"—soon to air on cable television channel A&E—has revived interest in the subject. It is intriguing to find this topic addressed in the main stream press. ( "A Lost and Found Tribe," by Kaye Corbett, © 1998 WorldNet Daily)