In partnership with the Ministry of Immigrant Absorption and the Ministry of the Interior, approximately 722 Bnei Menashe, including Hrangchal and his family, will make their aliyah after the Rosh Hachana celebrations.
Obed Hranchal, a Jewish-Indian MMA and Kickboxing champion, will make his aliyah in Israel.
The seven-time national silver and bronze medallist in Wushu, Kickboxing, Muay Thai and Karate announced that he would make his aliyah with his parents,
Gabriel and Ruth Hrangchal, and her sister, Lucy in partnership with Shavei Israel – wishing to fulfil their lifelong dream of settling in the Jewish state. His family is expected to settle in the town of Nof HaGalil.
“I have always dreamed of doing the Aliya in the Land of Israel and I am very excited to do it.
If possible, I would certainly like to join the Israeli army and I would be honoured to represent Israel in MMA and Kickboxing competitions,” said Hrangchal.
Hranchal is a member of the Bnei Menashe Jewish community in northeast India, which appears to be descended from one of the ten lost tribes of Israel.
To date, more than 4,000 community members have made aliyah in Israel – some 6,500 still live in India.
“We are very proud of Obed and his impressive achievements and we look forward to welcoming him and his family here in Israel, along with the more than 700 other Bnei Menashe that we will bring to aliyah in the coming year,” said Shavei Israel’s founder and President Michael Freund.
“Obed is another outstanding example of how the Bnei Menashe can contribute to Israeli society and I hope we will soon see him take to the stage and win medals for Israel around the world”.
Originally from the village of Thinghlin in Mizoram, India, Hrangchal and his family were the only Jewish family in the city. I
They moved to Aizawl in 2013 to join the existing Jewish community there while waiting for their chance to make aliyah. Without the farm and unable to work on the Shabbat, Hrangchal’s father was finding it increasingly difficult to find work.
In light of this, Hrangchal sought recognition in the martial arts and became popular and respected within the Mizoram State Sport Council and the Mizoram State Wushu Association, both affiliated with the Indian Olympic Association and the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
“I started practising martial arts at a very young age at the age of 6, but without proper instruction,” said Hrangchal.
“As I grew up I gradually improved and then I started to compete at national level in 2014, when I competed in Chinese Kickboxing or Wushu and won second place. That same year, I started to study Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) with an instructor”.
Hrangchal said that when he arrives in Israel, he not only wants to be a citizen, he also wants to contribute to the State of Israel – by continuing his martial arts training in order to compete as an Israeli with a blue and white uniform bearing the colours of Israel.
Source: Alliance Mag
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