Shavei Israel, an organization founded in 2004 that has been lobbying on the Bnei Menashe's behalf, celebrated the arrival of the 3,000th immigrant from the community in June. There are another 7,000 still in India.
Settler InfluenceUnderlining the rightwing agenda of groups like Shavei Israel, many of the new immigrants have been housed in illegal settlements in the West Bank. The latest group of nearly 80 Bnei Menashe were sent to communities in the Golan, Syrian territory Israel has illegally annexed since 1967.
Zahalka pointed out that Israel's immigration minister, Zeev Elkin, who was photographed welcoming the new arrivals, is a settler and has publicly supported annexing all of the West Bank.
"The right wants to widen the definition of who is a Jew so that it can move many of these new immigrants into the settlements," he said.
"Its goal is a Zionist, one-state solution that forces Palestinians into enclaves, confiscates their land and then pases it on to Jews. To achieve their goal they need to bring more people here to justify stealing yet more land from the Palestinians."
According to the Israeli media, there are signs the government may be skewing the committee's makeup to ensure its decision favors reforming the Law of Return.
Dvir Kahana, the diaspora ministry's director-general, who set up the committee, is a prominent settler. He formerly held a senior post in Elad, a far-right organization that works to settle Jews in the heart of the large Palestinian neighborhood of Silwan in East Jerusalem.
Kahana has appointed to the panel officials who are likely to support increased immigration as a way to bolster the settlements.
Ties to NetanyahuThe diaspora ministry has declined to respond to inquiries from journalists. But in a statement, Kahana said there was "increasing awareness of large groups of people who are not Jewish by any definition but who have some type of connection to the Jewish people." He added that this "raises the question of what ties the government should have with them."
Leading the campaign for immigration rights to be extended to "lost tribes" is Shavei Israel's founder, Michael Freund. He was a senior aide to Netanyahu in the late 1990s. Freund has written that Israel must "think more creatively about how to address the ongoing erosion in the country's Jewish demographic profile."
Shavei Israel was unavailable for comment. However, its website states: "The Jewish people are currently facing a demographic and spiritual crisis of unprecedented proportions." It adds that "our numbers are shrinking" and says Israel's task is "extending a courteous hand to all those who wish to return."
In addition to the Bnei Menashe, Shavei Israel lists other significant communities it hopes to attract to Israel, including ones in Brazil, southern Russia, Poland, China, Peru, Turkey and Africa.
Asked by Haaretz whether Freund was advising the committee, the diaspora ministry refused to comment.
The ministry's official invitation to experts to appear before the committee has highlighted the political advantages of recruiting "emerging" Jewish communities. It says such communities could be recruited to help in government hasbara campaigns, or efforts to improve Israel's image in the world.
The committee is expected to announce its findings in six months.
Seach for "Jewish Gene"The concept of "lost tribes" has proved controversial in Israel. Tests on the Bnei Menashe and other groups supported by Shavei Israel have not found genetic markers indicating Jewish ancestry.
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