They are born Mizo and speak the language of this far north-east Indian state bordering Burma - but they dream of a new life in Israel.
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Mizo "Jews" dream of life in Israel
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!-- E IIMA -->There are nearly 5,000 people in Mizoram and the neighbouring state of Manipur who call themselves Jews, and 800 of them have already migrated to the Middle East.
Most live in Gaza and the West Bank - troubled areas compared to the peace of Mizoram, now that the state has a settlement with rebels after years of insurgency.
Ephraim Lalmingliana, who calls himself a Mizo Jew, says he is not afraid of the violence in the West Bank or Gaza.
"I will go and settle there because I am Jew.
"Israel is my promised land and I long to go there. I have computer skills and I will surely get a job there," he told BBC News Online.
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We have no information about any ban on visas for Jews across the world... In terms of visas, they Mizos are treated like other Indians travelling to Israel
Michal Buch
Israeli embassy in Delhi
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!-- E IBOX -->It will not be easy for the teenager.
"Israel does not consider this community [in Mizoram] as Jewish," Ms Michal Buch, a spokesperson of the Israeli embassy in the Indian capital, Delhi, told BBC News Online.
"Some of them have already arrived in Israel on tourist visas. We know that they underwent a formal conversion [to Judaism] there," she said.
Those who call themselves Jews in Mizoram complain that it has become very difficult to get visas for Israel from north-eastern India.
"None of us can go now. We want this ban to be lifted," says Ron Sangliana, another young Mizo who calls himself a Jew.
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Elizabeth Zodingliani (right) wants "restrictions" lifted
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!-- E IIMA -->The Israeli embassy says there is no such ban.
"We have no information about any ban on visas for Jews across the world," said Ms Buch.
"In terms of visas, they [Mizos who say they are Jews] are treated like other Indians travelling to Israel," she added.
Mizoram's newest political party, the Ephraim Union, is lobbying hard to have what it calls "visa restrictions" eased.
"We have approached the Prime Minister's Office and the Indian foreign ministry to take this up with Israel, with whom Delhi enjoys close ties now," says Elizabeth Zodiangliani, who edits a paper reporting on Jewish issues.
Israel's Amishav organisation, a Jewish group which helps Jews from across the world to settle in Israel, says it will help.
Convert to Judaism
In an e-mail interview with the BBC, the Amishav chief, Michael Freund, said: "There is no reason these Jews from Mizoram and Manipur should be denied a place in the Promised Land.
"They are good and devout Jews and very good people. They will be assets for Israel."
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Amishav delegates talk migration with Mizo hopefuls
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!-- E IIMA -->Senior Amishav members have made several visits to Mizoram to organise the Jews, and help them learn Hebrew by opening a school in Aizawl, Mizoram's capital.
Scores of Mizos and Kukis, ethnic cousins speaking languages closely akin to each other, say they started converting to the Jewish faith in the mid-1980s after a local researcher claimed the Mizos as one of the lost tribes of Israel.
But the state's powerful church, which holds great sway over the lives of 750,000 Mizos - who are almost wholly Christian - dismisses this theory.
Nevertheless, scores of Mizos - men and women, young and old - have since converted to the Jewish faith, with many learning Hebrew through correspondence courses.
Those that Amishav helped to migrate to Israel often found themselves settled in areas the Arabs describe as Occupied Territories.
An Amishav official says that the new settlers chose to settle in Gaza or the West Bank because land and living there is cheap. <!-- E BO -->
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</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!-- E IIMA -->There are nearly 5,000 people in Mizoram and the neighbouring state of Manipur who call themselves Jews, and 800 of them have already migrated to the Middle East.
Most live in Gaza and the West Bank - troubled areas compared to the peace of Mizoram, now that the state has a settlement with rebels after years of insurgency.
Ephraim Lalmingliana, who calls himself a Mizo Jew, says he is not afraid of the violence in the West Bank or Gaza.
"I will go and settle there because I am Jew.
"Israel is my promised land and I long to go there. I have computer skills and I will surely get a job there," he told BBC News Online.
<!-- S IBOX --><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=208 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width=5>
Michal Buch
Israeli embassy in Delhi
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!-- E IBOX -->It will not be easy for the teenager.
"Israel does not consider this community [in Mizoram] as Jewish," Ms Michal Buch, a spokesperson of the Israeli embassy in the Indian capital, Delhi, told BBC News Online.
"Some of them have already arrived in Israel on tourist visas. We know that they underwent a formal conversion [to Judaism] there," she said.
Those who call themselves Jews in Mizoram complain that it has become very difficult to get visas for Israel from north-eastern India.
"None of us can go now. We want this ban to be lifted," says Ron Sangliana, another young Mizo who calls himself a Jew.
<!-- S IIMA --><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=203 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!-- E IIMA -->The Israeli embassy says there is no such ban.
"We have no information about any ban on visas for Jews across the world," said Ms Buch.
"In terms of visas, they [Mizos who say they are Jews] are treated like other Indians travelling to Israel," she added.
Mizoram's newest political party, the Ephraim Union, is lobbying hard to have what it calls "visa restrictions" eased.
"We have approached the Prime Minister's Office and the Indian foreign ministry to take this up with Israel, with whom Delhi enjoys close ties now," says Elizabeth Zodiangliani, who edits a paper reporting on Jewish issues.
Israel's Amishav organisation, a Jewish group which helps Jews from across the world to settle in Israel, says it will help.
Convert to Judaism
In an e-mail interview with the BBC, the Amishav chief, Michael Freund, said: "There is no reason these Jews from Mizoram and Manipur should be denied a place in the Promised Land.
"They are good and devout Jews and very good people. They will be assets for Israel."
<!-- S IIMA --><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=203 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!-- E IIMA -->Senior Amishav members have made several visits to Mizoram to organise the Jews, and help them learn Hebrew by opening a school in Aizawl, Mizoram's capital.
Scores of Mizos and Kukis, ethnic cousins speaking languages closely akin to each other, say they started converting to the Jewish faith in the mid-1980s after a local researcher claimed the Mizos as one of the lost tribes of Israel.
But the state's powerful church, which holds great sway over the lives of 750,000 Mizos - who are almost wholly Christian - dismisses this theory.
Nevertheless, scores of Mizos - men and women, young and old - have since converted to the Jewish faith, with many learning Hebrew through correspondence courses.
Those that Amishav helped to migrate to Israel often found themselves settled in areas the Arabs describe as Occupied Territories.
An Amishav official says that the new settlers chose to settle in Gaza or the West Bank because land and living there is cheap. <!-- E BO -->
I know Rail, March Madness is just around the corner. Don't worry, they'll start all over again in November. Although we're probably not going to be National Title contenders.
