Israeli President Moshe Katzav (right) and acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert (waving) watch low-flying fighter planes during the Independence Day celebration at the President's house in Jerusalem on Wednesday. (Reuters)

May 3: Israel today honoured a Jewish immigrant from Manipur as one of its outstanding soldiers at a ceremony marking 58 years of the strife-torn country?s statehood.

Tamir Baithe, whose roots are in Imphal, migrated to Israel without his family four years ago and was recruited to the army after the country formally recognised Jewish immigrants from Manipur and Mizoram as descendants of the Biblical Lost Tribe of Manasseh.

A fighter in the elite Shaked unit of the Israeli army?s Givati Brigade and posted at Nahal Oz, close to Gaza, Tamir is the only member from his community to be decorated for bravery. ?I am excited and felt nervous during the whole ceremony,? he said shortly after Israeli President Moshe Katsav feted him and 119 other soldiers in Jerusalem.

Tamir, meaning ?palm tree? in Hebrew, is not his original name, which explains why Imphal-based leaders of Manipur?s minuscule Jewish community could not identify his family.

Kaimang Vaiphei, a senior member of the Betel Synagogue in Imphal, told The Telegraph that about 1,000 Jewish people had migrated to Israel and it was not immediately possible to trace Tamir?s family without knowing his original name. ?Some of the youths from our community are in the army and some have found employment elsewhere. We will get to know which clan Tamir belongs to if we have his old name.?

Tamir married a girl from his community in Israel last year, but told the news agency which interviewed him that he wished his immediate family was present at the wedding.

Between 4,000 and 5,000 Bnei Menashe ? meaning ?children of the Lost Tribe of Manasseh? ? from Manipur and Mizoram have been living as orthodox Jews since the early 1970s. They were all members of the Shinlung tribe, but adopted the Jewish nomenclature to reflect their roots.

Tamir said in Jerusalem that joining the Israeli army was a dream come true. ?The army has given me good friends and it is like a family to me. I wish my parents were also here to see me receiving this award. I miss them and hope they will be able to come here as well.?

Michael Freund, chairman of Shavei Israel, which helps Jews from the Northeast migrate to the land of their ancestors, urged the Israeli government to help Tamir reunite with his family. ?We call on acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to arrange for the aliyah (migration) of Tamir Baithe?s widowed mother, grandmother and his three siblings,? he said.

Olmert was present at the ceremony in which Tamir was honoured.

Pointing out that Tamir was defending Israel ?and placing his life on the line to protect it?, Freund said he deserved to have his family near him. ?It is unjust and inconceivable that the Israeli government would prevent this hero from being reunited with his loved ones here in the Jewish state.?

Israel?s chief rabbinate formally recognised the Bnei Menashes of Manipur and Mizoram as descendants of Manasseh in March last year.