The relationship between Hebrewism and Africa is a complex and multifaceted one, spanning centuries and encompassing a variety of cultural, religious, and historical interactions. This article explores the historical connections between Hebrewism and Africa, from ancient origins to modern-day movements.
Ancient Origins and the Queen of Sheba
The story of King Solomon of Jerusalem and the Queen of Sheba (known as Makeda by the Ethiopians) points to the origins of the present black Jews of Ethiopia, known as the Falashas. The Falashas claim descent from the child of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, Menilek I. The queen returned to Sheba (which was part of the Ethiopian empire) with Menelik I. Later, Menelik was sent to his father in Jerusalem to be educated (where he accepted the name David).
According to the Ethiopian Royal Chronicles, also known as the Kebra Nagast, the country's royal dynasty was founded by Menelik I, the supposed son of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. Commissioned by the Ethiopian King Amba Sion in the fourteenth century AD, it describes the founding of the royal dynasty by the supposed son of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, Menelik I.
Rudolph R. Windsor discusses the origins of the Hamites and Shemites (or Semites). He states that the original Israelites were of the Black race and that the biblical Abraham (or Abram) was a Black Shemite (a descendant of Shem). Abraham was the father of both the Hebrew-Israelite and Arab nations. The Black Shemites intermarried with Black Hamite Egyptian women, giving rise to the Arab nation. The author also states that Arabia was originally inhabited by the Ethiopians (also known as Cushites) prior to the progenitors of the Arabs.
Jewish Communities in Africa Throughout History
The historical presence of Jewish communities in Africa is well-attested to. According to the 17th century Tarikh al-Fattash and the Tarikh al-Sudan, several Jewish communities existed as parts of the Ghana, Mali, and later Songhai empires.
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One such community was formed by a group of Egyptian Jews, who allegedly traveled by way of the Sahel corridor through Chad into Mali. Another such community was that of the Zuwa ruler of Koukiya (located at the Niger River). His name was known only as Zuwa Alyaman, meaning "He comes from Yemen". According to an isolated local legend, Zuwa Alyaman was a member of one of the Jewish communities transported from Yemen by Abyssinians in the 6th century CE after the defeat of Dhu Nuwas.
Other sources stated that other Jewish communities in the region developed from people who migrated from Morocco and Egypt; others later came from Portugal. Some communities were said to have been populated by certain Berber Jews, like a group of Tuareg known as Dawsahak or Iddao Ishaak ("children of Isaac").
The largest influx of Jews to Africa came after the Spanish Inquisition after the Fall of Granada and the end of Islamic Spain. The mass exodus and expulsion of the Iberian Jews began in 1492, Sicilian Jews were affected soon afterwards. Many of these Sephardi Jews settled primarily in the Maghreb under Muslim and Ottoman patronage. Morocco, Tunisia, Libya and Algeria as well as Egypt became home to significant Jewish communities.
In the 14th century many Moors and Jews, fleeing persecution in Spain, migrated south to the Timbuktu area, at that time part of the Songhai Empire. Among them was the Kehath (Ka'ti) family, descended from Ismael Jan Kot Al-yahudi of Scheida, Morocco. Sons of this prominent family founded three villages that still exist near Timbuktu-Kirshamba, Haybomo, and Kongougara. In 1492, Askia Muhammed came to power in the previously tolerant region of Timbuktu and decreed that Jews must convert to Islam or leave; Judaism became illegal in Songhai, as it did in Catholic Spain that same year.
In 1975, the Israeli religious authorities and the Israeli government both recognized the Beta Israel of Ethiopia as an officially Jewish community. Hundreds of persons who wanted to emigrate to Israel were air-lifted under the leadership of Prime Minister Menachem Begin. Begin had obtained an official ruling from the Israeli Sephardi Chief Rabbi (or Rishon LeZion) Ovadia Yosef that the Beta Israel were descendants of the Ten Lost Tribes.
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Over time, due to their community's isolation from those in Europe and the Middle East, the practices of the Beta Israel developed to differ significantly from those of other forms of Judaism. In Ethiopia, the Beta Israel community was for the most part isolated from the Talmud. They did have their own oral law. One significant difference is the fact that the Beta Israel lacked the festivals of Purim and Hanukkah, probably because they branched off from the main body of Judaism before these non-Biblical holidays began to be commemorated.
The Emergence of Black Hebrew Israelite Movements
Black Hebrew Israelites (also called Hebrew Israelites, Black Hebrews, Black Israelites, and African Hebrew Israelites) are a new religious movement claiming that African Americans are descendants of the ancient Israelites. Black Hebrew Israelite teachings combine elements from a wide range of sources, incorporating their own interpretations of Christianity and Judaism, and other influences such as Freemasonry and New Thought.
The Black Hebrew Israelite movement originated at the end of the 19th century, when Frank Cherry and William Saunders Crowdy claimed to have received visions that African Americans are descendants of the Hebrews in the Bible. The origins of the Black Hebrew Israelite movement are found in Frank Cherry and William Saunders Crowdy, who both claimed that they had revelations in which they believed that God told them that African Americans are descendants of the Hebrews in the Christian Bible; Cherry established the "Church of the Living God, the Pillar Ground of Truth for All Nations" in 1886, and Crowdy founded the "Church of God and Saints of Christ" in 1896.
Cherry taught that the Talmud was authoritative, that Jesus would return in the year A.D. 2000, and in a "square earth surrounded by three layers of heaven." The playing of the piano and the collection of tithes during Black Hebrew Israelite worship was forbidden by Cherry, who also taught the eastward direction of prayer and "denigrated white Jews as interlopers." The Church of God and Saints of Christ, originating in Kansas, retained elements of a messianic connection to Jesus.
During the following decades, many more Black Hebrew congregations were established. Similar groups selected elements of Judaism and adapted them within a structure similar to that of the Black church.
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Ben Ammi Ben-Israel established the African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem in Chicago, Illinois, in 1966, a time when black nationalism was on the rise as a response to the civil rights movement. In 1969, after a sojourn in Liberia, Ben Ammi and around 30 Hebrew Israelites moved to Israel. Over the next 20 years, nearly 600 more members left the United States for Israel. As of 2006, about 2,500 Hebrew Israelites live in Dimona and two other towns in the Negev region of Israel, where they are widely referred to as Black Hebrews.
The Israeli government now allows African Hebrew Israelites to pursue citizenship of Israel. Meanwhile, faced with overcrowded conditions, no access to schools or health care, and the constant threat of deportation, the Hebrew Israelites were challenged to develop institutions that addressed their basic needs. They developed a biblically-based system of communal living and sharing, called All in Common, which drove the economy. In 1980 an abandoned absorption center for 1970s-era immigrants was given to the community by Jacques Amir, a sympathetic mayor. Renovated by the members, the site provided a brief respite from massive overcrowding. Community services include a general store, guest house, health spa, dance studio, communal dining area and sewing center, all staffed and maintained by community members. They produce a line of soy and vegan food products that are marketed throughout Israel and operate a global chain of vegan restaurants in cities such as Atlanta, Chicago, Washington DC, St.
The Hebrews also participate in civic activities of the State of Israel. Since 2004, more than 125 of their youth have served in the Israel Defense Forces. Defending their homeland is viewed as a moral obligation, and other members of the community reach out to the neighboring Arab population.
Beta Israel: These Jews Lived in Ethiopia for Over a Millenia | Ethiopian Jews | Jewish Ancestry
Theological and Social Implications
Many religious philosophies flourish because Christians do not give adequate attention to them. One apologist stated that “the cults are the unpaid bills of the Church.” Theologically conservative Christians tend to ignore the religious movement known as the Black Hebrew Israelites. This lack of awareness has caused groups such as the Nation of Islam, the Nation of Gods and Earths, Rastafarians, and the Black Hebrews to infiltrate black communities to draw away members from a predominantly Christian demographic.
Some scholars have decided to test the validity of the claim that there exists Jews of African descent. Parfitt came to the conclusion that the Lemba people of Zimbabwe may have some connection to ancient Jewish populations based on historical and anthropological research. Moreover, a geneticist named Trefor Jenkins found that the Lembas had 50 percent Y chromosomes that were Semitic in origin and 40 percent Negroid. This test seems to verify the existence of Jews of African descent.
The biggest issue that Black Hebrew Israelites have is not their claim of African American Hebrew ethnic origins but the inadequacy of their doctrine of salvation. They suggest that African Americans will be saved by observance of the Mosaic Law. The defectiveness of this approach is not in the Law itself but in mankind.
While being sensitive to the concern of African American identity, I reject the constructed identity of the Black Hebrew Israelites. However, while not diminishing the need for African American identity formation as a means of contextualization considering the historical situation that has degraded it, ethnic identity has no effect on individuals with respect to eternal salvation.
The challenge of the Black Hebrew Israelites is real in the black community. Christians should engage actively with these men and women who are presenting a false gospel. Dorman states, “The story of Black identification with the Hebrew Israelites and their Exodus from Egyptian slavery is the best known of all the contexts that helped produce Israelite religions.”
According to genetic and ethnographic research, the claim that some of African descended people can trace their biological lineage to the ancient Israelites is true. However, even if all Jews were black, it does not follow that all black people are Jews. The Atlantic slave trade uprooted Africans from many different countries and ethnicities.
Table: Key Groups and Movements
| Group/Movement | Origin | Key Beliefs |
|---|---|---|
| Falashas (Beta Israel) | Ethiopia | Claim descent from King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba; practice a form of Judaism largely isolated from the Talmud. |
| Black Hebrew Israelites | United States | Claim that African Americans are descendants of the ancient Israelites; combine elements of Christianity and Judaism. |
| African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem | United States, relocated to Israel | Communal living; veganism; belief in a biblically-based lifestyle. |
| Lemba People | Zimbabwe and South Africa | Bantu-speaking group with some religious practices and beliefs similar to Jewish and Muslim traditions. |
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