Ben Ammi

Ben Ammi Ben-Israel (Hebrew: בן עמי בן-ישראל‎; lit. Son of my People) (born 1939) is the American founder and spiritual leader of the African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem, a group that developed in Chicago, Illinois among the African-American community. Claiming to be a lost tribe of Israel, most of its members have lived in Dimona, Israel since the late 1960s. They have recently been accepted as citizens, although the Chief Rabbinate does not recognize them as Jews.

Early life

Born on October 12, 1939, Ben Ammi grew up in Chicago. At a young age, he worked in a factory casting airline parts. A coworker introduced him to the idea that African Americans are descendants of the Biblical Israelites.

Biography

When ordained as a rabbi at the age of 22, he took the name Ben Ammi Ben-Israel. In 1966 Ben Ammi claims to have received a vision from the angel Gabriel. In the vision he claimed he was instructed to: "Lead the children of Israel among African Americans to the promised land, and establish the long-awaited Kingdom of God."

In 1967, Ben Ammi led approximately 350 of his followers to Liberia to purge themselves of the negro mind they had received in the United States. After two and a half years, many had lost faith and returned home. At this point, in 1969, he decided to send five families to Israel. Ben Ammi and more of his followers arrived in the ensuing months.

The Israeli authorities did not recognize the group as Jewish, and did not grant them entry under the Law of Return; they did not receive Israeli citizenship. They were allowed entry into the country, and issued tourist visas. Conflict arose when it became apparent that the group had no intention of leaving.

In 1989, Ben Ammi met with the Israeli Interior Minister, and the following year the group's members were issued work permits. In 1991, they were given temporary resident status for a period of five years, which in 1995 was extended for another three years. At the beginning of 2004, the community was granted residency status by the Interior Ministry. In 2008 the Israeli president Shimon Peres made a historic visit to the Black Hebrew community. In 2009 the first members of the community began receiving citizenship status within the State of Israel.

Accomplishments

In March 2010, Ben Ammi received a Lifetime Achievement Award in Ghana, West Africa. This award is given out by the Ghanaian Country Awards Council. At the ceremony,the Country Director of CACG (Country Awards Council Ghana) stated that Ben Ammi "has helped bridged the gap between spirituality and development like no other leader before in global history, in the process creating new and progressive options for successfully building communities and projects based on enduring righteous, African cultural principles."

See also

• Robert C. Farrell, member of the Los Angeles City Council, 1974–91, supported the Black Hebrews

References

http://www.modernghana.com/news/267682/1/country-awards-council-ghana-has-honoured-h-e-dr-b.html Ben Ammi honored with Lifetime Achievement Award by the Country Awards Council of Ghana

External links

• Ben Ammi page
• Statement issued by the Israeli Foreign Ministry (on 2006/09/29) on the Community that Ben Ammi is leading