African Hebrew Israelites in Israel

This article is unrelated to Beta Israel, Jews from Ethiopia.

A group of African Hebrew Israelites in Dimona.

The African Hebrew Israelite Nation of Jerusalem (also known as The African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem or Black Hebrews or Black Hebrew Israelites) is a small spiritual group whose members believe they are descended from the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel. With a population of over 5,000, most members live in their own community in Dimona, Israel, with additional families in Arad, Mitzpe Ramon, and the Tiberias area. Their immigrant ancestors were African Americans from Chicago, Illinois, who migrated to Israel in the late 1960s.

At least some of them consider themselves to be Jewish, but mainstream Judaism does not consider them to be Jewish.

Origins

The group was founded in Chicago by a former steel worker named Ben Carter, who took the name Ben Ammi Ben-Israel upon joining the Hebrew Israelite community in Chicago. Denouncing the name Ben Carter and calling it his "slave name," Ben Ammi says that in 1966 he had a "vision," in which the Archangel Gabriel revealed to him that African Americans were descended from the "lost tribe of Judah."

Drawing upon a long tradition in black American culture that they are the decendents of the Ancient Israelites, Ammi claimed that the Israelites, after having been expelled from Jerusalem under the Romans, migrated for a thousand years and ended up in West Africa. They were later captured and transported to America as slaves.

Status in Israel

A child of the community, in Dimona, September 2005.

The urban Kibbutz of Kfar Hashalom, December 6, 2006.

Ben Ammi and 350 of his followers first settled in Liberia in 1967. In 1969 they began moving to Israel, entering the country on temporary visas that were periodically renewed. As their numbers grew, the Chief Rabbinate of Israel ruled that they were not Jews, and therefore not entitled to Israeli citizenship under the Law of Return . This was compounded by their refusal to convert.

Members of the group continued to arrive and settled in the desert community of Dimona. For two decades, their population continued growing through natural increase and illegal immigration.

They are not considered Jews in Israel. The Israeli government refused to grant the group citizenship, while deporting them at every opportunity.

In May 1990, the group reached an agreement with the government whereby they were granted tourist status with a (B/1) Visa that entitled them to work; in 1991 they were given temporary resident status (A/5) for a period of five years, which in 1995 was extended for another three years. At the beginning of 2004, the group was granted residency status by the Israeli Interior Ministry.

In sports they have represented Israel at home and in Europe in track and field and national softball events, including the Maccabiah Games. Their students have and still represent Israel in international academic competitions at the highest levels. Members of the community have represented Israel in two Eurovision song contests.

In 2004, Uriyahu Butler became the first member of the community to enlist in the Israel Defense Force (IDF), and by 2006 more than 100 of their youth were serving in the IDF in regular units. The IDF agreed to accommodate some of their dietary and other religious requirements.

Way of life

The group maintains a vegan diet, citing Genesis 1:29, "And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat." They practice abstinence from alcohol, other than the naturally fermented wine which they make themselves, and both illegal and pharmaceutical drugs, so as to stay within the cycles of life. The group owns and operates a chain of vegetarian restaurants throughout the world. Adult members exercise three times a week, and are advised to have at least one full-body massage each month for its health benefits.

Institutions

The Hebrew Israelite community has developed a number of progressive institutions that are operating successfully around the world. One of the more popular institutions is their Soul Vegetarian Restaurant chain. Soul Vegetarian is a commercial restaurant line centered around providing a healthier alternative to the mainstream fast food options and their corresponding effects.

Another international institution founded by the Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem is the African Hebrew Development Agency (AHDA). AHDA is a non-governmental organization (NGO) which operates primarily on the African continent. It specializes in "providing technical assistance, training and consultancy in essential areas... such as health, agriculture, rural development, environmental maintenance and related fields." The AHDA has also collaborated with indigenous African organizations to help mobilize the African Boreholes Initiative (ABI). ABI is a social enterprise built around the need to provide clean water to local African villages that would be otherwise incapable of accessing it.[1]

In February 2005, in conjunction with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the group set up a conflict resolution center in Dimona to teach non-violence and reconciliation to families, communities, faiths and nations.

Cultural diplomacy

The Hebrew Israelite community has maintained a very active presence in different social and political sectors around the world. Since their arrival in the land of Israel, they have been promoting their holistic lifestyle and "spiritual" worldview as a potential solution to many of the problems in the world today. [2] [3] [4][5]

Spiritual beliefs

The group believes that the value system of a society is seen through its culture. According to one source, it is therefore "important that our clothing, music, food and language reflect the glory and the higher standards of Yah (God)" [6].

See also

• Black Hebrew Israelites
• British Israelism
• Dimona

External links

• Official site
• "The Hebrew Israelite Community," 9/29/06