African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem
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The African Hebrew Israelite Nation of Jerusalem (also known as The African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem or Black Hebrews) 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. At least some of them consider themselves to be Jewish, but mainstream Judaism does not consider them to be Jewish.
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[edit] Origins
The group was founded in Chicago by a former steel worker named Ben Carter, who was given 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 states he had a "vision," in which the Archangel Gabriel revealed to him that African Americans were descended from the "lost tribe of Judah," claiming that they descended from Jews that after being expelled from Jerusalem and migrating for a thousand years ended up in West Africa and were later transported to America as slaves.
[edit] Status in Israel
Ben Ammi and 350 of his followers first settled in Liberia, and in 1969 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[citation needed]. However, 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.
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The Israeli government refused to grant the group citizenship, yet also avoided deporting them. 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 represented Israel in international academic competitions. Members of the community have represented Israel in two Eurovision song contests.
In 2004, Uriahu 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 their dietary and other religious requirements[1].
[edit] 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."[2] They practice abstinence from alcohol, other than wine that they make themselves, and both illegal and pharmaceutical drugs, so as to stay within the cycles of life. The group also owns and operates a chain of vegetarian restaurants throughout the country. Adult members exercise three times a week, and are advised to have at least one full-body massage each month for its health benefits.
In 1998, doctors visited the community in Israel and found that only 6% of the members suffered from high blood pressure, compared to 30% of African Americans. Furthermore only 5% of their members were obese, compared to 32% of black men and half of black women in America. The doctors concluded, "These changes in lifestyle might prevent chronic disease in American blacks, but would be hard to achieve without the unifying power of community and spirituality."[3]
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.[4]
[edit] Spiritual beliefs
The group rejects the Talmud and the precept that Judaism is passed down through a person's mother (matrilineal descent). Some, although certainly not all, believe that modern-day Jews are not the descendants of the Twelve Tribes of Israel, and that modern-day Jews have "stolen" the identity of the "true Jews" by adopting their religion, language, and culture, drawing parallels to both cults and the Christian Identity movement.[citation needed] In the Village of Peace, a woman is allowed to marry a married man, and birth control is forbidden.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Ben Levy, Sholomo. "The Black Jewish or Hebrew Israelite Community". http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/blackjews.html. Retrieved 2007-12-15.
- ^ King James Version
- ^ The Cult on Coventry
- ^ "The Hebrew Israelite Community". September 29, 2006. http://www.mfa.gov.il/mfa/facts%20about%20israel/people/the%20black%20hebrews. Retrieved 2008-01-13.
[edit] External links
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