Black Hebrews

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The Black Hebrews ( english Black Hebrew Israelites ) are a group of African Americans who claim that they are ancient Israelites descended. The Black Hebrews are followers of religious beliefs and practices of both Christianity and Judaism . They are not recognized as Jews by the general Jewish population . Many refer to themselves as Hebrew Israelites or Black Hebrews rather than Jews to emphasize the alleged historical connection.

Many Black Hebrew congregations were planted in the United States, from Kansas to New York City , by American and West Indian immigrants in the late 19th and early 20th centuries . There were between 25,000 and 40,000 Black Hebrews in the United States in the mid-1980s. In the 1990s, the Alliance of Black Jews , which no longer exists, estimated the number to be 200,000 African American Jews. This estimate was based on a 1990 poll by the Council of Jewish Federations . The exact number of Black Hebrews within the surveyed group remains unknown.

Overview

Although African-American Christians have identified spiritually with the Israelites , they did not claim to be descended from them until the late 19th century. This identification with the Israelites was a reaction to slavery in the United States and the associated discrimination against the black population. The adoption of Jewish history for African Americans was part of a rebellion against racism in the United States that classified Africans as inferior. It was also a means of getting to know their roots and regaining their lost history.

One of the earliest Black Hebrew groups, the Church of God and Saints of Christ, was founded in Kansas in 1896. It retained elements of a messianic connection with Jesus. In the decades that followed, many more Black Hebrew congregations were formed, some unrelated to Christianity . For example, after the First World War , Wentworth Arthur Matthew, an immigrant from St. Kitts , founded such a congregation in Harlem . She claimed Israelite ancestry and called herself Commandment Keepers of the Living God. Similar groups took elements of Judaism and adapted them within a structure that resembled the black churches . The congregation, founded in 1930, moved to Brooklyn , where Matthew later established the Israelite Rabbinical Seminary, a training facility for Black Hebrew rabbis.

The beliefs and practices of the Black Hebrews are very diverse. The differences are so great that historian James Tinney suggested dividing the organizations into three groups:

  • Black Jews who take a Christological perspective and adapt Jewish rituals for it.
  • Black Hebrews who are traditionally more Jewish.
  • Black Israelites who advocate black nationalism and least obey Jewish traditions.

Even so, these organizations have some things in common. Anthropologist James E. Landing, author of Black Judaism , distinguishes the Black Hebrew movement, which he calls Black Judaism, from the normative Judaism practiced by blacks. The former depends neither on documented lineages to Jewish ancestors nor on recognized conversions to Orthodox or conservative Judaism .

Landing's definition and the underlying assumptions of race and normative Judaism have, however, been criticized.

groups

Church of the Living God, the Pillar Ground of Truth for All Nations

The oldest known organization of the Black Hebrews is the Church of the Living God, the Pillar Ground of Truth for All Nations. It was founded by FS Cherry in Chattanooga , Tennessee , in 1886 and later moved to Philadelphia . Theologically it mixed Jewish and Christian elements, since both the Talmud and the New Testament were considered essential scriptures.

The rituals of Cherry's community included Jewish practices and prohibitions alongside Christian traditions. So the men wore kippas while praying and leaned east . Church members were also not allowed to eat pork. Prayers were accompanied by musical instruments and gospel singing . After Cherry's death, members of his Church believed that he had only left temporarily and would soon return in spiritual form to lead the Church through his son.

Church of God and Saints of Christ

The former center of the Church of God and Saints of Christ in Washington, DC The building is now called First Tabernacle Beth El and is on the National Register of Historic Places .

The Church of God and Saints of Christ was founded in Lawrence , Kansas , in 1896 under the direction of William Saunders Crowdy. The group settled in Philadelphia in 1889, and Crowdy moved to Washington, DC in 1903. After his death in 1908, the Church continued to grow under the direction of William Henry Plummer. Since 1927 the organization has been located in Belleville, Virginia .

In 1936 this church had more than 200 "tabernacles" (congregations) and 37,000 members. Howard Zebulun Plummer succeeded his father and became the new head of the organization in 1931. His son Levi Solomon Plummer took over in 1975. Since 2001 the Church of God and Saints of Christ has been headed by Rabbi Jehu A. Crowdy, Jr., a great-grandson of William Saunders Crowdy. In 2005 there were around 50 tabernacles in the United States and dozen in Africa.

The Church of God and Saints of Christ describes itself as "the oldest African American congregation in the United States that obeys the teachings of Judaism." She argues that all Jews were originally black and that African-Americans are descendants of the lost tribes of Israel . They believe that Jesus Christ is neither God nor the Son of God, but a Jewish prophet. Founder William Saunders Crowdy is also said to have been a prophet.

The rituals of this church refer to the Old and New Testaments . Their Old Testament customs include the Jewish calendar , the Passover festival , male circumcision , keeping the Sabbath rest on Saturday and wearing the kippah . The New Testament refers to baptism by means of immersion and the washing of the feet , both with roots in the Old Testament.

Commandment Keepers

Wentworth Arthur Matthew founded the Commandment Keepers Congregation in Harlem in 1919. Matthew was influenced by non-Black Jews around him, as well as by Marcus Garvey and the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League . Garvey uses the exile of Biblical Jews as a metaphor for the black population in North America. His movement succeeded in strengthening the connection between African Americans and Africa, particularly Ethiopia . When Matthew later learned of the Ethiopian Jews, the Beta Israel , he identified with them. In today's Israel , the Beta Israel are considered a people of Jewish descent.

Today the Commandment Keepers observe traditional Jewish practices and Jewish holidays. These include the dietary laws , circumcision, and bar and bat mitzvahs . In their synagogues men and women are separated by a mechiza while praying .

The Commandment Keepers believe they are descendants of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba . Matthew taught that "the black man is Jewish" and that "all real Jews are black men," but he valued non-black Jews for maintaining Judaism over the centuries. He maintained friendly relations with the Jewish leaders in New York and regularly invited them to pray in his synagogue.

In Brooklyn, Matthew founded the Ethiopian Hebrew Rabbinical College, which later became the Israelite Rabbinical Academy. He ordained more than 20 rabbis who subsequently led congregations in many parts of the United States and the Caribbean. He remained the head of the Commandment Keepers in Harlem, whose congregation moved to 123rd Street.

When Matthew died in 1973, a succession dispute broke out in the Harlem Congregation. Shortly before his death, he appointed his 16-year-old grandson David Matthew Doré as the new spiritual leader. In 1975 the Synagogue Council elected Rabbi Willie White as its head. Rabbi Doré conducted some services in the synagogue until the 1980s, before White Doré and some other members were banned from the house. The number of members subsequently decreased and in 2004 only a few dozen of the faithful attended the synagogue. In 2007, the Commandment Keepers sold the building when various camps among the former members sued each other.

In addition to the group in Harlem, there are eight or ten congregations in the New York area and others in North America and Israel.

African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem

African Hebrew Israelites with visitors in Dimona (Israel).
A sign in Dimona.

Ben Ammi Ben-Israel founded the African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem in Chicago , Illinois in 1966 , at the height of black nationalism and civil rights movements. In 1969 Ben Ammi and around 30 of his followers moved to Israel after a stay in Liberia . Over the next 20 years they were followed by 600 more members from the USA to Israel. By 2006, approximately 2,500 Hebrew Israelites lived in Dimona and two other places in the Negev , where they are known as Black Hebrews . Other communities also exist in several American cities, including Chicago, St. Louis, and Washington, DC

The Black Hebrews believe that they were descended from members of the tribe of Judah who were expelled from the land of Israel after the destruction of the Jerusalem temple in 70 . The group adopted elements of Afro-American culture in their interpretation of the Bible and rejects rabbinical interpretations of the Talmud. The Sabbath is observed, as are Jewish holidays such as Yom Kippur and Passover .

The men wear zizit with African printed shirts, the women obey the nidda , biblical laws regarding menstruation, and newborn boys are circumcised. In accordance with their interpretation of the Bible, the Black Hebrews adhere to a strict veganism and only wear natural fabrics. Most men have more than one wife. Contraception is not allowed.

When the first Black Hebrews arrived in Israel in 1969, they demanded citizenship under the Law of Return , which grants Jews immediate citizenship. In 1973, the Israeli government decided not to grant the group immediate citizenship because they could not prove Jewish ancestry and had not converted to the Orthodox faith. The Black Hebrews were also deprived of work permits and government grants. They sued the Israeli government for racial discrimination . In 1981, American civil rights activists led by Bayard Rustin joined the case and found that racism was not the cause of the Black Hebrews' situation. No official action was taken to send the Black Hebrews back to the US, but some members were deported individually for working illegally.

Some of the Black Hebrews renounced their US citizenship to prevent such deportations. In 1990, representatives from Illinois supported them in negotiations for an agreement to secure the legal status of Black Hebrews in Israel. They were given permission to work and have access to housing and social services. The Black Hebrews reclaimed their US passports and received help from the US government in building a school and additional housing. In 2003 the agreement was revised and the Black Hebrews were granted settlement permits for Israel. In 2009, Elyakim Ben-Israel became the first Black Hebrew to obtain Israeli citizenship. The government announced that more Black Hebrews could be granted citizenship.

The Black Hebrews are known in Israel for their gospel choirs , which tour Israel and the United States, as well as restaurants in several cities. In 2003, singer Whitney Houston paid them a visit to Dimona and in 2006, Eddie Butler , a Black Hebrew, was selected by the television audience to represent Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest .

Racism allegations

2008 threw Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) the extremists among blacks Hebrews black superiority thinking ( black supremacy ) ago. Members of such groups believed that Jews were diabolical deceivers, and they openly referred to whites as the personified evil deserving of death or slavery. The SPLC also said that most Black Hebrews are not explicitly racist, anti-Semitic and do not advocate violence.

Groups identified by the SPLC as Suprematist include the Nation of Yahweh and the Israelite Church of God in Jesus Christ . According to the Anti-Defamation League , the website 12 Tribes of Israel , run by a group of Black Hebrews , also promotes Black Supremacy.

See also

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Yosef Ben-Jochannan : We, the Black Jews: Witness to the "White Jewish Race" Myth . Black Classic Press, Baltimore 1993, ISBN 0-933121-40-7 , pp. 306 .
  2. ↑ Sholomo Ben Levy: The Black Jewish or Hebrew Israelite community . Jewish Virtual Library . Retrieved December 15, 2007.
  3. ↑ Black Hebrews . In: Johannes P. Schadé (Ed.): Encyclopedia of World Religions . Foreign Media Group, Franklin Park, NJ 2006, ISBN 1-60136-000-2 (English).
  4. ↑ Tara Bahrampour: They're Jewish, With a gospel Accent (s) . In: The New York Times , June 26, 2000. Retrieved November 5, 2016. 
  5. ↑ Eric J. Sundquist: Strangers in the Land: Blacks, Jews, Post-Holocaust America . Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass. 2002, ISBN 0-674-01942-3 , pp. 118 (English).
  6. ↑ Michael Gelbwasser: Organization for black Jews claims 200,000 in US ( en ) j. . April 10, 1998. Retrieved August 2, 2010.
  7. ↑ Yvonne Chireau: Black Culture and Black Zion: African American Religious Encounters with Judaism, 1790-1930, on Overview . In: Yvonne Patricia Chireau, Nathaniel Deutsch (Ed.): Black Zion: African American Religious Encounters with Judaism . Oxford University Press, New York 2000, ISBN 0-19-511257-1 , pp. 18, 21 (English).
  8. ^ Edith Bruder, Parfitt Tudor: Introduction. In: same: African Zion: Studies in Black Judaism. Cambridge Scholars Publishing, Newcastle upon Tyne 2012, ISBN 978-1-4438-3802-3 , p. 1. Retrieved April 24, 2017 (English).
  9. ↑ Yvonne Chireau: Black Culture and Black Zion: African American Religious Encounters with Judaism, 1790-1930, on Overview . In: Yvonne Patricia Chireau, Nathaniel Deutsch (Ed.): Black Zion: African American Religious Encounters with Judaism . Oxford University Press, New York 2000, ISBN 0-19-511257-1 , pp. 21 (English).
  10. ↑ Zev Chafets : Obama's Rabbi (s) . In: The New York Times , April 5, 2009. Retrieved December 28, 2016. 
  11. ↑ James Tinney : Black Jews: A House Divided . In: Christianity Today . December 7, 1973, pp. 52-54.
  12. ^ Walter Isaac: Locating African-American Judaism: A Critique of White Normativity . In: Lewis R. Gordon, Jane Anna Gordon (Eds.): A Companion to African-American Studies . Blackwell, Malden, Mass. 2006, ISBN 0-631-23516-7 , pp. 512-542 (English).
  13. ^ Merrill Singer: Symbolic Identity Formation in an African American Religious Sect: The Black Hebrew Israelites. In: Yvonne Patricia Chireau, Nathaniel Deutsch (Ed.): Black Zion: African American Religious Encounters with Judaism. Oxford University Press, New York 2000, ISBN 0-19-511257-1 , p. 57 (English).
  14. ↑ Yvonne Chireau: Black Culture and Black Zion: African American Religious Encounters with Judaism, 1790-1930, on Overview . In: Yvonne Patricia Chireau, Nathaniel Deutsch (Ed.): Black Zion: African American Religious Encounters with Judaism . Oxford University Press, New York 2000, ISBN 0-19-511257-1 , pp. 30-31 (English).
  15. ^ Merrill Singer: Symbolic Identity Formation in an African American Religious Sect: The Black Hebrew Israelites. In: Yvonne Patricia Chireau, Nathaniel Deutsch (Ed.): Black Zion: African American Religious Encounters with Judaism. Oxford University Press, New York 2000, ISBN 0-19-511257-1 , pp. 57-58 (English).
  16. ^ Arthur Huff Fauset: Black Gods of the Metropolis: Negro Religious Cults of the Urban North . University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia 2002, ISBN 0-8122-1001-8 , pp. 34 (English, first edition: 1944).
  17. ^ Arthur Huff Fauset: Black Gods of the Metropolis: Negro Religious Cults of the Urban North . University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia 2002, ISBN 0-8122-1001-8 , pp. 36–40 (English, first edition: 1944).
  18. ^ Arthur Huff Fauset: Black Gods of the Metropolis: Negro Religious Cults of the Urban North . University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia 2002, ISBN 0-8122-1001-8 , pp. 36–37 (English, first edition: 1944).
  19. ↑ Peter Hudson: Black Jews . In: Kwame Anthony Appiah , Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (Eds.): Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience . Basic Civitas Books, New York 1999, pp. 1050 (English).
  20. ↑ Andrew Fox: Sons of Abraham . In: The College Hill Independent , September 29, 2005. Archived from the original on March 10, 2006. Retrieved June 23, 2016. 
  21. ↑ Elly M. Wynia: The Church of God and Saints of Christ: The Rise of Black Jews . Routledge, New York 1994, ISBN 0-8153-1136-2 , pp. 31-34 (English).
  22. ↑ Elly M. Wynia: The Church of God and Saints of Christ: The Rise of Black Jews . Routledge, New York 1994, ISBN 0-8153-1136-2 (English).
  23. ^ Lorenzo Johnston Greene: Selling Black History for Carter G. Woodson: A Diary, 1930-1933 . University of Missouri Press, Columbia, Mon. 1996, ISBN 0-8262-1068-6 , pp. 42 (English).
  24. ↑ Historical Timeline . Church of God and Saints of Christ. Archived from the original on August 1, 2007. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved February 9, 2008. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.cogasoc.org
  25. ↑ Rabbi Jehu August Crowdy, Jr. . Church of God and Saints of Christ. Archived from the original on August 1, 2007. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved February 9, 2008. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.cogasoc.org
  26. ^ Church of God and Saints of Christ . Archived from the original on January 30, 2008. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved February 9, 2008. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.cogasoc.org
  27. ^ Colin Kidd: The Forging of Races: Race and Scripture in the Protestant Atlantic World, 1600-2000 . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2006, ISBN 0-521-79324-6 , pp. 59 (English).
  28. ^ Merrill Singer: Symbolic Identity Formation in an African American Religious Sect: The Black Hebrew Israelites. In: Yvonne Patricia Chireau, Nathaniel Deutsch (Ed.): Black Zion: African American Religious Encounters with Judaism. Oxford University Press, New York 2000, ISBN 0-19-511257-1 , p. 59 (English).
  29. ^ Eugene V. Gallagher: The New Religious Movements Experience in America . Greenwood Press, Westport, Conn. 2004, ISBN 0-313-32807-2 , pp. 146 (English).
  30. ↑ Yvonne Chireau: Black Culture and Black Zion: African American Religious Encounters with Judaism, 1790-1930, on Overview . In: Yvonne Patricia Chireau, Nathaniel Deutsch (Ed.): Black Zion: African American Religious Encounters with Judaism . Oxford University Press, New York 2000, ISBN 0-19-511257-1 , pp. 25 .
  31. ^ Wilson Jeremiah Moses: Chosen Peoples of the Metropolis: Black Muslims, Black Jews, and Others . In: Cornel West, Eddie S. Glaude, Jr. (Eds.): African American Religious Thought: An Anthology . Westminster John Knox Press, Louisville, Ky. 2003, ISBN 0-664-22459-8 , pp. 537 (English).
  32. ↑ Eric Herschthal: Decline Of A Black Synagogue . In: The Jewish Week , July 6, 2007. Archived from the original on January 12, 2013 Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Retrieved February 9, 2008. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / joi.org 
  33. ^ Tudor Parfitt, Emanuela Trevisan Semi: Judaising Movements: Studies in the Margins of Judaism in Modern Times . Routledge, New York 2002, ISBN 0-7007-1515-0 , pp. 95 (English).
  34. ↑ Eric J. Sundquist: Strangers in the Land: Blacks, Jews, Post-Holocaust America . Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass. 2002, ISBN 0-674-01942-3 , pp. 116 (English).
  35. ^ Bernard J. Wolfson: African American Jews: Dispelling Myths, Bridging the Divide . In: Yvonne Patricia Chireau, Nathaniel Deutsch (Ed.): Black Zion: African American Religious Encounters with Judaism . 2000, ISBN 0-19-511257-1 , pp. 48 (English).
  36. ^ Commandment Keepers Ethiopian Hebrew Congregation . New York Architecture. Retrieved February 1, 2008.
  37. ↑ Sholomo Ben Levy: The Destruction of Commandment Keepers, Inc. 1919-2007 . In: BlackJews.org . International Israelite Board of Rabbis. Retrieved February 10, 2008.
  38. ^ Henry Goldschmidt: Race and Religion Among the Chosen Peoples of Crown Heights . Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, NJ 2006, ISBN 0-8135-3897-1 , pp. 221 (English).
  39. ^ Israelite Academy . In: BlackJews.org . International Israelite Board of Rabbis. Retrieved February 10, 2008.
  40. ^ Danielle Haas: Black Hebrews fight for citizenship in Israel . In: San Francisco Chronicle , November 15, 2002. Retrieved May 25, 2008. 
  41. ^ Associated Press : Music Earns Black Hebrews Some Acceptance . In: CBS News , April 5, 2006. Archived from the original on May 7, 2006. Retrieved May 25, 2008. 
  42. ↑ Ethan Michaeli: Another Exodus: The Hebrew Israelites from Chicago to Dimona . In: Yvonne Patricia Chireau, Nathaniel Deutsch (Ed.): Black Zion: African American Religious Encounters with Judaism . 2000, ISBN 0-19-511257-1 , pp. 75 (English).
  43. ↑ Our Story . The African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem. Retrieved May 25, 2008.
  44. ↑ Ethan Michaeli: Another Exodus: The Hebrew Israelites from Chicago to Dimona . In: Yvonne Patricia Chireau, Nathaniel Deutsch (Ed.): Black Zion: African American Religious Encounters with Judaism . 2000, ISBN 0-19-511257-1 , pp. 76 (English).
  45. ↑ Ethan Michaeli: Another Exodus: The Hebrew Israelites from Chicago to Dimona . In: Yvonne Patricia Chireau, Nathaniel Deutsch (Ed.): Black Zion: African American Religious Encounters with Judaism . 2000, ISBN 0-19-511257-1 , pp. 73-74 (English).
  46. ↑ Ethan Michaeli: Another Exodus: The Hebrew Israelites from Chicago to Dimona . In: Yvonne Patricia Chireau, Nathaniel Deutsch (Ed.): Black Zion: African American Religious Encounters with Judaism . 2000, ISBN 0-19-511257-1 , pp. 74 (English).
  47. ^ David K. Shipler: Israelis Urged To Act Over Black Hebrew Cult . In: The New York Times , January 30, 1981. Retrieved May 28, 2008. 
  48. ^ The Hebrew Israelite Community . Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. September 29, 2006. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
  49. ^ David Kaufman: Quest for a Homeland Gains a World Stage . In: The New York Times , April 16, 2006. Retrieved May 28, 2008. 
  50. ^ Zvi Alush: First Black Hebrew Gets Israeli Citizenship . In: Ynetnews , February 2, 2009. 
  51. ^ Israel retreat for Houston , BBC News Online . May 27, 2003. Retrieved May 26, 2008. 
  52. ↑ Associated Press : Whitney Houston visits Israel for Christmas album inspiration . In: USA Today , May 28, 2003. Retrieved May 26, 2008. 
  53. ↑ Michal Palti: Whitney does Dimona . In: Haaretz , May 29, 2003. Retrieved May 26, 2008. 
  54. ^ Racist Black Hebrew Israelites Becoming More Militant . In: Intelligence Report . Southern Poverty Law Center . Fall 2008. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
  55. ↑ Martin A. Lee: Popularity and Populism . In: Intelligence Report . Southern Poverty Law Center . Winter 2001. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
  56. ^ Poisoning the Web: Hatred Online - African-American Anti-Semitism . Anti-Defamation League . Archived from the original on January 2, 2014. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved November 5, 2016. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / archive.adl.org