A Brief Survey of the Sources of Black Judaic Thought: Part II

A common thread among many Israelites of African ancestry (like many African American Muslims and Black Christians)[1] is the belief that the original Hebrews of the ancient world were of black or dark skin.  However, there is some disconnect with those that claim to be the original African/Black Hebrews, in that some organizations/movements, like the African Hebrew Israelites, have no problem claiming Africanity as part or whole of their identity; but there are those of The Israelite School of Universal Practical Knowledge (ISUPK), for instance, who are a bit more narrow in their focus as they do not claim all people of dark skin or African lineage to be of their nation, only a chosen few.[2]  Keeping this in mind, this essay will explore some of the diversity in perspectives of the Black/African Hebrew Israelites.

As discussed, the Rastafarians, a Black Hebrew organization, is very comfortably couched in the perspectives and ideologies of Pan-Africanism.  Another group which seems to have an African centered approach is the African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem.  Author of Black Judaism: Story of An American Movement, James Landing elaborates: “On December 22, 1969, the government of Israel granted three-month tourist visas to thirty-nine blacks from Chicago who had arrived at Lod Airport in Tel Aviv from Liberia a day earlier.”[3]  This group was lead from Chicago by Ben Amin ben-Israel (formerly Ben Carter) to Liberia in order to wean themselves off of the American diet and lifestyle that had disconnected them from the “proper” way of living as mandated by YHWH.  While in Liberia sojourners were to learn how to live off the land and how to function as a nation of people.  Not everyone who left from Chicago made it through this process, some returned back to the United States, but those who did endure migrated to and were allowed to settle in the state of Israel that was established after the Second World War.

Further, when these thirty-nine individuals made it to the airport in Tel Aviv they were granted tentative status as immigrants while their case was heard and deliberated over.  Landing elaborates: “They were transported to a transient immigrant village in the Negev, Dimona, while Israeli immigration officials deliberated their status.  On arrival they had requested rights granted under the 1952 Israeli Law of Return and informed immigration officials that they were Hebrew Israelites...”[4]  Since 1969 they have built a thriving community for themselves and have become a staple in the landscape of Israel, as well they have developed their own means of sustaining themselves and their community.  In essence, they have become a nation within a nation by developing their own vegetarian diet, family dynamics, forms of self-defense and maintaining the notion that they and African sojourners of Hebrew ethnic heritage who have come to reclaim their land and culture. 

Moreover, ben-Israel argues that he and his group of sojourners are not Jews but the original Hebrews consistent with their interpretation of the Hebrew Bible.  Furthermore, he “indicated that there were as many as 350,000 Negroes” in the United States who claim this identity, and for that reason their claim for consideration from the Israeli government was to be taken seriously.[5]  After deliberating their status, Landing states “Moderate Jewish officials favored their acceptance in Israel, but conservatives had doubts as to their authentic Jewish identity.”[6]  Despite their doubts, to this day they still claim land in the state of Israel and have grown into a thriving community despite the fact that they still seek permanent status as citizens of Israel.

According to Jacob Dorman author of Chosen People: Rise of American Black Israelite Religions, it is not necessarily anything about the Hebrew religion that attracts people of African descent to the Israelite belief system, it is more so a connection to an ancient lineage of Black people in the part of the world currently known as Israel, a place some feel is only an extension of the continent of Africa.[7]  Many feel they have a claim to this land and history evidenced by their interpretation of Biblical scripture.[8]  The ISUPK is one such group, but the caveat for them is that they want nothing to do with being African in terms of identity or culture.  They argue that they are descendants of the lost tribes of Israel that have been spread throughout the Western Hemisphere.  The geographical break down of the twelve tribes of the Hebrew nation are as follows: African Americans (Judah), West Indies or Jamaican (Benjamin), Haitian (Levi), Dominicans (Simeon), Central Americans between Guatemala to Panama (Zebulon), Puerto Rican (Ephraim), Cuban (Manasseh), North American indigenous tribes (Gad), Seminole (Gideon), South Americans between Argentina and Chile (Naphtali), South Americans between Columbia and Uruguay (Asher) and Mexicans (Issachar).[9] 

As it can be clearly inferred, being of African descent does not carry much weight for this particular group of Israelites.  More to the point, they argue that their people were in the Western Hemisphere long before European expansion and subsequent investment in the business of human trafficking and subjugation from the continent of Africa to the Americas.  African heritage or being of African descent is not a critical issue for them as it would be for the other prominent Black Hebrew groups that have been discussed.  The “chosen” can be of or from a number of different locales in the Western Hemisphere, just not, at least seemingly so, of European descent.
Furthermore, this group of Hebrews is one of the most vocal in their approach for nationhood.  In many urban areas throughout the United States, they can often be found holding court on sidewalks and street corners with poster boards and bull horns proclaiming their heritage and philosophy to all who will listen.[10]  It is not clear how wide spread the movement is internationally.  Meaning, there is no indication that their movement has spread to the other eleven locations where the additional tribes of Israel are said to occupy.  In short, it is difficult to verify their claim with the other tribes.  So, the concern for this is, if they do not claim any form of African descent what is the point of discussing them within the paradigm of Africana Religious inquiry?  The point is to understand the intricacies and dynamics to their claim, because despite their aversion to being labeled African, they have no problem recruiting within the African Diasporic community.  This seems a bit contradictory on their part, but an interesting point of contention nonetheless. 

It is not clear who the founder of ISUPK is, or if they are a splinter group that broke off to find their own path.  To get the answers necessary for clearer understanding of their origins and philosophy much more research is required, but as it stands presently, they are placed in this category African or Black Hebrews only because their recruitment is focused on African Americans by other African Americans.  However, to be clear, this is not an attempt to force them into a category in order to make an academic discussion of them more, neat.  If they do not wish to be labeled as African then that is their collective prerogative.  Keeping this in mind, there is still not a lot of research that has been conducted on this group; so, admittedly this is a shallow analysis, but one that encourages deeper investigation nonetheless. 

Discussion on people of African descent of the Jewish and/or Hebrew religion in America can be a difficult task, in part, because collectively they are a relatively small group, but also because they are a diverse group philosophically.[11]  Regardless, what is most illuminating about investigation into differing forms of African American religious traditions is that perceived notions of a monolithic understanding can be quickly dispelled.  This effort only makes it clear more research is required and more questions need to be asked to understand the intricacies and dynamics of Africana religion.



[1] Yosef A. A. ben-Jochannan.  We, the Black Jews: Witness to the ‘White Jewish Race’ Myth: Volumes I & II.  (Baltimore: Black Classic Press, 1993).
[2] Jacob S. Dorman.  Chosen People: The Rise of American Black Israelite Religions. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2013), 4.  Furthermore, Black Israelites can cover a wide range of belief systems including the Hebrew Israelites, Rastafarians and Beta Israelites (or Ethiopian Jews).
[3] James Landing.  Black Judaism: Story of An American Movement.  (Durham: Carolina Academic Press, 2002), 8.
[4] Ibid., 8-9.
[5] Ibid., 9.
[6] Ibid., 9. 
[7] Jacob S. Dorman.  Chosen People: The Rise of American Black Israelite Religions.  (New York: Oxford University Press, 2013), 4.
[8] Ibid., 4.
[9] ISUPK website: http://www.isupk.org
[10] Official website video link: http://www.isupk.org/Video/index.htm
[11] Jacob S. Dorman.  Chosen People: The Rise of American Black Israelite Religions. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2013), 4.