Jews and Judaism
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Etymology of "Jew"  · Who is a Jew?
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Temani  · Bene Israel  · Beta Israel
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The Bund Union · Kibbutz movement
Jewish history
Jewish history timeline  · Schisms
Ancient Israel and Judah
Temples in Jerusalem
Babylonian captivity
Hasmoneans and Greece
Jewish-Roman wars
Era of Pharisees  · The Talmudic Era
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Persecution of Jews
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African Jew has a variety of meanings: Download high resolution version (1024x1180, 21 KB)Created from Image:Wikipedia blue star of david. ... Judaism is the religious culture of the Jewish people. ... Judaism is the religious culture of the Jewish people. ... Etymology of the word Jew: The name for the Jewish people in Hebrew is Yehudim (יהודים). ... Who is a Jew? (Hebrew: Mihu Yehudi—מיהו יהודי?) can be a complicated question because Judaism shares some of the characteristics of a nation, an ethnicity, a religion, and a culture, making the definition of who is a Jew vary depending on whether a religious, sociological, or national approach to identity is... Jewish leadership: Since 70 AD and the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem there has been no single body that has a leadership position over the entire Jewish community. ... Secular Jewish culture embraces several related phenomena; above all, it is the culture of secular communities of Jewish people, but it can also include the cultural contributions of individuals who identify as secular Jews, or even those of religious Jews working in cultural areas not generally considered to be connected... Jewish ethnic divisions: The most commonly used terms to describe ethnic divisions among Jews presently are: Ashkenazi (meaning German in Hebrew, denoting the Central European base of Jewry); and Sephardi (meaning Spanish in Hebrew, denoting their Spanish and North African location). ... Ashkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim (אַשְׁכֲּנָזִי אַשְׁכֲּנָזִים Standard Hebrew, AÅ¡kanazi,AÅ¡kanazim, Tiberian Hebrew, ʾAÅ¡kănāzî, ʾAÅ¡kănāzîm, pronounced sing. ... Sephardi - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... This article deals with those Jewish communities indigenous to the Middle East. ... Yemenite Jews (תֵּימָנִי, Standard Hebrew Temani, Tiberian Hebrew Têmānî; plural תֵּימָנִים, Standard Hebrew Temanim, Tiberian Hebrew Têmānîm) are those Jews who live, or whose recent ancestors lived, in Yemen (תֵּימָן far south, Standard Hebrew Teman, Tiberian Hebrew Têmān), on the southern tip of the Arabian peninsula. ... The Bene Israel (Sons of Israel) are a group of Jews who, in the mid-twentieth century, lived primarily in Bombay, Kolkata, Delhi and Ahmadabad. ... The Beta Israel (or House of Israel), known by outsiders by the pejorative term Falasha or Falash Mura (exiles or strangers) are Jews of Ethiopian origin. ... The number of Jews in the world is difficult to calculate, especially given the constant debates of the definition of Jew. ... History of the Jews in Russia and the Soviet Union - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... This article is about the history of the Jewish people in England. ... For a list of individuals of Jewish origin by country, please see List of Latin American Jews. ... Main article: List of Jews. ... Jewish languages are a set of languages that developed in various Jewish communities, in Europe, southern and south-western Asia, and northern Africa. ... Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afro-Asiatic language family spoken by 6 million people mainly in Israel, parts of the Palestinian territories, the United States and by Jewish communities around the world. ... Yiddish (Yid. ... Ladino is a Romance language, derived mainly from Old Castilian (Spanish) and Hebrew. ... Dzhidi, or Judæo-Persian, is the Jewish language spoken by the Jews living in Persia. ... Judæo-Aramaic is a collective term used to describe several Hebrew-influenced Aramaic and Neo-Aramaic languages. ... The Judeo-Arabic languages are a collection of Arabic dialects spoken by Jews living or formerly living in Arabic-speaking countries; the term also refers to more or less classical Arabic written in the Hebrew script, particularly in the Middle Ages. ... Jewish denominations: Over time, the Jewish community has become divided into a number of religious denominations, also called branches or movements. Each denomination has a different understanding of what principles of belief a Jew should hold, and how one should live as a Jew. ... Orthodox Judaism is the oldest form of Judaism practiced by Jews. ... Conservative Judaism (or Masorti Judaism) is a denomination of Judaism characterized by: A positive attitude toward modern culture The belief that traditional rabbinic modes of study, and modern scholarship and critical text study, are both valid ways to learn about and from Jewish religious texts. ... Reform Judaism is the first modern branch of Judaism; it developed in Germany and is now international, and the largest in North America. ... Reconstructionist Judaism is a denomination of Judaism characterized by: the belief that an individuals personal autonomy generally overrides traditional Jewish law and custom, yet also holding that ones practices must take into account communal consensus. ... Karaite Judaism is a Jewish denomination characterized by reliance on the Tanakh as the sole scripture, and rejection of the Oral Law (the Mishnah and the Talmuds) as halakha (Legally Binding, i. ... Alternative Judaism refers to several varieties of modern Judaism which fall outside the common Orthodox/Non-Orthodox (Reform/Conservative/Reconstructionist) classification of the four major streams of todays Judaism. ... Jewish political movements refer to the organized efforts of Jews to build their own political parties or otherwise represent their interest in politics. ... For other meanings, please see Zionism (disambiguation) Zionism is a political movement among Jews, although supported by some non-Jews and not supported by some Jews, which maintains that the Jewish people constitute a nation and are entitled to a national homeland in Palestine, the location of the ancient Kingdom... General Zionists were centrists within the Zionist movement. ... Revisionist Zionism is a right wing tendency within the Zionist movement. ... A Bundist demonstration, 1917 The General Jewish Labour Union of Lithuania, Poland and Russia, in Yiddish the Algemeyner Yidisher Arbeter Bund in Lite, Poyln un Rusland (אַלגמײַנער ײדישער אַרבײטערסבונד אין ליטאַ, פוילין און רוסלאַנד), generally called The Bund (בונד) or the Jewish Labor Bund, was a Jewish political party operating in several European countries between the 1890s and the... Kibbutz Dan, near Qiryat Shemona, in the Upper Galilee, 1990s A kibbutz (Hebrew: קיבוץ; plural: kibbutzim: קיבוצים, gathering or together) is an Israeli collective community. ... Jewish history is the history of the Jewish people, faith (Judaism) and culture. ... This entry contains a timeline of the development of Judaism and the Jewish people. ... Schisms among the Jews: // First Temple era Based on the historical narrative in the Bible and archeology, Levantine civilization at the time of Solomons Temple was prone to idol worship, astrology, worship of reigning kings, and paganism. ... In compiling the history of ancient Israel and Judah, there are many available sources, including the Jewish Tanakh (the Old Testament of the Christian Bible), other Jewish texts such as the Talmud, the Ethiopian book of history known as the Kebra Nagast, the writings of historians such as Nicolaus of... The Temple in Jerusalem or the Holy Temple (Beit HaMikdash בית המקדש in Hebrew) was built in ancient Jerusalem and was the center of Israelite and Jewish worship, primarily for the offering of sacrifices known as the korbanot. ... // Overview The term Babylonian captivity, or Babylonian exile, is the name generally given to the deportation and exile of the Jews of the ancient Kingdom of Judah to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar. ... The Hasmonean Kingdom (pronunciation) in ancient Judea and its ruling dynasty from 140 BC to 37 BC was established under the leadership of Simon Maccabaeus, two decades after Judah the Maccabee defeated the Seleucid army in 165 BC. Origin of the Hasmonean dynasty The origin of the Hasmonean dynasty is... This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... The Pharisees (from the Hebrew perushim, from parash, meaning to separate) were, depending on the time, a political party, a social movement, and a school of thought among Jews that flourished during the Second Temple Era (536 BCE–70 CE). ... The first page of the Talmud, in the standard Vilna edition. ... This article incorporates text from the public domain 1901-1906 Jewish Encyclopedia Jews in the Middle Ages : The history of Jews in the Middle Ages (approximately 500 CE to 1750 CE) can be divided into two categories. ... Islam and Judaism: This article is part of a series on Jewish history and discusses the history of Islam and Judaism, as they have interacted with each other for 1200 years, from the seventh century up until the end of the 19th century. ... Haskalah (Hebrew: השכלה; enlightenment, intellect, from sekhel, common sense) was a religious movement among European Jews in the late 18th century that advocated adopting enlightenment values, pressing for better integration into European society, and increasing education in secular studies, Hebrew, and Jewish history. ... Hasidic Judaism (Hebrew: Chasidut חסידות, meaning pious from the Hebrew root word chesed חסד meaning loving kindness) is a Haredi Jewish religious movement. ... Concentration camp inmates during the Holocaust The Holocaust was Nazi Germanys systematic genocide (ethnic cleansing) of various ethnic, religious, national, and secular groups during World War II. Early elements include the Kristallnacht pogrom and the T-4 Euthanasia Program. ... Main article: Israel. ... Related articles: anti-Semitism; history of anti-Semitism; modern anti-Semitism This article deals with various persecutions that the Jewish people have experienced throughout history. ... The Eternal Jew: 1937 German poster. ... This is a partial chronology of hostilities towards or discrimination against the Jews as a religious or ethnic group. ... The new anti-Semitism refers to the contemporary international resurgence of anti-Jewish incidents and attacks on Jewish symbols, as well as the acceptance of anti-Semitic beliefs and their expression in public discourse. ... Africa is the worlds second-largest continent and 3rd most populous. ...

• Scattered Black African tribes who have not historically been part the international Jewish community, but who claim ancestry to ancient Israel or other connections to Judaism and who practice Jewish rituals or those bearing resemblance to Judaism. Of these, only the Beta Israel of Ethiopia are generally recognized as Jews by the international Jewish community.
• Sephardi Jews and Mizraḥi Jews living in North Africa, especially in Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia although many of these have now emigrated, mostly to Israel.
• The Jews of South Africa, who are mostly Ashkenazi Jews, descended from pre-Holocaust Litvish immigrants.

Africa is the worlds second-largest continent and 3rd most populous. ... The Kingdom of Israel (Hebrew: מַלְכוּת יִשְׂרָאֵל, Standard Hebrew Malḫut Yisraʼel, Tiberian Hebrew Malḵûṯ YiÅ›rāʼēl) was the Kingdom proclaimed by the Israelite nation around 1050 BCE. The nation itself was formed as the Israelites left the Land of Goshen, Egypt during the Exodus at an uncertain date, often... Judaism is the religious culture of the Jewish people. ... The Beta Israel (or House of Israel), known by outsiders by the pejorative term Falasha or Falash Mura (exiles or strangers) are Jews of Ethiopian origin. ... In the strictest sense, a Sephardi (ספרדי, Standard Hebrew Səfardi, Tiberian Hebrew Səp̄ardî; plural Sephardim: ספרדים, Standard Hebrew Səfardim, Tiberian Hebrew Səp̄ardîm) is a Jew original to the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal: ספרד, Standard Hebrew Səfárad, Tiberian Hebrew Səp̄áraḏ / Səp̄āraḏ), or whose ancestors were among the Jews expelled from... Mizrachi is also an organisation of the Religious Zionist Movement Mizrahi Jews or Oriental Jews (מזרחי eastern, Standard Hebrew Mizraḥi, Tiberian Hebrew Mizrāḥî; plural מזרחים easterners, Standard Hebrew Mizraḥim, Tiberian Hebrew Mizrāḥîm) are Jews of Middle Eastern origin; that is to say, their ancestors never left the Middle East. ... North Africa is a region generally considered to include: Algeria Egypt Libya Mauritania Morocco Sudan Tunisia Western Sahara The Canary Islands, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Azores and Madeira are sometimes considered to be a part of North Africa, though they do not share a common culture with North Africa. ... The Jewish community in South Africa is the largest in Africa, and, although shrinking due to emigration, it remains one of the most Orthodox communities in the world. ... Ashkenazi (אַשְׁכֲּנָזִי, Standard Hebrew Aškanazi, Tiberian Hebrew ʾAškănāzî) Jews or Ashkenazic Jews, also called Ashkenazim (אַשְׁכֲּנָזִים, Standard Hebrew Aškanazim, Tiberian Hebrew ʾAškănāzîm), are Jews who are descendants of Jews from Germany, Poland, Austria and Eastern Europe. ... Concentration camp inmates during the Holocaust The Holocaust was Nazi Germanys systematic genocide (ethnic cleansing) of various ethnic, religious, national, and secular groups during World War II. Early elements include the Kristallnacht pogrom and the T-4 Euthanasia Program established by Hitler that killed some 200,000 people. ... Lithuanian Jews, (In Yiddish known as Litvish or Litvaks) are Ashkenazi Jews who have their origins in historic Lithuania. ...

Africans with ancient Jewish connections

Ancient communities of African Jews, in one of the meanings above, would include the Sephardi and Mizrahi Jews of North Africa, as well as a number of Black African groups, specifically the Lemba of Malawi, Zimbabwe, and the South African region of Venda who claim descent from King Solomon, as well as the Beta Israel of Ethiopia claim descent from the Tribe of Dan, although their actual history is controversial. The Igbos a Maghrebi (West African) Jewish community in Nigeria also claim descent from Yemenite, Moroccan, and East African Jewish communities. In Vodun (Voodoo), Lemba is a loa worshipped in Brazil and Haiti. ... Venda was a bantustan in northern South Africa, now part of Limpopo province. ... Solomon or Shlomo (Hebrew: שְׁלֹמֹה; Standard Hebrew: Šəlomo; Tiberian Hebrew: Šəlōmōh, meaning peace; Arabic: سليمان Sulayman) in the Tanakh (Old Testament), also called Jedidiah, was the fourth and last King of united Israel (including Judah), builder of the temple in Jerusalem, renowned for his great wisdom and wealth and power... The Beta Israel (or House of Israel), known by outsiders by the pejorative term Falasha or Falash Mura (exiles or strangers) are Jews of Ethiopian origin. ... The Tribe of Dan (דָּן Judge, Standard Hebrew Dan, Tiberian Hebrew Dān) is one of the Hebrew tribes, which the Bible claims was founded by Dan, son of Jacob and Bilhah, Rachels maidservant (Genesis 30:4). ...

North African Jews

See History of the Jews in Algeria, History of the Jews in Tunisia, History of the Jews in Morocco, History of the Jews in Egypt Jews and Judaism have a rather long history in Algeria. ... Tunisia has had a Jewish minority since Roman times. ... This article incorporates text from the public domain 1901-1906 Jewish Encyclopedia The Jewish community of Morocco is an ancient one. ... This article incorporates text from the public domain 1901-1906 Jewish Encyclopedia Perhaps the oldest Jewish community in the world, the Jewish population of Egypt is now somewhere from 100-1000 people, down from between 75,000 and 100,000 in 1948. ...

Remnants of longstanding Jewish communities remain in Morocco and Tunisia, with a strong Jewish community remaining as Djerba in Tunisia. However, as in the rest of the Arab world since the founding of Israel, most have emigrated, mostly either to Israel, France or Spain. Djerba, or Jerba, is an island (the largest in Northern Africa) off the coast of Tunisia in the Gulf of Gabes. ...

The Ethiopian Jews

The Beta Israel of Ethiopia were recognized by the Israeli government as "official" Jews in 1975, and many of them were air-lifted to Israel during the time of Prime Minister Menahem Begin; significant immigration continues into the 21st century. Begin had obtained an official ruling from the Israeli Sephardi Chief Rabbi (or Rishon LeTzion) Ovadia Yosef that they were descendants of the Ten Lost Tribes, probably from the Tribe of Dan, as there are rabbinical responsa that discussed issues concerning them going back hundreds of years; however, historical and DNA evidence suggest different origins. Rabbi Yosef ruled that upon arrival in Israel they must undergo a pro forma conversion to Judaism without the normal rigid requirements of gentile converts who have no concrete connection with Jews or Judaism; most other rabbinic authorities consider the conversions to be actual conversions, not pro forma. The practices of the Beta Israel differ significantly from those of other forms of Judaism. The Beta Israel (or House of Israel), known by outsiders by the pejorative term Falasha or Falash Mura (exiles or strangers) are Jews of Ethiopian origin. ... 1975 was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1975 calendar). ... Prime Minister Menachem Begin Menachem Begin (August 16, 1913 - March 9, 1992) became the 6th Prime Minister of Israel in May 1977. ... Sephardi - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... Chief rabbi is a title given in several countries to the recognised religious leader of that countrys Jewish community. ... Rabbi Ovadia Yosef voting during an Israeli election Ovadia Yosef (born 1920) is an Orthodox Jewish rabbi, Talmud scholar and a recognized authority in halakha (Jewish Law). He is the former Sephardic chief rabbi of the State of Israel and is the current spiritual leader of the Shas political party... See also Israelite article. ... The Tribe of Dan (דָּן Judge, Standard Hebrew Dan, Tiberian Hebrew Dān) is one of the Hebrew tribes, which the Bible claims was founded by Dan, son of Jacob and Bilhah, Rachels maidservant (Genesis 30:4). ... brendan is gay ... Note: This is based on an entry from the 1906 public domain Jewish Encyclopedia The responsa literature, known in Hebrew as Sheelot U-teshuvot (questions and answers), is the body of written decisions and rulings given by rabbis to questions addressed to them. ... In Judaism, a ger (Hebrew: stranger or convert) or ger tzedek (righteous convert or convert of righteousness) is a gentile who has undergone religious conversion (giur) to Judaism by fulfilling the ritual requirements for such conversion accepting the obligations of Jewish religious observance. ... Posek פוסק (Hebrew; pl. ... In Judaism, a ger (Hebrew: stranger or convert) or ger tzedek (righteous convert or convert of righteousness) is a gentile who has undergone religious conversion (giur) to Judaism by fulfilling the ritual requirements for such conversion accepting the obligations of Jewish religious observance. ... Judaism is the religious culture of the Jewish people. ...

The Lemba

The Lemba or Lembaa are a tribe of people in southern Africa. Although they speak Bantu languages similar to their neighbours, they have specific religious practices similar to those in Judaism, and a tradition of being a migrant people with clues pointing to an origin in the Middle East or North Africa.

They have restrictions on intermarriage with non-Lemba, with it being particularly difficult for male non-Lemba to become part of the tribe. The presence of a disproportionate number of particular polymorphisms on the Y chromosome known as the Cohen modal haplotype suggests an ancestral link to the Kohanim or priests, a distinct subsection of Jews.

The Igbo (Ibo) Jews

The Igbo (Ibo) Jews of Nigeria, who some consider a community of "Yehudim Maghrebim" (North and West African Jews, note: Maghreb also means North Africa, and is not exclusive to Ibos) are the Jewish component of the Igbo (Ibo) ethnic group whom are said to be descended from the southern and westward migrations of both ancient Semitic and later Jewish peoples from the Middle East into West Africa. This migration, said to have started more than 1500 years ago, is believed to have taken deeper roots in the region during the reign of the Dja (Dia) rulers of several Songhai Empire regions. The Maghrebim are the Jews who traditionally lived in the Arabo-Berber Maghreb region of North Africa, mainly in the tolerant Sherifian kingdom of Morocco (al-Maghrib, i. ... The Igbo are a people living in Nigeria, where they constitute an estimated 15% of the population. ... From the early 15th to the late 16th century, the Songhai Empire was one of the largest African empires in history. ...

According to the record Tarikh es Soudan recorded by Abderrahman ben Abdallah es-Sadi (trad. O. Houdas) one such community was formed by a group of Egyptian Jews, who traveled by way of the Sahel corridor through Chad into Mali. Another such community was that of the Dji (Dia) ruler of Koukiya (located near the Niger river), whose name is only known as Dialliaman (or Dia min al Yaman) also called as Za-al-Ayaman (meaning “He comes from Yemen”). According to local legends Dialliaman (Za-al-Ayaman) was a member of one of the Jewish colonies transported from Yemen by the Abbysinians in the sixth century C.E. Dialliaman is said to have traveled into West Africa along with his brother, and eventually established a local Jewish community in Northern Nigeria.

Other sources say that other Jewish communities in the region from Morocco, Egypt, Portugal, and possibly even Gojjam Ethiopia made their way into West Africa by way of the Niger. Some communities are said to connected to the Jewish Berber population like a group of Kal Tamasheq known as Iddao Ishaak of Niger that traveled from North Africa into West Africa for trade, as well as those escaping the Islamic invasions into North Africa and Mali. The Berbers (also called Imazighen, free men, singular Amazigh) are an ethnic group indigenous to Northwest Africa, speaking the Berber languages of the Afroasiatic family. ...

According to Igbo lore of the Eri, Nri, and Ozubulu families the Jewish Igbo ethnic groups are comprised of the following 3 lineage types:

• Benei Gath: Igbos said to have descended from tribe of Gath ben-Ya`aqov, who was the 8th son of the Israeli patriarch Ya`aqov (Jacob). This lineage is traced though Gath's son Eri ben-Gath. [2] The clans said to come from this lineage comprise of the Aguleri, Umuleri, Oreri, Enugwu Ikwu, Ogbunike, Awkuzu, Nteje, and Igbariam.

• Benei Zevulun: Igbos said to have descended from the tribe of Zevulun ben-Ya`aqov, who was the 5th son of Ya`aqov (Jacob). This lineage comprises of the Ubulu Okiti, Ubulu Ukwu, in Delta State, who settled in Ubulu Ihejiofor. According to tradition, it is said that a descendent of the tribe of Zevulun named Zevulunu, on the advice of an certain Levite, married a woman from Oji, whom descended from the tribe of Judah, and from this union was born Ozubulu ben-Zebulunu. It is said that Ozubulu then went on to have 4 sons of his own who settled into other parts of the region. These sons being: Amakwa, from whom a clan in Neni, Anambra State descended, and Egbema, from whom the Egbema Ugwuta clan in Imo State and the Ohaji Egbema clan in Rivers State descended.

• Benei Menash: Igbos whom it is theorized may be descendents of the tribe of Meneshsheh ben-Yoseph, who was one of the grandsons of Ya`aqov (Jacob) through his 11th son Yoseph (Joseph). According to the Torah Jacob claimed both Menashsheh and his brother Ephrayim as his own sons. It is theorized by some that this is the possible lineage of the Amichi, Ichi, Nnewi-Ichi clans.

It is also more than possible that certain Nigerian Jews in the Nri families may be descendents of Levitical (Levite Priests) migrants from Jerban, Tunisia whom were said to have left Judah and settled in North Africa before and after the destruction of the 1st and 2nd Temples in Jerusalem. The most likely scenario is that the ancestors of the Igbos were made up of familiar clans of Israelis and Judaens whom, for various reasons, left Israel before and during the Assyrian and Babylonian sieges. This would explain how their oral tradition contains the specific tribes these clans originated from. In the Jewish tradition, a Levite (לוי Attached, Standard Hebrew Levi, Tiberian Hebrew Lēwî) is a member of the Hebrew tribe of Levi. ... Judah (יְהוּדָה Praise, Standard Hebrew YÉ™huda, Tiberian Hebrew YÉ™hûḏāh) is the name of several Biblical and historical figures. ... Jerusalem (31°46′ N 35°14′ E; Hebrew: יְרוּשָׁלַיִם Yerushalayim; Arabic: القدس al-Quds; see also names of Jerusalem) is an ancient Middle Eastern city of key importance to the religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. ...

Groups called Godians and Ibrim maintained much of the Jewish traditions of the Igbo Jews. These groups maintained the Jewish traditions that the majority of the communities lost over time due to their isolation from the rest of Nigeria society. Certain Nigerian Jewish communities have been making increasing connections with world Jewry through the help of Israelis who work in Nigeria, out-reach organizations like Kulanu [1], and members of the Igbo Jewish community outside of Nigeria who underwent Giyyur Khelqi (Orthodox Return Conversion) to the world wide Jewish community. Two Synagogues in Nigeria were formed by Jews outside of Nigeria, and are maintained by the Jews in Nigeria. In general, conversion is the transformation of one thing into another. ...

Because no formal census has been taken in the region, it is unknown how many native Jews reside in Nigeria. There are currently 26 synagogues of various sizes and estimates of possibly as many as 30,000 Igbos practicing some form of Judaism.

Africans with Medieval Jewish connections

The largest influx of Jews to Africa came after the Spanish Inquisition and expulsion of the Jews in Spain in 1492, and Portugal and Sicily soon afterwards. Many of these Sephardic Jews settled in North Africa. Additionally, King Manuel I of Portugal exiled about 2,000 Jewish children to São Tomé and Príncipe around 1500. Most died, but in the early 1600s "the local bishop noted with disgust that there were still Jewish observances on the island and returned to Portugal because of his frustration with them." [2] Although Jewish practices faded over subsequent centuries, there are people in São Tomé and Príncipe who are aware of partial descent from this population. Similarly, a number of Portuguese ethnic Jews were exiled to Sao Tome after forced conversions to Roman Catholicism. The Spanish Inquisition was the Inquisition acting in Spain under the control of the Kings of Spain. ... Manuel I of Portugal (Archaic Portuguese: Manoel I, English: Emanuel I), the Fortunate (Port. ... // Events Europes population was ~60 million. ... Centuries: 16th century - 17th century - 18th century Decades: 1550s 1560s 1570s 1580s 1590s - 1600s - 1610s 1620s 1630s 1640s 1650s Years: 1600 1601 1602 1603 1604 1605 1606 1607 1608 1609 Events and Trends November 5, 1605 - The Gunpowder Plot to blow up the British Parliament. ... São Tomé, population 53,300 (in 2003), is the capital of São Tomé and Príncipe. ... The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ...

Africans with modern Jewish connections

• The Abayudaya of Uganda are a group who have enthusiastically embraced Judaism in relatively recent times—their practice of the religion dates only from 1917. [3]
• The "House of Israel" community of Sefwi Wiawso and Sefwi Sui in Western Ghana claim that their Sefwi ancestors are descendants of Jews who migrated south through Côte d'Ivoire. The continuous practice of Judaism in this community, however, dates back to only the early 1970s.
• The Jews of Rusape, Zimbabwe claim ancient Jewish tribal connections—in fact, they claim that most Black Africans (especially the Bantu peoples) are actually of Jewish origin. Like the Abayudaya, however, the active practice of Judaism in the Rusape community dates back only to the early twentieth century; in this case, to 1903. (Despite the chronological proximity of the beginnings of observance in these two communities, a historical relationship between them should not be inferred: there is no evidence whatsoever to indicate the existence of any relationship between them, aside from their interest in Judaism.)
• There are several thousand people of undoubted Jewish ancestry in Timbuktu, Mali. Although none of them today practice Judaism, they have, nonetheless, formed a Jewish Friendship Society, reclaiming a bit of ethnic pride as descendants of Jews. The relatively large Jewish community of Timbuktu was forced (in the late 15th century) to convert to Islam, or to flee, under pain of death, from the city.

The Abayudaya are a population in Uganda who practice Judaism. ... 1917 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... This article provides extensive lists of events and significant personalities of the 1970s. ... Rusape is a town in Zimbabwe with a population of around 20,000 as of 2004, situated approximately 172 km east of the capital city, Harare. ... Map showing the approximate distribution of Bantu (dull yellow) vs. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s The 20th century lasted from 1901 to 2000 in the Gregorian calendar (often from (1900 to 1999 in common usage). ... 1903 has the latest occurring solstices and equinoxes for 400 years, because the Gregorian calendar hasnt had a leap year for seven years or a century leap year since 1600. ... See Timbuktu (novel) for the book by Paul Auster. ...

Modern communities of European descent

• There is a substantial, mostly Ashkenazic Jewish community in South Africa. These Jews arrived mostly from Lithuania prior to World War II, though others have origins in Britain, Germany, and Eastern Europe. Connected to them were the small European Jewish communities in Namibia (South West Africa), Zimbabwe (Southern Rhodesia), Lesotho (Basutuland), Swaziland, Botswana (Bechuanaland), Zaire (Belgian Congo), Kenya, Malawi (Nyasaland), Zambia (Northern Rhodesia) all of which had synagogues and even formal Jewish schools usually based in the capitals of these countries. (See History of the Jews in South Africa.)
• Historically, there was a Jewish community in Maputo, Mozambique but in the independence era nearly all left. The government has officially returned the Maputo synagogue to the Jewish community, but "little or no Jewish community remains to reclaim it." [4]

Ashkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim (אַשְׁכֲּנָזִי אַשְׁכֲּנָזִים Standard Hebrew, Aškanazi,Aškanazim, Tiberian Hebrew, ʾAškănāzî, ʾAškănāzîm, pronounced sing. ... World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: immense human suffering, fierce indoctrinations, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons like the atom bomb. ... Pre-1989 division between the West (grey) and Eastern Bloc (orange) superimposed on current national boundaries: Russia (dark orange), other countries of the former USSR (medium orange) and other former communist regimes (light orange). ... The Jewish community in South Africa is the largest in Africa, and, although shrinking due to emigration, it remains one of the most Orthodox communities in the world. ... Maputo is the capital of Mozambique. ...

External links

• This article draws heavily on Jay Sand's site about African Jews.
• Interview with Tudar Parfit on PBS concering the Lemba[5]
• Information about the DNA testing done on the Lemba[6]
• Forensic Biology: Priestly Caste of Jews Linked to Aaron and South African Tribe Might Actually Be Jewish [7]
• African Tribe Presses Bid: Lemba [8]
• Information about the Igbo claims of Jewish ancestry can found at [9].
• There is also an Igbo discussion group at Ibo Benei Yisrael Email List.
• The Awakening & In-Gathering of The Ibos [10]
• Rabbi Howard Gorin's web-site: Travels Amongst Nigeria's and Uganda's Jews [11]
• Legends of the Lost Tribes: Documentary series (Episode 3 on Igbos)[12]
• Timbuktu: City of Legends, [13]
• Les manuscrits trouvés à Tombouctou, by Jean-Michel Djian [14]
• Jews and Berbers, article by Dr. Bruce Maddy-Weitzman [15]

Sources for information on West African Jewish communities

Further information on the information presented in the Igbo Jews Section can be found in the following books:

• Igbos, Jews in Africa?, (Volume 1), Mega Press Limited, Abuja, Nigeria, 2004, by Remy Ilona and Ehav Eliyahu
• Wars of the Jews: A Military History from Biblical to Modern Times, Hipporcrene Books, New York, 1990, by Monroe Rosenthal and Isaac Mozeson
• Jewish Communities in Exotic Places, Jason Aronson Inc., Jerusalem, by Ken Blady
• Jews in Africa: Part 1 The Berbers and the Jews, by Sam Timinsky (Hebrew History Federation)
• The Jews of Timbuktu, Washington Jewish Week, December 30, 1999, by Rick Gold
• Jews in Cape Verde and on the Guinea Coast, Paper presented at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth, February 11, 1996, by Richard Lobban
• Tarikh es Soudan, Paris, 1900, by Abderrahman ben-Abdall es-Sadi (trad. O. Houdas)
• Les Juifs à Tombouctou, or Jews of Timbuktu, Recueil de sources écrites relatives au commerce juif à Tombouctou au XIXe siècle, Editions Donniya, Bamako, 1999 by Professor Ismael Diadie Haidara
• Northern Tribes of Nigeria, Volume 1, Oxford, page 66, by C.K. Meek
• Jews In Africa: Ancient Black African Relations, Fact Paper 19-II, By Samuel Kurinsky
• Jews in Places You Never Thought of, Ktav Publishing, By Karen Primak [16]
• Hebrewisms of West Africa: From Nile to Niger With the Jews, The Dial Press, NY, 1931, by Joseph J. Williams
• Jews of Nigeria: The Aro Empire, by Eze Okafor-Ogbaji [17]
• Stigma "Gojjam": The Abbyssianian Pariah Orits, Guihon Books, University of Geneva, 1993, by Muse Tegegne