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African Jew has a variety of meanings: Image File history File links Star_of_David. ...
Menorah. ...
Who is a Jew? (Hebrew: ) is a religious, social and political debate on the exact definition of which persons can be considered Jewish. ...
Look up Jew in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...
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...
Judaism is the religion of the Jewish people with around 15 million followers as of 2006 [1]. It is one of the first recorded monotheistic faiths and one of the oldest religious traditions still practiced today. ...
There are a number of basic Jewish principles of faith that one is expected to uphold in order to be said to be in consonance with the Jewish faith. ...
11th century Targum Tanakh [×ª× ×´×š] (also Tanach, IPA: or ) is an acronym that identifies the Hebrew Bible. ...
Torah () is a Hebrew word meaning teaching, instruction, or law. ...
Neviim [× ×‘×™××™×] or Prophets is the second of the three major sections in the Tanakh (the Hebrew Bible). ...
Ketuvim is the third and final section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible). ...
The Talmud (תלמוד) is a record of rabbinic discussions on Jewish law, Jewish ethics, customs, legends and stories, which Jewish tradition considers authoritative. ...
// Headline text Halakha (Hebrew: הלכה; also transliterated as Halakhah, Halacha, Halakhot and Halachah) is the collective corpus of Jewish religious law, including biblical law (the 613 mitzvot) and later talmudic and rabbinic law as well as customs and traditions. ...
A Jewish holiday or Jewish Festival is a day or series of days observed by Jews as holy or secular commemorations of important events in Jewish history. ...
Jewish services are the communal prayer recitations which form part of the observance of Judaism. ...
613 mitzvot (or 613 Commandments. ...
Mitzvah (Hebrew: מצווה, commandment; plural, mitzvot; from צוה, tzavah, command) is a word is used in Judaism to refer to (a) the commandments, of which there are believed to be 613, given in the Torah (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) or (b) any Jewish law at all. ...
Minhag (Hebrew: ×ž× ×”×’ Custom, pl. ...
Midrash (Hebrew: מדרש; plural midrashim) is a Hebrew word referring to a method of exegesis of a Biblical text. ...
Jewish ethnic divisions refers to a number of distinct Jewish communities within the worlds ethnically Jewish population. ...
Ashkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim (×ַשְ××›Ö²Ö¼× Ö¸×–Ö´×™ ×ַשְ××›Ö²Ö¼× Ö¸×–Ö´×™× Standard Hebrew, AÅ¡kanazi, AÅ¡kanazim, Tiberian Hebrew, ʾAÅ¡kănÄzî, ʾAÅ¡kănÄzîm, pronounced sing. ...
Sephardi Jews (ספרדי×, Standard Hebrew SÉ™fardi, Tiberian Hebrew ardî; plural Sephardim: ספרדי×, Standard Hebrew Sfaradim, Tiberian Hebrew ) are a subgroup of Jews, generally defined in contrast to Ashkenazi Jews. ...
The factual accuracy of this article is disputed. ...
The number of Jews in the world is difficult to calculate, especially given the constant debates of the definition of Jew. ...
Jewish history is the history of the Jewish people, faith (Judaism) and culture. ...
The vast territories of the Russian Empire once hosted the largest Jewish population in the world. ...
This article is about the history of the Jewish people in England. ...
History of the Jews in Latin America. ...
This article incorporates text from the public domain 1901-1906 Jewish Encyclopedia 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...
It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Jews by country. ...
This page is a list of Jews. ...
Many Jewish denominations exist within the religion of Judaism; the Jewish community is divided into a number of religious denominations as well as branches or movements. ...
Orthodox Judaism is the stream of Judaism which adheres to a relatively strict interpretation and application of the laws and ethics first canonized in the Talmud (The Oral Law) and later codified in the Shulkhan Arukh (Code of Jewish Law). It is governed by these works and the Rabbinical commentary...
Conservative Judaism, also known as Masorti Judaism, is a modern denomination of Judaism that arose in United States in the early 1900s. ...
Reform Judaism can refer to (1) the largest denomination of Judaism in America and its sibling movements in other countries, (2) a branch of Judaism in the United Kingdom, and (3) the historical predecessor of the American movement that originated in 19th Century Germany. ...
Reconstructionist Judaism is a movement of Judaism with a very liberal set of beliefs: an individuals personal autonomy should generally override traditional Jewish law and custom, yet also take into account communal consensus, modern culture is accepted, traditional rabbinic modes of study, as well as modern scholarship and critical...
Liberal Judaism is a term used by some communities worldwide for what is otherwise also known as Reform Judaism or Progressive Judaism. ...
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 Talmud) 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. ...
The Jewish languages are a set of languages that developed in various Jewish communities, in Europe, southern and south-western Asia, and northern Africa. ...
Hebrew (עִבְרִית ‘Ivrit) is a Semitic language of the Afro-Asiatic language family spoken by more than seven million people in Israel and 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 Iran. ...
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 political movements refer to the organized efforts of Jews to build their own political parties or otherwise represent their interest in politics outside of the Jewish community. ...
Poster promoting a film about Jewish settlement in Palestine, 1930s: Toward a New Life (in Romanian),The Promised Land (in Hungarian), in small (down) text is written First Palestinian sound movie 1844 Discourse on the Restoration of the Jews by Mordecai Noah, page one. ...
General Zionists were centrists within the Zionist movement. ...
Revisionist Zionism is a right wing tendency within the Zionist movement. ...
Timeline of Zionism in the modern era: 1861 - The Zion Society is formed in Frankfurt, Germany. ...
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 (×Ö·×œ×’×ž×²Ö·× ×¢×¨ ײדישער ×Ö·×¨×‘×²×˜×¢×¨×¡×‘×•× ×“ ×ין ליט×Ö·, פוילין ×ון רוסל×Ö·× ×“), generally called The Bund (×‘×•× ×“) 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: קיבוצי×, gathering or together) is an Israeli collective community. ...
Jewish history is the history of the Jewish people, faith (Judaism) and culture. ...
This is a timeline of the development of Judaism and the Jewish people. ...
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. ...
In compiling the history of ancient Israel and Judah, there are many available sources. ...
The Temple in Jerusalem or the Holy Temple (Hebrew: בית המקדש, transliterated Bet HaMikdash) was built in ancient Jerusalem in c. ...
Babylonian captivity also refers to the permanence of the Avignon Papacy. ...
Jerusalem (31°46′N 35°14′E; Hebrew: (help· info) Yerushalayim; Arabic: (help· info) al-Quds, Greek ΙεÏοσόλυμα), is an ancient Middle Eastern city on the watershed between the Mediterranean Sea and the Dead Sea at an elevation of 650-840 meters. ...
The city of Jerusalem is significant in a number of religious traditions, including Judaism, Christianity, Islam. ...
1800 BCE - The Jebusites build the wall Jebus (Jerusalem). ...
The Hasmonean Kingdom (pronunciation) in ancient Judea and its ruling dynasty from 140 BCE to 37 BCE was established under the leadership of Simon Maccabaeus, two decades after Judah the Maccabee defeated the Seleucid army in 165 BCE. // Recorded history The origin of the Hasmonean dynasty is recorded in the...
For the tractate in the Mishnah, see Sanhedrin (tractate). ...
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. ...
Jewish-Roman War can refer to several revolts by the Jews of Judea against the Roman Empire: The First Jewish-Roman War (66–73 CE), sometimes called the First Jewish Revolt. ...
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 Jewish diaspora (Hebrew: Tefutzah, scattered, or Galut, exile) is the dispersion of the Jewish people throughout the world. ...
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. ...
To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...
Haskalah (Hebrew: השכלה; enlightenment, intellect, from sekhel, common sense), the Jewish Enlightenment, was a 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 (from the Hebrew: Chasidut חסידות, meaning pious, from the Hebrew root word chesed חסד meaning loving kindness) is a Haredi Jewish religious movement. ...
Dates of Jewish emancipation. ...
Aliyah (Hebrew: עלייה; ascent or going up) is a term widely used to mean Jewish immigration to the Land of Israel (and since its establishment in 1948, the State of Israel). ...
Selection at the Auschwitz ramp in 1944, where the German Nazis chose whom to kill immediately and whom to use as slave labor or for medical experimentation, such as those of the infamous Dr. Josef Mengele. ...
This article discusses the history of the modern State of Israel, from its independence proclamation in 1948 to the present. ...
Combatants State of Israel Arab nations Arab-Israeli conflict series History · Views of the conflict · International law · Facts and figures Participants Israeli-Palestinian conflict · Arab League · Soviet Union / Russia · Israel and the United Nations · Iran-Israel relations · Israel-United States relations Peace treaties and proposals Israel-Egypt · Israel-Jordan The...
A map illustrating the four phases of the Gaza disengagement plan. ...
Persecution of Jews includes various persecutions that the Jewish people and Judaism have experienced throughout Jewish 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. ...
Graffiti on a Jewish gravestone in Aldershot, England in January 2005 The term new anti-Semitism refers to the perceived 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. ...
A satellite composite image of Africa Africa is the worlds second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia. ...
A satellite composite image of Africa Africa is the worlds second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia. ...
The Kingdom of Israel Hebrew: מַלְכוּת יִשְׂרָ×ֵל, Standard Hebrew Malḫut Yisraʼel, Tiberian Hebrew Malḵûṯ YiÅ›rÄʼēl) was the Kingdom proclaimed by the Israelite nation around 1030-1020 BCE. // Biblical Account of Israels Origins According to the Biblical account, Israel is descended from Hebrew slaves who left the Land...
Judaism is the religion of the Jewish people with around 15 million followers as of 2006 [1]. It is one of the first recorded monotheistic faiths and one of the oldest religious traditions still practiced today. ...
The Beta Israel (or House of Israel), known by outsiders by the term Falasha (exiles or strangers), a term that they consider to be pejorative, are Jews of Ethiopian origin. ...
The Lemba or Lembaa are a group of people in southern Africa. ...
Genetic fingerprinting, DNA testing, DNA typing, and DNA profiling are techniques used to distinguish between individuals of the same species using only samples of their DNA. Its invention by Sir Alec Jeffreys at the University of Leicester was announced in 1985. ...
The Beta Israel (or House of Israel), known by outsiders by the term Falasha (exiles or strangers), a term that they consider to be pejorative, are Jews of Ethiopian origin. ...
Sephardi Jews (ספרדי×, Standard Hebrew SÉ™fardi, Tiberian Hebrew ardî; plural Sephardim: ספרדי×, Standard Hebrew Sfaradim, Tiberian Hebrew ) are a subgroup of Jews, generally defined in contrast to Ashkenazi Jews. ...
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. ...
Northern Africa (UN subregion) geographic, including above North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent. ...
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 Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim (×ַשְ××›Ö²Ö¼× Ö¸×–Ö´×™ ×ַשְ××›Ö²Ö¼× Ö¸×–Ö´×™× Standard Hebrew, AÅ¡kanazi, AÅ¡kanazim, Tiberian Hebrew, ʾAÅ¡kănÄzî, ʾAÅ¡kănÄzîm, pronounced sing. ...
Selection at the Auschwitz ramp in 1944, where the German Nazis chose whom to kill immediately and whom to use as slave labor or for medical experimentation, such as those of the infamous Dr. Josef Mengele. ...
Lithuanian Jews (in Yiddish known as Litvish or Litvaks) are Ashkenazi Jews who were historically associated with Lithuania. ...
Ancient Jewish communities
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. The Lemba or Lembaa are a group of people in southern Africa. ...
Venda was a bantustan in northern South Africa, now part of Limpopo province. ...
It has been suggested that Sulayman be merged into this article or section. ...
The Beta Israel (or House of Israel), known by outsiders by the term Falasha (exiles or strangers), a term that they consider to be pejorative, are Jews of Ethiopian origin. ...
The Tribe of Dan (דָּן Judge, Standard Hebrew Dan, Tiberian Hebrew DÄn) is one of the Hebrew tribes, which the Bible claims was founded by Dan, son of Jacob and Bilhah, Rachels maidservant (Genesis 30:4). ...
Yemenite Jews (×ªÖ¼Öµ×™×žÖ¸× Ö´×™, Standard Hebrew Temani, Tiberian Hebrew TêmÄnî; plural ×ªÖ¼Öµ×™×žÖ¸× Ö´×™×, Standard Hebrew Temanim, Tiberian Hebrew TêmÄnîm) are those Jews who live, or whose recent ancestors lived, in Yemen (תֵּימָן far south, Standard Hebrew Teman, Tiberian Hebrew TêmÄn), on the southern tip of the Arabian peninsula. ...
North Africa - Main articles: History of the Jews in Algeria, History of the Jews in Tunisia, History of the Jews in Morocco, History of the Jews in Libya and History of the Jews in Egypt
Remnants of longstanding Jewish communities remain in Morocco, Tunisia and the Spanish cities of Ceuta and Melilla, 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. 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 Moroccan Jews constitute an ancient community. ...
This article incorporates text from the public domain 1901-1906 Jewish Encyclopedia Egyptian Jews constitute perhaps the oldest Jewish community in the world. ...
Area – Total 28 km² Population – Total (2003) – Density 76,152 2719. ...
Area – Total 20 km² (8 mi²) Population – Total (2005) – Density 65,488 3274. ...
Djerba, or Jerba, is an island (the largest in Northern Africa) off the coast of Tunisia in the Gulf of Gabes. ...
The Arabs (Arabic: عرب ) are a large and heterogeneous ethnic group found throughout the Middle East and North Africa. ...
Ethiopia 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. One significant difference is that they lack the festivals of Purim and Hanukkah. This is probably because they branched off from the main body of Judaism before these holy days were developed. The Beta Israel (or House of Israel), known by outsiders by the term Falasha (exiles or strangers), a term that they consider to be pejorative, are Jews of Ethiopian origin. ...
1975 (MCMLXXV) 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. ...
Sephardim (ספרדי, Standard Hebrew SÉ™fardi, Tiberian Hebrew ardî; plural Sephardim: ספרדי×, Standard Hebrew Sfaradim, Tiberian Hebrew ) are a subgroup of Jews, generally defined in contrast to Ashkenazim and/or . ...
// Chief rabbi is a title given in several countries to the recognised religious leader of that countrys Jewish community. ...
Bold textOvadia Yosef (born Abdullah Youssef in 1920) is an Israeli 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 in Israel. ...
To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...
The Tribe of Dan (דָּן Judge, Standard Hebrew Dan, Tiberian Hebrew DÄn) is one of the Hebrew tribes, which the Bible claims was founded by Dan, son of Jacob and Bilhah, Rachels maidservant (Genesis 30:4). ...
Rabbi (Classical Hebrew רִבִּי ribbī;; modern Ashkenazi and Israeli רַבִּי rabbī) in Judaism, means teacher, or more literally great one. The word Rabbi is derived from the Hebrew root-word RaV, which in biblical Hebrew means great or distinguished, (in knowledge). In the ancient Judean schools (and among Sefaradim today) the sages...
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. ...
Conversion to Judaism (Hebrew גיור, giur, conversion) is the religious conversion of a previously non-Jewish person to the Jewish religion. ...
Posek (Hebrew פוסק, IPA: , pl. ...
Conversion to Judaism (Hebrew גיור, giur, conversion) is the religious conversion of a previously non-Jewish person to the Jewish religion. ...
Judaism is the religion of the Jewish people with around 15 million followers as of 2006 [1]. It is one of the first recorded monotheistic faiths and one of the oldest religious traditions still practiced today. ...
Purim (Hebrew: ×¤×•×¨×™× Pûrîm Lots, from Akkadian pÅ«ru) is a joyous Jewish holiday that commemorates the deliverance of Persian Jews from the plot of the evil Haman to exterminate them, as recorded in the biblical Book of Esther. ...
For the Khazar ruler by this name, see Hanukkah (Khazar). ...
The Lemba The Lemba or Lembaa are a group 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. The Lemba or Lembaa are a group of people in southern Africa. ...
Map showing the approximate distribution of Bantu (dull yellow) vs. ...
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 subgroup of Jews. Y-chromosomal Aaron is the name given to the hypothesised ancestor of the Kohanim, a patrilineal priestly caste in Judaism. ...
The position of a Kohens hands when he raises them to bless a Jewish congregation A Kohen (or Cohen, Hebrew priest, pl. ...
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 northern Africa, and is not exclusive to Ibos) are the Jewish component of the Igbo (Ibo) ethnic group who 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 sometimes (especially formerly) referred to as Ibo are one of the largest single ethnicities in Africa. ...
The Songhai Empire, c. ...
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 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. 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 descendant of the tribe of Zevulun named Zevulunu, on the advice of a 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 descendants 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 descendants of Levitical (Levite Priests) migrants from Djerba, Tunisia whom were said to have left Judea 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. ...
Djerba, or Jerba, is an island (the largest in Northern Africa) off the coast of Tunisia in the Gulf of Gabes. ...
Desert hills in southern Judea, looking east from the town of Arad Judea or Judaea (יהודה Praise, Standard Hebrew , Tiberian Hebrew ) (Greek: Ιουδαία) is a term used for the mountainous southern part of the historic Land of Israel (Hebrew: ×רץ ישר×ל Eretz Yisrael), an area now divided between Israel and the West Bank, and...
Jerusalem (31°46′N 35°14′E; Hebrew: (help· info) Yerushalayim; Arabic: (help· info) al-Quds, Greek ΙεÏοσόλυμα), is an ancient Middle Eastern city on the watershed between the Mediterranean Sea and the Dead Sea at an elevation of 650-840 meters. ...
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 Nigerian society. Certain Nigerian Jewish communities have been making connections with Jews around the world with the help of Israelis who work in Nigeria, out-reach organizations like Kulanu [1], and members of the Igbo Jewish community outside Nigeria who underwent Giyyur Khelqi (Orthodox Return conversion to Judaism). Two synagogues in Nigeria were formed by Jews outside Nigeria, and are maintained by Jews in Nigeria. Conversion to Judaism (Hebrew גיור, giur, conversion) is the religious conversion of a previously non-Jewish person to the Jewish religion. ...
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 Judaism.
Bnai Ephraim The Bnai Ephraim are different from other Nigerian Jewish groups in that they live among the Yoruba instead of the Igbo people. The Bnai Ephraim (Children of Ephraim) of Nigeria numbered in 1930 about 2000 people in 400 families in 20 small villages in the Ondo district of southwestern Nigeria. ...
The Yoruba (native name Yorùbá) are the second largest ethno-linguistic group or ethnic nation in Nigeria and probably the largest single ethnic nation in Africa. ...
The Ibo are a group of people living in what is now Nigeria. ...
Medieval arrivals 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. Pedro Berruguete. ...
Manuel I of Portugal (pron. ...
1500 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...
Categories: 1600s ...
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. ...
- The Jews of Mali - There are several thousand people of undoubted Jewish ancestry in Timbuktu, Mali. In the 14th century many Moors and Jews, fleeing persecution in Spain, migrated south to the Timbuktu area, at that time part of the Songhai empire. Among them was the Kehath (Ka'ti) family, descended from Ismael Jan Kot Al-yahudi of Scheida, Morocco. Sons of this prominent family founded three villages that still exist near Timbuktu -- Kirshamba, Haybomo, and Kongougara. In 1492, Askia Muhammed came to power in the previously tolerant region of Timbuktu and decreed that Jews must convert to Islam or leave; Judaism became illegal in Mali, as it did in Catholic Spain that same year. As the historian Leo Africanus wrote in 1526: "The king (Askia) is a declared enemy of the Jews. He will not allow any to live in the city. If he hears it said that a Berber merchant frequents them or does business with them, he confiscates his goods." The Kehath family converted with the rest of the non-Muslim population. The Cohens, descended from the Moroccan Islamicized Jewish trader El-Hadj Abd-al-Salam al Kuhin, arrived in the Timbuktu area in the 18th century, and the Abana family came in the first half of the 19th century. According to Prof. Michel Abitbol, at the Center for the Research of Moroccan Jewry in Israel, in the late 19th century Rabbi Mordoche Aby Serour traveled to Timbuktu several times as a not-too-successful trader in ostrich feathers and ivory. Ismael Diadie Haidara, a historian from Timbuktu, has found old Hebrew texts among the city's historical records. He has also researched his own past and discovered that he is descended from the Moroccan Jewish traders of the Abana family. As he interviewed elders in the villages of his relatives, he has discovered that knowledge of the family's Jewish identity has been preserved, in secret, out of fear of persecution.[3]
Timbuktu, Timbuctu or Timbuctoo (Koyra Chiini: Tumbutu, French: Tombouctou) is a city populated by the Songhay, Tuareg, Fulani, and Moorish people in the West African country of Mali. ...
This article is about people. ...
Leo Africanus was the Christianised name of Hasan bin Muhammed al-Wazzan al-Fasi (Granada 1488? – 1554?). A former inhabitant of Granada, his family left the city sometime after the Spanish conquest of 1492. ...
Hebrew (עִבְרִית ‘Ivrit) is a Semitic language of the Afro-Asiatic language family spoken by more than seven million people in Israel and Jewish communities around the world. ...
Emergent modern communities - The Jews of Uganda - 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. [4]
- 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 Zimbabwe - 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.) This community, although they no longer believe in Jesus as Messiah as Christian people do, they do believe that Jesus was a prophet, however that all people on Earth are prophets as well and so Jesus had no high or special status. Currently the community is moving towards more mainstream Judaism.
The Abayudaya are a population in Uganda who practice Judaism. ...
1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ...
The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, inclusive. ...
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 (MCMIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ...
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." [5]
Ashkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim (×ַש×Ö°×›Ö¼Ö²× Ö¸×–Ö´×™ ×ַש×Ö°×›Ö¼Ö²× Ö¸×–Ö´×™× Standard Hebrew, AÅ¡kanazi,AÅ¡kanazim, Tiberian Hebrew, ʾAÅ¡kănÄzî, ʾAÅ¡kănÄzîm, pronounced sing. ...
Combatants Allies: Poland, British Commonwealth, France/Free France, Soviet Union, United States, China, and others Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan, and others Casualties Military dead: 17 million Civilian dead: 33 million Total dead: 50 million Military dead: 8 million Civilian dead: 4 million Total dead: 12 million World War II...
Current division of Europe into five (or more) regions: one definition of Eastern Europe is marked in orange Eastern Europe as a region has several alternative definitions, whereby it can denote: the region lying between the variously and vaguely defined areas of Central Europe and Russia. ...
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. ...
Map of Mozambique with Maputo highlighted Maputo is the capital of Mozambique. ...
See also Who is a Jew? (Hebrew: ) is a religious, social and political debate on the exact definition of which persons can be considered Jewish. ...
The Law of Return (חוק השבות) is Israeli legislation that allows Jews to settle in Israel and gain citizenship. ...
To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...
To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...
// Judaism and Christianity are two closely related Abrahamic religions that are in some ways parallel to each other and in other ways fundamentally divergent in theology and practice. ...
The British Uganda Program was a plan to give a portion of British East Africa to the Jewish people as a homeland. ...
The Beta Israel (or House of Israel), known by outsiders by the term Falasha (exiles or strangers), a term that they consider to be pejorative, are Jews of Ethiopian origin. ...
The Bnai Ephraim (Children of Ephraim) of Nigeria numbered in 1930 about 2000 people in 400 families in 20 small villages in the Ondo district of southwestern Nigeria. ...
The Lemba or Lembaa are a group of people in southern Africa. ...
External links
General
Lemba
Nigeria and Uganda
Timbuktu
Northern Africa
Resources
General - 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: Ancient Black African Relations, Fact Paper 19-II, By Samuel Kurinsky
- Jews in Places You Never Thought of, Ktav Publishing, by Karen Primak
- Hebrewisms of West Africa: From Nile to Niger With the Jews, The Dial Press, NY, 1931, by Joseph J. Williams
The January 1920 issue of the Dial. ...
Northern Africa - Jews in Africa: Part 1 The Berbers and the Jews, by Sam Timinsky (Hebrew History Federation)
- Tarikh es Soudan, Paris, 1900, by Abderrahman ben-Abdall es-Sadi (trad. O. Houdas)
- The Jews of Timbuktu, Washington Jewish Week, December 30, 1999, by Rick Gold
- 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
Nigeria - Igbos, Jews in Africa?, (Volume 1), Mega Press Limited, Abuja, Nigeria, 2004, by Remy Ilona and Ehav Eliyahu
- Northern Tribes of Nigeria, Volume 1, Oxford, page 66, by C.K. Meek
- Jews of Nigeria: The Aro Empire, by Eze Okafor-Ogbaji
Cape Verde and Guinea Coast - Jews in Cape Verde and on the Guinea Coast, Paper presented at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth, February 11, 1996, by Richard Lobban
Ethiopia - Stigma "Gojjam": The Abbyssianian Pariah Orits, Guihon Books, University of Geneva, 1993, by Muse Tegegne
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