For many, these are the people that you see standing in front of the train station or street corner declaring their gospel message. However there is little known about this sect beyond that for most folks as Simona Kogan for israel21c.org reports:
(www.israel21c.org) Deep in the heart of Israel’s Negev desert, where you would expect to find mostly camels and sand, a community of expatriate black Americans has made a new life for itself in towns like Dimona, Arad and Mitzpe Ramon.
They call themselves the African Hebrew Israelites, but they are better known in Israel as the Black Hebrews, a 2,000-strong religious group dressed in colorful African prints made of natural fabrics like silk and linen according to their doctrine. And while it’s taken most of the 40 years they’ve been residing in Israel to feel like part of the country, today Black Hebrews can be found in many facets of Israeli society – from the army to the entertainment industry.
“We are a people who have pride and are able to point to certain successes that have been elusive for the African world,” says national spokesman Ahmadiel Ben-Yehuda, who lives in Dimona, but spent time in Ghana, South Africa, and other African locations studying African cultural connections and migration patterns.
The Black Hebrews movement originated in Chicago in 1966 when their leader Ben-Ami Ben-Yisrael, then a steel worker named Ben Carter, had a vision where the Archangel Gabriel revealed to him that African Americans were descended from the lost tribe of Judah. In 70 CE, the Israelites were exiled from Jerusalem by the Romans and ended up in West Africa where they were later transported to America as slaves. (more…)
…and this from Wikipedia:
As non-citizens, the members of the community are exempt from compulsory military service. In 2004, Uriahu Butler became the first member of the community to enlist in the IDF. The IDF has agreed to accommodate their dietary and other religious requirements.[1] As of 2006 more than 100 of their youth were serving in the Israeli Defense Forces in regular units.
In sports they have represented Israel at home and in Europe in track and field and national softball events, including the Maccabiah Games. Their students have represented Israel in international academic competitions. Twice they have represented Israel in Eurovision, the international music competition. (more…)
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