This primarily informative entry is a direct follow-up to the previously posted entry Race Or Religion? It is hard to find a more convincing example of the complexity, confusion, and plain controversy surrounding this tricky general question, as it relates to res Judaica, than the rather odd situation around this particular group. As if the difficulty were not great enough as pertains to the Jewish question in the more conventional sense, here comes another claimant to the mantle of Abraham’s divine chosenness and complicates the matter even further.
In a nutshell, Black Hebrews are an organized group of people of Black-African descent, originating mostly in the United States, who not only claim to be authentically Jewish, but who actually insist on being “more Jewish” than any of the officially recognized Jews of the Ashkenazic, Sephardic and Mizrahi origin, by virtue of Abraham having been a black man. (!) Little wonder then that the Black Hebrews have not been accepted as Jews with open arms by regular Jews, although the situation regarding their acceptance in Israel appears to be somewhat changing in recent times, under some persistent pressure from the United States, where this group has by now achieved a rather substantial clout.
Although the first instances of the Black Hebrew movement in America date back to late 19th century, these did not receive much attention, fairly considered as something of a fluke. Even the name of the first Church of the movement, Church of God and Saints of Christ, reveals its origin as an offshoot of African-American Christianity, having little to do with Judaism per se, except for adopting certain pseudo-Judaic practices. But it did not turn out that simple, when certain leaders of the gradually growing movement proclaimed that only Black Jews are authentic Jews, and moved decidedly away from their former Christian ties to the old religion of the Jews, toward a peculiar version of Judaism where the Christian element was virtually missing.
The seeds of a future conflict with the properly Jewish community had been sown, but hardly noticed at first. It was only after the first attempt of some of them at a mass "exodus" to a half-way house in Liberia, in 1967, followed by a more decisive move in 1969, when the first Black Hebrews attempted to move to Israel under the Law of Return, that they got noticed both nationally and internationally. The already convoluted question of Who is a Jew? entered a new area of further complication…
The following well-referenced, and therefore, reasonably credible, passage is taken from the Wikipedia:
“When the first Black Hebrews arrived in Israel in 1969, they claimed citizenship under the Law of Return, which gives eligible Jews immediate citizenship. The Israeli government ruled in 1973 that the group did not qualify for automatic citizenship, and the Black Hebrews were denied work permits and state benefits. The group responded by accusing the Israeli government of racism. However, in 1981, a group of American civil rights activists investigated and concluded that racism was not the cause of Black Hebrews’ situation.
"No official action was taken to return the Black Hebrews to the United States, but some individual members were deported for working illegally. Some Black Hebrews then renounced their American citizenship to try to prevent more deportations. In 1990, Illinois legislators helped negotiate an agreement that resolved the Black Hebrews’ legal status in Israel. Members of the group are now permitted to work and have access to housing and social services. The Black Hebrews reclaimed their American citizenship and have received aid from the U.S. government that helped them build a school and additional housing. In 2003, the agreement was revised, and the Black Hebrews were granted permanent resident status.
“In 2009, the first Black Hebrew received Israeli citizenship. The Israeli government said that more Black Hebrews may be granted citizenship.”
(Interestingly, a first cousin once removed of the First Lady Michelle Obama, whose name is Capers C. Funnye, Jr., happens to be a Black Hebrew rabbi, and also co-founder, in 1995, of the American organization Alliance of Black Jews. He serves as chief rabbi of the Congregation Beth Shalom in Chicago, Illinois.)
In a nutshell, Black Hebrews are an organized group of people of Black-African descent, originating mostly in the United States, who not only claim to be authentically Jewish, but who actually insist on being “more Jewish” than any of the officially recognized Jews of the Ashkenazic, Sephardic and Mizrahi origin, by virtue of Abraham having been a black man. (!) Little wonder then that the Black Hebrews have not been accepted as Jews with open arms by regular Jews, although the situation regarding their acceptance in Israel appears to be somewhat changing in recent times, under some persistent pressure from the United States, where this group has by now achieved a rather substantial clout.
Although the first instances of the Black Hebrew movement in America date back to late 19th century, these did not receive much attention, fairly considered as something of a fluke. Even the name of the first Church of the movement, Church of God and Saints of Christ, reveals its origin as an offshoot of African-American Christianity, having little to do with Judaism per se, except for adopting certain pseudo-Judaic practices. But it did not turn out that simple, when certain leaders of the gradually growing movement proclaimed that only Black Jews are authentic Jews, and moved decidedly away from their former Christian ties to the old religion of the Jews, toward a peculiar version of Judaism where the Christian element was virtually missing.
The seeds of a future conflict with the properly Jewish community had been sown, but hardly noticed at first. It was only after the first attempt of some of them at a mass "exodus" to a half-way house in Liberia, in 1967, followed by a more decisive move in 1969, when the first Black Hebrews attempted to move to Israel under the Law of Return, that they got noticed both nationally and internationally. The already convoluted question of Who is a Jew? entered a new area of further complication…
The following well-referenced, and therefore, reasonably credible, passage is taken from the Wikipedia:
“When the first Black Hebrews arrived in Israel in 1969, they claimed citizenship under the Law of Return, which gives eligible Jews immediate citizenship. The Israeli government ruled in 1973 that the group did not qualify for automatic citizenship, and the Black Hebrews were denied work permits and state benefits. The group responded by accusing the Israeli government of racism. However, in 1981, a group of American civil rights activists investigated and concluded that racism was not the cause of Black Hebrews’ situation.
"No official action was taken to return the Black Hebrews to the United States, but some individual members were deported for working illegally. Some Black Hebrews then renounced their American citizenship to try to prevent more deportations. In 1990, Illinois legislators helped negotiate an agreement that resolved the Black Hebrews’ legal status in Israel. Members of the group are now permitted to work and have access to housing and social services. The Black Hebrews reclaimed their American citizenship and have received aid from the U.S. government that helped them build a school and additional housing. In 2003, the agreement was revised, and the Black Hebrews were granted permanent resident status.
“In 2009, the first Black Hebrew received Israeli citizenship. The Israeli government said that more Black Hebrews may be granted citizenship.”
(Interestingly, a first cousin once removed of the First Lady Michelle Obama, whose name is Capers C. Funnye, Jr., happens to be a Black Hebrew rabbi, and also co-founder, in 1995, of the American organization Alliance of Black Jews. He serves as chief rabbi of the Congregation Beth Shalom in Chicago, Illinois.)
No comments:
Post a Comment