I have always wondered why my jewish friends giggle at the mere mention of "Black Jews". I don't know how but it seems "Black Jews" have become as fictional as Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, or the Tooth Fairy (Yes....there is no Santa Claus). Beleive it or not there are Black Jews. I find it hard to believe that the "chosen people"coming from Africa have no black members. The Lemba tribes of South Africa have been linked to Jewish blood line by DNA.
Genesis41:50 – Joseph fathered two tribes, Ephraim and Manasseh, by an Egyptian wife,
automatically making Israel nearly 10 percent Egyptian. Joshua was from one of these
half-African tribes, Ephraim; in later years this tribe became so dominant that the
northern tribes of Israel were sometimes simply called “Ephraim”. When the Israelites
were subjected to slavery under the Egyptians, they and their former servants were now
all defined as Israel together; this means that much intermarriage must have taken
place.
It must be so much tougher for blacks who are born into Judaism only to have others deny them a birthright.
I think one of the most famous Jews, Jesus Christ, was black. But seriously, why is the notion of a "Black jew laughable"?
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The Sephardi Jews are darker in complexion. They're not really black, but they're certainly not white. They hail from Spain and Portugal traditionally, and everywhere that is not Ashkenazi (Eastern, Northern, Western parts of Europe) in more modern times.
And of course, there's the 10 lost tribes, which likely include the African tribe you mention, among others.
~C
Check out the latest entry in the Between The Lines column!
The lemba are included in the ten lost tribes. But when I say black I am not refering to the Jews with a tan.
Hence my statement "they're not really BLACK, but they're certainly not WHITE". Most people think of Ashkenazi Jews as Jews, while the others are typically forgotten. At least in the US. Because they are white, others associate the Jews with white people. But the Sephardi Jews are not white. That was the point.
~C
Check out the latest entry in the Between The Lines column!
There are Black Jews, they are Ethiopian. There is a debate about exactly when/where/who they originated from, however Israel recognizes them as Jewish and (as per the 1950 Law of Return) has facilitated the emigration of (I think) somewhere around 36,000 of them.
Here is a link to some basic information.
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/ejhist.html#operatio...
There's a huge population of Yemenite Jews living in Israel. Good photos here:
http://www.greatlinx.com/jericho.htm
I can't vouch for the accuracy of the information, but the photos are good.
good pics
MAybe your friends find the idea laughable because they are only familiar with U.S. Jews, which are a largely white population. But laughing at the idea of someone different belonging to any group shows they are clinging tightly to some stereotypes.
I know the Orthodox Jewish communities don't consider the Ethiopian Jews Jewish, but that isn't really surprising, seeing as they don't consider anyone Jewish, other than themselves that is.
"-bah!! Pardon the "bah!" I feel several "bahs!", but out of courtesy I only say one."
H.P. Lovecraft
thanks for your input. Your comment makes a lot of sense.
I am a Jewish boy. I am part of a sect of Jews called Sephardi (pronounced S'-fard-ee) Jews. Most Sephardi Jews come from countries other than European countries (Most Ashkenazi Jews come from Eastern European countries such as Poland). For instance, my family has Iraqi heritage. I am darker skinned than your stereotypical Jew, but I am not "black", I am merely very tanned (but I am often perceived as "black" by my peers who have rather light skin, due to their European descent).
There are black Jews though. There was a kid in my high school who graduated two years ago who had an African American mother, and he was just as Jewish as me or any of my friends.
There is also a huge community of Ethiopian Jews. If you did a google search for Ethiopian Jews, you would get many hits.
Cheers!
-Yonadav
I was reading up on this topic a little more and some source say that when the 10 lost tribes left africa they migrated to the middle east (i.e presnt day Iraq). So does that mean those jew are black
I have heard that said by many people. I am not sure if it is true though.
Cheers!
-Yonadav