One day all of Africa will discover they are descended from Jews and will be entitled to make Aliyah to Israel
October 3, 2008 Immigration, Jewish Community, Race
How come lost Israelite tribes demanding recognition never surface in Sweden or Norway?
Yet another “lost tribe” in Africa has “discovered” its ancient “Jewish” heritage. As always in these situations, there is a liberal American-Jewish rabbi pushing them onward to gain “acceptance” of their Jewishness.
Help from abroad to practice Judaism and for recognition as Jews is crucial for these far-flung communities. For the Ibos, it has come in the person of Howard Gorin, the conservative rabbi of the Tikvat Israel Congregation in Rockville, Md. Gorin first became involved in African Jewry in 2002, when he found himself at the helm of the conservative Beit Din — or religious court — that converted some of the Abayudaya Jews from Uganda. A friend then sent him an e-mail from a Nigerian interested in Judaism. Two years later, he landed in Lagos. He has visited Nigeria several times since, handing out prayer material and, more importantly, providing advice about the best way to earn official recognition.
I know, I know, it’s true! Really, it is! How do we know? Well, see, someone (supposedly) found a rock. Okay?
And if you don’t buy it, it is because you are an incorrigible racist.
16 comments
Just what we need. People identifying circumcision with Judaism in a land where magical penis theft is a serious problem.
Haha, brilliant! I’ve been wondering for a while why (alleged) scholars of religion and ethnology buy into those legends as no tribe has ever really been lost. Closer genetic ties – if they do exist, afterall we also share 99% of our genetic make-up with common flies – can be explained through trade and slavery. But I suppose that’s not exciting enough. What about a battle of the lost tribes WWF-style?
afterall we also share 99% of our genetic make-up with common flies -
That’s absurd.
That’s science.
S/F, by genetic make-up, I assume you mean DNA? Recent analyses show us to be 99.4% identical to chimpanzees. I know there are some commonalities with flies – an aging gene has recently been discovered – but 99%?
On the other hand, it would explain that Jeff Goldblum movie…
Jeff
there’s a .06 percent difference?!
let’s say that .02% is the fur, where did the rest of it go?
Jeff, indeed 99%. Those determine our ability to live on this planet with its specific atmosphere etc. The rest is what shapes us into homo sapiens sapiens.
Um, no. I’m not sure what you mean by common flies, but fruit flies have a diploid number of 4 chromosomes. We have a diploid number of 46. Humans do not share anything close to 99% of their genetic makeup with an invertebrate. As others pointed out, we do share almost 99% with chimpanzees – you must have mistaken a fly for a chimpanzee; it’s a common mistake.
S/F, I think you’re trying to say something else.
Wow, are they that desperate for members? If Africans, or anyone else, want to accept the yoke of the mitzvot, then they are Jews. If we considered everyone with Jewish genes as a member of the Jewish people, there would be a lot more Jews!
I’m not quite sure why people are so very fascinated with the whole lost tribes thing… ?
Rishona, it’s a good question. I suspect Jews in ancient times once expected that Judaism would be the dominant religion. Perhaps the lost tribes are an example of that startling disappointment. And the belief that they will return tied into a belief of Judaism future messianic triumph.
Interesting; but my understanding of the messianic age (and I am not very familiar with the Jewish teachings regarding it in the least) is that ALL of the nations will come to recognize Hashem (as we daven for in the shomeneh esrei) — not just the members of the 12 tribes.
I’m not refuting you however. Oh and I like your contributions to the Beyond BT blog as well
but my understanding of the messianic age (and I am not very familiar with the Jewish teachings regarding it in the least) is that ALL of the nations will come to recognize Hashem (as we daven for in the shomeneh esrei) — not just the members of the 12 tribes.
No doubt — but the loss of those tribes represented the first dashing of that hope — that the world would come to Judaism. This occurred before the destruction of the Temple. There return was therefore tied into the days of a future Messianic era. That they would disappear was a terrible theological blow.
the “religious” zionists (dati leumi)
had a vested interest in recognizing all these freaks as jews. the “ingathering of exiles” justified their messianic interpretation of the zionist entity besides providing cheap cannon fodder for the military.
Jeff, from what I remember from my genetics / transgenics class in college, I’m trying to say just that.
Mohammed is right in many ways. Keep in mind that the Bene Menashe in Eastern India/Burma was not “brought back” by librul jooz like R’ Gorin (whom I wish you would NOT be so derisive towards, as he is a colleague of many of my friends). But by the likes of Amishav, Shavei Israel, and Michael Freund – all RIGHT-WING RELIGIOUS ZIONISTS. And look where they ended up – right in Gaza shortly before Disengagement, and now towards the northern West Bank (Samaria) where they supposedly originated.
BTW, this is but a minority of Igbos attempting to claim Judaism. Most others are strongly Christian. Besides, their emuna is more powerful than any American Jew or Russian-Israeli whom you wouldn’t even think twice about accepting their “authenticity”. When you consider that neither have been even close to a rabbi in more than three generations, there really isn’t much of a difference.
Just as I accept the Bene Menashe through the efforts of right-wing Jews, and the Abayudaya through the efforts of centrist Jews, so too do I await the acceptance of this handful of Igbos – provided that they, like others who claim Jewish ancestry, undergo a conversion, as with everyone who is safeq due to a hefseq in tradition. Even conversos with traceable genealogies have to convert because Catholicism was in their family for too long. That the Igbos do not wish to convert is a major hurdle that must be addressed.
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