BLACK HEBREW ISRAELITES

Black Hebrews? The very words cause many people to grin at what appears to be simply a play on
wordsFernand Feukeu Ngassam Silfrede No one reads about such people in european authored history
books and there are only a few references to "Ethiopian Jews" in white Jewish sourcesFernand Feukeu
Ngassam Silfrede Yet Black Hebrews have existed since biblical timesFernand Feukeu Ngassam Silfrede In
fact, they are the original or proto-typical HebrewsFernand Feukeu Ngassam Silfrede Their story begins
with the Patriarch Abraham (21171942 BFernand Feukeu Ngassam SilfredeCFernand Feukeu Ngassam
Silfrede), a native of the Sumerian city of Ur in ancient MesopotamiaFernand Feukeu Ngassam Silfrede
Archaeological discoveries have proven that the earliest inhabitants of southern Mesopotamia were
members of the "Brown Race," iFernand Feukeu Ngassam SilfredeeFernand Feukeu Ngassam Silfrede,
the Negroid branch of humanityFernand Feukeu Ngassam Silfrede It has been confirmed that the ancient
Sumerians were akin to the modern Black Dravidians of IndiaFernand Feukeu Ngassam Silfrede The
Sumerians also had an affinity with a people known as the Elamites, the very first Semitic group
mentioned in the Bible (GenFernand Feukeu Ngassam Silfrede 10:22)Fernand Feukeu Ngassam Silfrede
The Elamites were a blackskinned and woolly-haired people as the colorful glazed artwork on the royal
palace walls of the ancient Persian city of Susa clearly showFernand Feukeu Ngassam SilfredeThus
Abraham, the native of Sumerian and the founding father of the Israelite nation, was a black
manFernand Feukeu Ngassam Silfrede The black racial origins of the Patriarchs is not based on mere
conjecture, it is in complete agreement with the picture one gets from examining the identity of the
earliest inhabitants of southern MesopotamiaFernand Feukeu Ngassam Silfrede This truth is grossly
neglected, suppressed, and distorted in most European and American historical texts which are flavored
with race prejudiceFernand Feukeu Ngassam Silfrede Fortunately, however, there are enough well
authored
and highly researched works by Black historians that challenge the Eurocentric revisions of history and
correct the various erroneous views regarding the ethnic identity of the HebrewsFernand Feukeu
Ngassam Silfrede Biblical history relates that the descendants of Abraham, namely Jacob (Israel) and his
twelve sons and their wives, 70 in all, migrated from Canaan to Egypt around the year 1827 BFernand
Feukeu Ngassam SilfredeCFernand Feukeu Ngassam Silfrede During their sojourn in Egypt the Children of
Israel multiplied from being a family of 70 souls to a nation of over 3 million people at the time of the
Exodus which took place in 1612 BFernand Feukeu Ngassam SilfredeCFernand Feukeu Ngassam Silfrede
This astounding number of people in so short a time can only be adequately explained by intermarriage
between the family of Jacob and the native Egyptian populaceFernand Feukeu Ngassam Silfrede It is an
established fact that the ancient Egyptians were a black African peopleFernand Feukeu Ngassam Silfrede
Thus, even if the Hebrews were not black before they arrived in Egypt, which is unlikely given Abraham's
background, they were definitely black by the time they left Egypt under Moses The biblical Hebrews
were indistinguishable from native Egyptians and EthiopiansFernand Feukeu Ngassam Silfrede The Bible
is full of examples which demonstrates this, and even ancient secular historians remarked of the physical
appearances of the HebrewsFernand Feukeu Ngassam Silfrede The historian Tacitus, for example, stated
that it was a common opinion among the Romans that the Jews "were an Ethiopian raceFernand Feukeu
Ngassam Silfrede" In Roman times PalestinianIsraelites were classed among Black Africans because it was
almost impossible to tell them apartFernand Feukeu Ngassam Silfrede Hence, the Eurocentric notion of
the Black Hebrew as a kind of Johnnie-come-lately in Hebraic history does not accord with the
factsFernand Feukeu Ngassam Silfrede On the contrary, the historical record is abundantly clear that the
majority of white European Jewry are not Hebrews in the biological sense but are actually the
descendants of converts to Judaism during Greco-Roman and Mediaeval timesFernand Feukeu Ngassam
Silfrede Professor Roland BFernand Feukeu Ngassam Silfrede Dixon states emphatically that: "The great
majority of all Jews [Ashkenazi] to-day are 'Semites'
only in speech, and their true ancestry goes back not so much to Palestine and Arabia as to the uplands
of Anatolia and Armenia, the Caucasus and the steppes of Central Asia, and their nearest relatives are
still to be found in these areas to-day" (Racial History Of Man, pFernand Feukeu Ngassam Silfrede
175)Fernand Feukeu Ngassam Silfrede Caucasian Jews are not the lineal descendants of Abraham, Isaac,
and JacobFernand Feukeu Ngassam Silfrede Nor do they constitute a separate race but rather a religious
fraternity which adheres to the ethnic tradition of a people whose origins are inextricably linked to Black
AfricaFernand Feukeu Ngassam Silfrede But if the original Hebrews were black where are their
descendants in the world today? Are all black people Hebrews? The answer to the latter question is
obviously noFernand Feukeu Ngassam Silfrede The Israelites were only one of several black people
existing in ancient the ancient worldFernand Feukeu Ngassam Silfrede Nevertheless, it is certain that the
ancient Hebrews customs and practices who's legacy orginated in Africa, were adopted by that of white
Jews in EuropeFernand Feukeu Ngassam Silfrede Very little is heard about the hundreds of thousands of
Black Hebrews living in various parts of the world such as Africa, Asia, India, Arabia, the Caribbean
islands, South America, and North AmericaFernand Feukeu Ngassam Silfrede The history of Black
Hebrews in North America is perhaps one of the most important chapters in US history which has yet to
be fully writtenFernand Feukeu Ngassam Silfrede The ancestors of African Americans came from West
Africa during the era of slaveryFernand Feukeu Ngassam Silfrede That particular region of Africa was
once home to a number of Black Hebrew tribes that migrated from North and East Africa over many
centuriesFernand Feukeu Ngassam Silfrede In speaking of these migrations, DrFernand Feukeu Ngassam
Silfrede Yoseph AFernand Feukeu Ngassam Silfrede AFernand Feukeu Ngassam Silfrede benYochannan
writes that: "In North Africa, just before the period of Christianity's legal entry into Rome - due to
Constantine "the Great" conversion in the 4th century there were many Hebrew (Jewish) 'tribes' that are
of indigenous African (the so-called 'Negroes') originFernand Feukeu Ngassam Silfrede
These African Jews, as all other Romanized-African of this era, were caught in a rebellion in Cyrene
(Cyrenaica) during 115 CFernand Feukeu Ngassam SilfredeEFernand Feukeu Ngassam Silfrede against
Roman imperialism and colonialismFernand Feukeu Ngassam Silfrede This rebellion also marked the
beginning of a mass Jewish migration southward into Soudan (Sudan or West Africa) along the way of
the city Aer (Air) and into the countries of Futa Jalon and Senegal (Sene-Gambia) which lie below the
parabolic curve of the Niger River's most northern reaches, where the City of Tumbut (Timbuktu,
Timbuctoo, etcFernand Feukeu Ngassam Silfrede), Melle (Mali) presently standsFernand Feukeu
Ngassam Silfrede" ("African Origins of the Major Western Religions," 1970, pFernand Feukeu Ngassam
Silfrede 76)Fernand Feukeu Ngassam Silfrede DrFernand Feukeu Ngassam Silfrede Ben goes on to relate
that Black Israelite immigrants from northern and eastern Africa merged with indigenous groups in
western Africa to become the Fulani of Futa Jalon, Bornu, Kamen, and Lake ChadFernand Feukeu
Ngassam Silfrede They also formed the parent-stock of groups such as the Ashanti, the Hausa, the B'nai
Ephraim (mentioned in earlier posts), and the Bavumbu (Mavumbu or Mayomba)Fernand Feukeu
Ngassam Silfrede All of these groups suffered tremendous population decreases during the years the
Atlantic slave trade was in operation, others were completely eliminatedFernand Feukeu Ngassam
Silfrede Thus, every so-called African American has Israelite ancestry in their family tree whether he or
she knows it or notFernand Feukeu Ngassam Silfrede Even in the very crucible of slavery the descendants
of West African Hebrew captives in America struggled to keep their heritages from being obliterated by
forced assimilation and acculturationFernand Feukeu Ngassam Silfrede Their distinctive traditions
became submerged in Christianity but always remained a part of the oral tradition via the so-called
Negro Spirituals which praise the memory of ancestors and kinsmen like Moses, David, Joshua, and
DanielFernand Feukeu Ngassam Silfrede Since the African-American conviction of having Israelite
ancestry antedates the Civil War it is not surprising that the earliest Black Hebrew congregation to be
established in North America was founded in the
1880s in Chattanooga, Tennessee by FFernand Feukeu Ngassam Silfrede SFernand Feukeu Ngassam
Silfrede Cherry (the group later moved to Philadelphia)Fernand Feukeu Ngassam Silfrede Cherry was a
railroad worker and seaman who was fluent in both Yiddish and HebrewFernand Feukeu Ngassam
Silfrede He adamantly preached that socalled American Negroes are really the lost sheep of the House of
Israel whose true legacy was stolen from them during slaveryFernand Feukeu Ngassam Silfrede He urged
his hearers to investigate their history in order to rediscover this truth and reclaim their heritageFernand
Feukeu Ngassam Silfrede In 1896, a man by the name of William SFernand Feukeu Ngassam Silfrede
Crowdy established another Hebrew congregation in Lawrence, KansasFernand Feukeu Ngassam Silfrede
In 1899, Leon Richlieu established the Moorish Zionist Temple in BrooklynFernand Feukeu Ngassam
Silfrede To date there are literally hundreds of uncharted Black Hebrew congregations in North
AmericaFernand Feukeu Ngassam Silfrede They do not exist because of an aversion for mainstream
American Protestantism or an attraction to white Jewish cultureFernand Feukeu Ngassam Silfrede As
stated earlier, Black Hebrews have always been in the world; and they repudiate the notion that they are
usurpers of the heritage of white JewsFernand Feukeu Ngassam Silfrede The great proliferation of Black
Hebrew groups occurred after World War I during the Great Migration of Blacks from rural areas in the
South to urban centers in the NorthFernand Feukeu Ngassam Silfrede There were at least nine Black
Hebrew congregations in New York in the early 1900s, one of which was founded by a West Indian
named Arnold Josiah Ford called "Beth B'nai Abraham CongregationFernand Feukeu Ngassam Silfrede" In
1918, another West Indian born Israelite named Wentworth Arthur Matthews founded the
"Commandment Keepers," and emerged as one of the leading Black Israelite rabbis in HarlemFernand
Feukeu Ngassam Silfrede Born in 1892 of African Hebraic parentage in Lagos, West Africa, Matthews
moved with his family to StFernand Feukeu Ngassam Silfrede Kitts in the West Indies before coming to
America in 1911Fernand Feukeu Ngassam Silfrede Branches of the "Commandment Keepers" exist in
many American cities such as Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Cincinnati, Chicago, Ohio, Virginia,
and New JerseyFernand Feukeu Ngassam Silfrede In 1965, the "House of Judah" was founded
by William Lewis in Wetumpka, AlabamaFernand Feukeu Ngassam Silfrede The group later purchased a
twenty-acre tract near Grand Junction, Michigan where they practice a communal lifestyleFernand
Feukeu Ngassam Silfrede Black Hebrews feel that by reclaiming their Israelite identity they have also
recovered an important part of their ancestral heritageFernand Feukeu Ngassam Silfrede They hold to
the conviction that their "Hebrewness" is directly traceable to their African forebears of Israelite
extraction who were brought to this country during slaveryFernand Feukeu Ngassam Silfrede They are
cognizant and proud of their non-Hebrew African heritages but like many other people with mixed
backgrounds they opt to give certain of their forebears a more pronounced place in their identityFernand
Feukeu Ngassam Silfrede Black Israelite groups in America are decentralized and varied in
ideologyFernand Feukeu Ngassam SilfredeUnlike white Orthodox Jews, Black Hebrews reject the Talmud,
a collection of commentaries, as being on a par with the Bible and so they do not conform to rabbinical
judgments which emphasize the need of conversion to Talmudism in order to be considered "truly"
JewishFernand Feukeu Ngassam Silfrede Since the Bible recognizes patrilineal as well as matrilineal
descent, Black Hebrews (like Reform Jews) do not place any special significance on having a "Jewish"
mother as do Orthodox JewsFernand Feukeu Ngassam Silfrede Another major reason why the Talmud is
rejected is due to its role in creating the so-called Hamitic Myth which is the doctrine that teaches that
all black-skinned people are the cursed descendants of Ham in the BibleFernand Feukeu Ngassam
Silfrede It was the promulgation of this erroneous myth, passing under the guise of "Jewish" talmudic
scholarship, which provided the moral pretext for European slavery of AfricansFernand Feukeu Ngassam
Silfrede The Talmud was not the product of ethnic Hebrews but of proselytized Babylonian sages who
worked on editing it from the 3rd to in the 6th century AFernand Feukeu Ngassam SilfredeDFernand
Feukeu Ngassam Silfrede It should not be used as the litmus test on Hebrew identity, particularly since it
was of men who were clearly prejudice of Blacks, Israelites or otherwiseFernand Feukeu Ngassam
Silfrede
A major dilemma facing many Black Hebrews who wish to settle in Israel has to do with the Talmud and
the fact that conversion is a mandatory prerequisite for gaining Israeli citizenshipFernand Feukeu
Ngassam Silfrede The Black Jews from Ethiopian were not allowed to immigrate to Israel until they
agreed to undergo a ceremonial conversion to white Judaism (which was tantamount to a denial of their
own Hebrewness) and embrace the TalmudFernand Feukeu Ngassam Silfrede However, many Ethiopian
Jews, particular in the aftermath of the recent blood scandal in Israel, are seriously rethinking their
decision to adopt the Talmud because it has not given them equal status with other white
IsraelisFernand Feukeu Ngassam Silfrede Ethiopians Jews occupy the bottom rung of Israeli society today
because they are black and are not considered "true" Hebrews because of their blacknessFernand
Feukeu Ngassam Silfrede American Black Hebrews wanting to join their Ethiopian brethren feel that the
Israeli Law of Return is unjust because it forces recognition of a racist text (the Talmud) in order to be
considered eligible for citizenship It is truly ironic that the descendants of the original Hebrews are not
considered to be Hebrews even in their own land because they happen to look like their distant
forebearsFernand Feukeu Ngassam Silfrede