The very words cause many people to grin
at what appears to be simply a play on words. No one reads about such people in European authored history books and there
are only a few references to "Ethiopian Jews" in white Jewish sources. Yet Black Hebrews have existed since biblical times
since they are the original or proto-typical Hebrews.
Their story begins with the Patriarch Abraham
(2117-1942 B.C.), a native of the Sumerian city of Ur in ancient Mesopotamia. Archaeological discoveries have
proven that the earliest inhabitants of southern Mesopotamia were members of the "Brown Race,"
i.e., the Negroid branch of humanity.
It has been confirmed that the ancient Sumerians
were akin to the modern Black Dravidians of India. The Sumerians also had an affinity with a people known as the Elamites,
the very first Semitic group mentioned in the Bible (Gen. 10:22). The Elamites were a black-skinned and woolly-haired people
as the colorful glazed artwork on the royal palace walls of the ancient Persian city of Susa
clearly show. Thus Abraham, the native of Sumerian and the founding father of the Israelite nation, was a black man.
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 Mesopotamia.
This truth is grossly neglected, suppressed,
and distorted in most European and American historical texts which are flavoured with race prejudice. 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 Hebrews.
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 B.C. 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 B.C. This astounding number of people in so short a time can only be adequately explained by plural marriage.
It is an established fact that the ancient
Egyptians were also black African people. The biblical Hebrews were indistinguishable from native Egyptians and Ethiopians.
The Bible has many examples which demonstrates this, and even ancient secular historians remarked of the physical appearances
of the Hebrews. The historian Tacitus, for example, stated that it was a common opinion among the Romans that the Jews "were
an Ethiopian race." In Roman times Palestinian Israelites were classed among Black Africans because it was almost impossible
to tell them apart.
Hence, the Eurocentric notion of the Black
Hebrew as a kind of Johnnie-come-lately in Hebraic history does not accord with the facts. 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 times.
Professor Roland B. 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, p. 175).
Caucasian Jews are not the lineal descendants
of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 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 Africa.
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 no.
The Israelites were only one of several black people existing in ancient the ancient world. Nevertheless, it is certain that
the ancient Hebrews customs and practices who's legacy originated in Africa, were adopted by that of white Jews in Europe. Very little is heard about the hundreds of thousands of Black Hebrews living in various parts
of the world such as Africa, Europe, Britian, Asia, India, Arabia, the Caribbean islands, South America, and North America.
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 written. The ancestors of African Americans came from West Africa
during the era of slavery. That particular region of Africa was once home to a number of Black Hebrew tribes that migrated
from North and East Africa over many centuries. In speaking of these migrations, Dr. Yoseph
A. A. ben-Yochannan 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') origin.
These African Jews, as all
other Romanized-African of this era, were caught in a rebellion in Cyrene (Cyrenaica)
during 115 C.E. against Roman imperialism and colonialism. 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, etc.), Melle (Mali) presently stands." ("African Origins of the Major Western Religions," 1970, p. 76).
Dr.
Ben relates 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 Chad. 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 Ma-yomba). All of these groups suffered tremendous population decreases
during the years the Atlantic slave trade was in operation, others were completely eliminated.
Thus, every so-called
African American has Israelite ancestry in their family tree whether he or she knows it or not. 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 acculturation. 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 Daniel.
Black Israelite groups are decentralized and varied
in ideology. Unlike white Orthodox Jews, Black Hebrews reject the Talmud, a collection of commentaries, as being on a par
with the Hebrew Scriptures (Bible) and so they do not conform to rabbinical judgments which emphasize the need of conversion
to Talmudism in order to be considered "truly" Jewish.
Since the Bible recognizes patrilineal as well as matrilineal
descent, Black Hebrews do not place any special significance on having a "Jewish" mother as do Orthodox Jews. 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 Bible.
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 Africans. 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 A.D. It should not be used as the litmus test on Hebrew identity, particularly since it
was of men who were clearly prejudiced of Blacks, Israelites or otherwise.
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 citizenship. 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 Talmud. 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 Israelis.
Ethiopian Jews occupy the bottom rung
of Israeli society today because they are black and are not considered "true" Hebrews because of their blackness. Black
Hebrews living outside of Israel 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 forebears.
As you will discover here in
this site, we look at the history surrounding the original Hebrews, the conspiratorial reasons for neglected, suppressed,
and distorted European and American historical texts. We also look at the role of European Jewry as a real Johnny-come-lately, the
real meaning of "Zionism" and the history of "Zionist" Jews. We look at the state of Israel. We look at the Israel Lobby and
how the so-called Jewish influence has been involved in world changing events over history.
These articles are not racist
and do not intend to be. They are historical truths which are open to scrutiny and discussion to people who love truth, integrity,
honesty and openness in journalism.
