Black Jews
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Black Jews refer to non-Caucasian Jewish people.
Contents |
[edit] Types
[edit] Mainstream Judaism / Beta Israel
- Black Jews is a term sometimes used to refer to the Beta Israel, the ancient black Jewish community of Ethiopia. They are sometimes called Falashas, which is a derogatory term.
- The Jewish community of Kerala state in India is often differentiated into White Jews (also called Paradesi Jews), descendants of immigrants who arrived from the 15th century onward, and Black Jews, descendants of the already-then-existent Jewish community, which, according to tradition, dates back to the time of King Solomon. (See also Cochin Jews and Judæo-Malayalam.)
[edit] Black Hebrews / Black Hebrew Israelites
- Black Jews could refer to those who do not consider semitic Jews to be true Jews, and claim to be the true descendants of the Israelites of the Torah. Although cordial relationships exist between some of these groups and the mainstream Jewish community, they are not generally considered to be members of that community, since they have not formally converted, nor do they have Jewish parents. In one case, however, that of the Black Hebrews, a group was granted permanent resident status in Dimona, Israel. See also Black Hebrew Israelites.
- Black Jews may refer to a number of African American religious movements started in the 1800s, the first started by William Saunders Crowdy in 1896 (see Church of God and Saints of Christ). To many of these groups, the claiming of Jewish identity was a way to reject one of the most influential social institutions of their white oppressors, Christianity, similar to the later Faradian Islam movement. They generally do not practice mainstream Judaism, but rather a religion incorporating elements of different religious traditions.
[edit] List of Black Jews
See
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- The Manifesto, a New York Grunge/Metalcore band that has a song entitled "Black Jews" in celebration of the Afro-Jewish community.
- Brown Jews Forum, an online forum for Orthodox Jews-of-Color.
[edit] References
- Black Jews from The Religious Movements Homepage Project at The University of Virginia
