Black Jews
"Black Jews" broadly refers to individuals of African descent who identify with Judaism, though not all embrace the term "Jew," opting instead for designations like "Black Hebrews" or "Hebrew Israelites." This identity encompasses a diverse range of beliefs and practices. Some trace their heritage back to ancient Hebrews, asserting ties to the lost tribes of Israel, while others integrate elements of Christianity into their faith. Historical accounts document African Americans attending Jewish services as far back as the nineteenth century, but organized Black Jewish congregations began forming primarily in the twentieth century, often led by self-proclaimed Black rabbis.
Notably, these communities often face challenges in gaining acceptance within mainstream Jewish circles, with many traditional congregations historically reluctant to embrace their presence. Despite this, there has been a gradual shift, with some Black Jewish leaders receiving recognition and acceptance in recent years. Globally, communities such as the Beta Israels from Ethiopia have also gained visibility, particularly after immigrating to Israel, contributing to the changing dynamics of Jewish identity. Overall, Black Jews represent a rich tapestry of cultural and religious expressions that reflect the ongoing evolution of Jewish identity in a multicultural context.
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Black Jews
In its broadest sense, the term “Black Jews” includes all persons of African descent who profess to practice Judaism. Not all such Black people call themselves Jews; believing that the word “Jew” implies whiteness, some prefer to label themselves “Black Hebrews” or “Hebrew Israelites.” There are no authoritative figures on the number of Black Jews in the United States, though a 2020 Pew Research survey reported that 8 percent of Jewish adults in the United States identify as Black, Hispanic, or some other race or ethnicity.
Accounts were occasionally printed in the nineteenth century of individual African Americans who attended Jewish congregational services, some of whom were said to have formally converted to Judaism. Not until the twentieth century were there reports of Black Jewish congregations in the northern part of the United States. These were small synagogues or temples founded by African Americans and led by self-proclaimed Black rabbis. Many were trained and ordained by Wentworth Arthur Matthew, who founded the Commandment Keepers Ethiopian Hebrew Congregation in Harlem, New York, in 1919. Matthew was inspired by Marcus Garvey’s Back-to-Africa movement and its celebration of the superiority of African civilization. Rejecting Christianity as a religion imposed on slaves by White people, he claimed to be reconstructing a proud African Jewish heritage, taken away from Black people during slavery, that traced its roots through Ethiopia to the Jews of the Bible. Matthew was convinced that the ancient Hebrews were a Black people, a belief also held by Black Jews who asserted that they were descended from the lost tribes of Israel.
Practices among Black Jewish groups vary enormously. Congregations following the example of Rabbi Matthew attempt to observe Orthodox ritual traditions, though they might add their own dress and musical or liturgical forms. They eat only kosher foods, hold services on Fridays and Saturdays, and celebrate Jewish holidays, especially the Passover festival, which has particular resonance for African Americans. Others include Christian elements and symbols in their services. Some who call themselves Black Hebrews or Israelites try to reconstruct the primitive Judeo-Christianity of the first century, asserting that Jesus is the Messiah of the Jews but rejecting most Christian theology.
Whether trying to reclaim a long-distant African past or hoping to establish a new identity, Black people were not welcomed by most White Jewish congregations. Some did become fully accepted members of mainstream Orthodox, Conservative, or Reform synagogues if they satisfied the Orthodox definition of Jewishness by being a child of a Jewish mother. Other African Americans underwent formal conversions, often entered into because they were a partner in a mixed marriage. With few exceptions, Black synagogues and leaders were not been accepted as legitimate by the formal religious or secular American Jewish community nor admitted into national denominational groups or local rabbinical councils. As of the late twentieth century, most Black groups had never applied for such membership, and those that had applied had their applications ignored. Few Black leaders had ever received official rabbinic ordination, although all heads of Black synagogues called themselves rabbis, using their title in its original meaning, that of teacher.
By 2012, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that many Black Jewish people simply counted themselves among the Jewish population as a whole, some Black Jewish rabbis had been accepted by mainstream local councils, and young adults were increasingly graduates of Jewish day schools and yeshivas (Jewish seminaries). Some were choosing to undergo formal conversion rituals in order to garner greater acceptance by the White Jewish establishment, though most in the community view this as unnecessary since they see themselves as returning to a faith that was stripped of their ancestors.
At the same time, Black Jewish groups in Africa, particularly Ethiopia and Uganda, also gained international visibility. After the creation of the state of Israel in 1948, many Black Ethiopian Jews, also known as Beta Israels, began emigrating from Ethiopia to Israel. In the later twentieth century, around 1970 and thereafter, after experiencing discrimination and hardship in Ethiopia, even more Beta Israels were helped into Israel by the United States and the Israeli government. By 2023, over 168,000 Jews of Ethiopian descent were living in Israel. The arrival of Beta Israels changed the racial dynamic of the country. As Hagar Solomon, senior lecturer and senior research fellow at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, stated, "The passage of this community was also a dramatic passage of identity, as the Beta Israel, Jews in Black Ethiopia, became Blacks in Jewish Israel."
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