Saturday, December 29, 2007

BLACK JEWS

BLACK JEWS The thousands of black members of the Ethiopian Hebrew Congregation in the United States are commonly referred to as Black Jews. Concentrated in a handful of large urban areas such as Philadelphia, New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, the Black Jews, like Jews everywhere, observe the rituals and holidays stemming from ancient Hebraic tradition. Historically, members of the Ethiopian Hebrew con­gregation have been closely-knit and clannish and, moreover, somewhat apathetic to the aspirations of the American black movement in general. Although there is some evidence that younger members of the faith are becoming more interested in black activism, cultural and religious preoccupations continue to eclipse racial considerations in the typical Black Jewish community.

1 comment:

rlowmanj said...

The Falashas, Negro are so called Black Jews of Ethiopia, led by Queen Judith, put the line of Solomon and the queen of Sheba off the thone of Ethiopia in 937 A.D., and ruled for forty years. The Falashas assert tht they are the original Jews. They call themselfs "The Beta-Israel", or "The chosen people".