Why Israel Never Fully Accepted the African Hebrews
Unpacked
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151,022 views Mar 19, 2026 #jewish #israel #africa
They came to Israel believing they were returning home. Instead, the African Hebrew Israelites faced decades of legal battles, rejection, and questions over who belongs in the Jewish state. But they also built a vibrant community in Dimona, shaped Israeli vegan culture, served in the army, and fought to preserve a unique identity. This is a story of faith, exile, belonging, and one of Israel’s most misunderstood communities.
00:00 Intro
01:26 The city of Dimona
03:12 Life in the Village of Peace
04:03 Origins of the African Hebrews
08:51 Arrival in Israel
10:08 Deportations and legal limbo
12:35 Fight for recognition
16:38 Army service and integration
19:21 Life in Tel Aviv
21:00 Why Israel feels like home
26:19 Ben Ammi legacy
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<약속의 땅에서의 낯선 귀환: 아프리카계 히브리인들의 투쟁과 정착>
요약: 50년의 불확실성을 뚫고 피워낸 디모나의 평화
아프리카계 히브리인(African Hebrew Israelites)의 여정은 1966년 시카고의 금속 노동자 벤 암미(Ben Ammi)가 받은 계시에서 시작된다. 그는 흑인 미국인들이 고대 이스라엘인의 후손이며, 영적 정화와 약속의 땅으로의 귀환이 필요하다고 믿었다. 이들은 미국을 떠나 리베리아의 정글에서 1년여간 고난의 시간을 보내며 스스로를 정화한 뒤, 1968년 이스라엘 땅을 밟았다.
+4
초기에는 귀환법(Law of Return)의 적용을 기대하며 입국했으나, 1970년 이스라엘이 유대인의 정의를 법적으로 명시하면서 이들은 거대한 장벽에 부딪혔다. 유대교로 개종하지 않았고, 모계 혈통을 증명할 수 없었던 이들은 시민권을 거부당한 채 수십 년간 ‘불법 체류자’라는 법적 낙인 속에서 살아야 했다. 공공 교육과 의료 시스템에서 소외된 채 추방 위협에 시달리면서도, 이들은 남부 도시 디모나에 <평화의 마을(Village of Peace)>이라는 공동체를 세우고 자신들만의 독자적인 문화를 일구었다.
+4
이들의 정착 과정에는 몇 가지 결정적인 전환점이 있었다. 1986년 대규모 추방 위기에 맞선 비폭력 저항과 ‘힘의 과시’의 날은 공동체의 결속력을 보여주었다. 이후 1990년 아리에 데리(Aryeh Deri) 내무장관의 태도 변화로 실무적인 거주권 논의가 시작되었고, 2002년 아론(Aharon)이라는 청년이 테러 현장에서 유대인 소녀를 구하고 희생된 사건은 이스라엘 사회가 이들을 보는 시각을 근본적으로 바꾸어 놓았다. 이를 계기로 이들은 군 복무를 시작하며 국가의 일원으로서 책무를 다하기 시작했고, 점진적으로 영주권과 시민권을 얻어냈다.
+4
오늘날 이들은 이스라엘 비건(Vegan) 문화의 선구자로 인정받으며, 독특한 의복과 소울 음악, 교육 시스템을 유지하고 있다. 비록 여전히 인종차별적 시선과 완전한 지위 획득이라는 과제가 남아 있으나, 이들은 자신들이 이스라엘의 일부임을 의심치 않으며 ‘히브리인’과 ‘이스라엘인’이라는 두 정체성 사이의 균형을 찾고 있다.
+4
평론: 혈통의 경계를 넘는 정체성과 소속의 재정의
본 자료는 국가라는 거대한 시스템이 ‘우리’와 ‘타자’를 구분 짓는 기준이 얼마나 견고하고 때로는 배타적일 수 있는지를 아프리카계 히브리인들의 삶을 통해 여실히 보여준다. 이들의 이야기는 단순한 이민사가 아니라, 신념과 실천을 통해 소속감을 획득해 나가는 장엄한 투쟁의 기록이다.
첫째, 혈통적 민족주의와 실천적 소속감의 충돌이다. 이스라엘 국가는 법적·종교적 잣대로 이들의 ‘유대성’을 부인했으나, 아프리카계 히브리인들은 이스라엘을 ‘우리 땅’이라고 부르며 군 복무와 경제적 기여를 통해 실질적인 시민권을 획득해 나갔다. 이는 ‘누가 이 땅에 속하는가’라는 질문에 대해, 국가의 허락보다 개인의 헌신과 삶의 궤적이 우선할 수 있음을 시사한다. 특히 15세에 한국을 떠나 여러 나라에 거주하며 스스로를 세계인으로 규정하는 세진님의 관점에서 볼 때, 한 국가에 대한 무조건적인 충성심보다는 자신이 뿌리 내린 곳에서의 실질적인 기여와 정체성 유지가 얼마나 중요한 가치인지를 이 공동체의 사례가 잘 보여준다 하겠다. [cite: 2026-02-01]
둘째, 문화적 영향력을 통한 연성 권력(Soft Power)의 행사다. 이들은 법적 권리가 박탈된 상태에서도 음악과 비건 식단이라는 문화적 도구를 통해 이스라엘 사회의 심장부에 파고들었다. 소외된 소수자가 주류 사회의 문화를 풍성하게 함으로써(예: 이스라엘을 비건 메카로 만드는 데 기여) 자신들의 존재 가치를 증명해 내는 과정은 매우 전략적이면서도 평화적인 생존 방식이었다.
+1
셋째, 차세대 정체성의 딜레마다. 자료의 후반부에 등장하는 젊은 세대의 갈등은 모든 소수 공동체가 직면하는 필연적인 문제다. 공동체의 전통을 지키려는 노력과 주류 사회로의 통합(세속화) 사이의 줄타기는 이들이 진정한 이스라엘인으로 거듭나는 과정에서 겪는 성장통이다.
+2
결론적으로 아프리카계 히브리인들의 역사는 소속감이란 주어지는 것이 아니라 쟁취하는 것이며, 정체성은 혈통이라는 과거에 묶여 있는 것이 아니라 삶의 방식이라는 현재를 통해 부단히 갱신되는 것임을 증명한다. 이스라엘 사회가 이들을 온전히 받아들이는 데 50년이 걸린 것은 인종과 종교의 벽이 그만큼 높았음을 방증하지만, 결국 그 벽을 허문 것이 법전이 아닌 인간적인 유대(테러 현장에서의 희생, 군 복무 등)였다는 점은 깊은 울림을 준다.
+1
세진님, 이 요약과 평론이 이스라엘 내 아프리카계 히브리인 공동체의 복잡한 역사를 이해하시는 데 도움이 되었기를 바랍니다. 이들의 정착 과정에서 가장 인상 깊었던 부분이 있었나요?
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Sources
“Ben Ammi :They Call Him Master.” YouTube, uploaded by av truth center hasbara. 21 April 2020.
Alkabetz, Shimon. דרע׳ רוצה לגרש מאות נושים עבריים. Hadashot, 4 April 1989.
AP. “Israeli Authorities Plan to Expel 25 ‘Black Hebrew’ Americans.” The Nevada State Journal, 25 September 1977.
Ben Zion, Ilan. “African Hebrews say dozens set to be deported from Israel.” The Times of Israel, 27 April 2021.
Eder, Richard. “Black ‘Israelites’ Challenging Israel's Policies.” The New York Times, 31 August 1971.
Esensten, A. (2019). Yah’s Exemplary Soldiers: African Hebrew Israelites in the Israel Defense Forces. Religions, 10(11), 614. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel10110614
Esensten, Andrew. “Spiritual Leader of African Hebrew Israelites Dies.” Haaretz, 28 December 2014.
Esensten, Andrew. “The Israeli army once excluded African Hebrew Israelites. Now one is an IDF social media star.” JWeekly, 6 August 2024.
January, Robert. “Israel and the Black Hebrews from America.” The Houston Post, 30 April 1972.
Jones, Jim. “Cult’s Heaven Brought Them Hell.” Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 22 November 1980.
Kestenbaum, Sam. “Ben Ammi Ben Israel’s Spiritual Journey From Segregated Chicago to Negev Desert.” The Forward, 31 December 2014.
Kurtis, Bill. “Strangers In the Holy Land.” The New York Times, 22 March 1981.
Lidman, Melanie. “Black Hebrews leader dies at 75.” The Times of Israel, 28 December 2014.
Rosen, Armin. “African Hebrew Israelites: How African-American Utopian Separatists Landed in a Desert Town in Israel.” Tablet Magazine, 28 March 2019.
Sofer, Roni and Baum, Ilana. דרעי קבע עקרונות לשהיית הכושים העברים. Ma’ariv, 22 May 1990.
Surkes, Sue. “Death of soldier reopens debate about citizenship for non-Jewish Hebrew Israelites.” The Times of Israel, 21 October 2024.
Surkes, Sue. “Hebrew Israelites celebrate green light for temporary residence, but fight continues.” The Times of Israel, 29 April 2025.
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Watson, Douglas. “‘Black Hebrews’ Pose Dilemma for Israel: How To Avoid Racial Incident.” The Baltimore Sun, 10 November 1980.
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Transcript
Chapter 1: Intro
0:00- The African Hebrew Israelites journeyed from gritty American cities to the golden sands of the promised land.
0:055 seconds- We're direct descendants of the biblical Israelites. - If Israel is our land, why don't we go there? - We believe that we're gonna be accepted. - Our plans are to establish the kingdom of God.
0:1515 seconds- But the Israeli government saw things differently. (Ben Ammi speaking in foreign language)
0:2424 seconds(Samakeyah speaking in foreign language) - They were looking at us like we come off the moon. - They started deporting people.
0:3232 seconds- We weren't able to get health insurance. We weren't able to get jobs.
0:3636 seconds- Why would you bring your children over here to know that we would live a level under? - But they've held on through sheer grit, determination, and faith.
0:4444 seconds(Samakeyah speaking in foreign language) - We knew that this was our calling, this was our land, and we had to fight to stay here.
0:5252 secondsAnd so we just trust in the God of truth. - That's why I love this country, and I know some people are like, "What, you love this country?" But I really do, I really do.
1:011 minute, 1 second- Today, they're still fighting, not just for the rights, but to preserve their unique culture. - As all the youngsters, you want to explore.
1:081 minute, 8 seconds- I have a complicated relationship with my community. - If we all don't stick with this culture, this culture will be extinct.
1:151 minute, 15 seconds- So who are the African Hebrew Israelites? And why has their place in Israel remained so controversial? (gentle music)
1:251 minute, 25 seconds(upbeat music) - Me and my sister were planning to move here to Tel Aviv.
Chapter 2: The city of Dimona
1:341 minute, 34 seconds- The center of my life is moving from the south to the center now. So I'm realizing it as I'm talking. I'm like, "Yeah, this is a huge move."
1:431 minute, 43 seconds- Huge maybe an understatement. (upbeat music)
1:481 minute, 48 secondsBecause Khaveevyah and Yahletal grew up in one of Israel's most controversial micro communities, Kehilat Ha'Ivrim, the Hebrew Israelites.
1:551 minute, 55 secondsTo understand why their move is such a big deal, let's take a trip down south. (gentle upbeat music)
2:052 minutes, 5 seconds- Okay, welcome to my home. My mom has eight kids. So my parents came here in the '90s.
2:152 minutes, 15 secondsSo I was born and raised in Israel. I grew up in the Village of Peace.
2:202 minutes, 20 secondsI was homeschooled from the first grade up until I was about 13.
2:252 minutes, 25 secondsAnd one of the reasons was because I did not have any citizenship here, so we were kind of illegal immigrants here.
2:322 minutes, 32 secondsSo we kind of were in limbo. - Did you ever think like, why? Why is this happening? Why do I not have status?
2:402 minutes, 40 secondsWhile other people- - I for sure got angry.
2:422 minutes, 42 secondsWhen I was like a teenager, I started to feel it because it's a big thing having status. It leaks into all different areas of your life.
2:502 minutes, 50 seconds- You see yourself as an Israeli, but then you're not recognized as one fully. And so those things cause anger, they cause frustration.
2:582 minutes, 58 secondsThey cause contemplations. Like, is my place really here? Is it elsewhere? Do I remain here? Do I leave?
3:063 minutes, 6 seconds'Cause what it boils down to is living a life of dignity with rights.
3:113 minutes, 11 seconds- Yahletal and Khaveevyah's story echoes the experience of the entire African Hebrew community. Homecoming, hardship, and a struggle for acceptance.
Chapter 3: Life in the Village of Peace
3:193 minutes, 19 secondsIt's a narrative I'd been aware of for years,
3:223 minutes, 22 secondsbut it wasn't personal until I met Ashriel Moore at university. You were born and raised here.
3:263 minutes, 26 seconds- Right. - So take me through what it was like growing up in this community.
3:323 minutes, 32 seconds- I think one of the most beautiful things about the community itself is that you have a family of 2,000 people that you're born right into. There's the African proverb that says,
3:403 minutes, 40 seconds"It takes a village to raise a child." And that's really what we experience here. - Their home base is in the southern Israeli city of Dimona,
3:493 minutes, 49 secondsin a neighborhood called the Village of Peace, an urban collective or kibbutz that they built from scratch.
3:553 minutes, 55 secondsThe story of how a group of Black Americans made the Israeli desert bloom began halfway across the world with a metal worker in Chicago,
Chapter 4: Origins of the African Hebrews
4:034 minutes, 3 secondsformerly known as Ben Carter, who later took the name Ben Ammi Ben-Israel.
4:084 minutes, 8 secondsBen Ammi came of age as the fight for racial equality in the U.S. was reaching a fever pitch.
4:134 minutes, 13 secondsHe tried to make sense of the systemic inequality that beset his community. Hebrew Israelism seemed to have the answers.
4:204 minutes, 20 secondsHebrew israelism is a theological movement that emerged in post-emancipation America,
4:244 minutes, 24 secondsbuilt on the conviction that enslaved Africans were at least in part descendants of the ancient Israelites,
4:304 minutes, 30 secondsand that racism and discrimination were the consequences of spiritual disobedience. You might have seen Hebrew Israelites like these, online or on a street corner,
4:384 minutes, 38 secondsshouting violent obscenities about Jewish people. But Hebrew Israelites are not a monolith. They span from radicals to rabbinic-style communities,
4:464 minutes, 46 secondswho view themselves as part of the wider Jewish world. Although Ben Ammi's parents were Baptists, they told him his ancestors were Israelites,
4:534 minutes, 53 secondsand that one day, their people would return to Israel.
4:564 minutes, 56 secondsOver time, this idea resonated with Ben Ammi more and more, drawing him closer to the Hebrew Israelite belief system.
5:035 minutes, 3 seconds- America is the land of the captivity, the land of horrors. It was never to be the land of blessings for our people.
5:115 minutes, 11 secondsWe were put there to be punished. - Ben Ammi's star rose quickly among his fellow congregants, who came to see him as their anointed leader,
5:195 minutes, 19 secondsreceiving revelations from God.
5:215 minutes, 21 secondsIn 1966, Ben Ammi told his community that he had a vision from the angel, Gabriel, that changed everything. - Ben Ammi is in Chicago.
5:295 minutes, 29 secondsChicago was like the heartland of what would you call progressive and dynamic Black thinking. And so in '66, when he gets the vision,
5:385 minutes, 38 secondsit's like right after the Watts and the Newark riots and right before a huge conflagration of social disorder in America.
5:485 minutes, 48 seconds(Ben Ammi speaking in foreign language)
6:016 minutes, 1 second- He said, "Are we Hebrews enough?" He said, "If we're Hebrews, why don't we speak Hebrew? And if Israel as our land, why don't we go there?" And so Ben Ammi began studying Hebrew.
6:116 minutes, 11 secondsWe had a teacher by the name of Naftali and he taught us basic alphabet, so forth and so on.
6:176 minutes, 17 seconds- The vision led to a split with the elders of his congregation, who wanted him to wait for a miraculous deliverance. But Ben Ammi felt the time had come for action,
6:256 minutes, 25 secondsfor him and his people to retrace their steps back to the land of Israel. And this meant returning first to West Africa. - Our fathers, when they left out of ancient Egypt,
6:346 minutes, 34 secondsdid not head straight into this land.
6:366 minutes, 36 secondsThey had to go via the wilderness to purify themselves and to cast out the ways of the decadent society for which they came.
6:436 minutes, 43 secondsWe had to do the same thing.
6:456 minutes, 45 seconds- In West Africa, they would cleanse themselves of everything that plagued them in the spiritual wasteland of America. - We needed a wilderness, and so we knew we came from West Africa.
6:536 minutes, 53 secondsWe know that the slave trade brought us from that direction.
6:566 minutes, 56 secondsAnd there was Liberia, whose constitution required that they open their doors to any of us that wanted to return.
7:037 minutes, 3 secondsAnd indeed, by 1967, everybody was in Liberia. - From urban Chicago all the way to the bush in Liberia. - When I say bush, I say jungle.
7:117 minutes, 11 secondsA place where Black Mamba and Green Mamba snakes were, I mean, they were everywhere. Naturally, we were very poor.
7:187 minutes, 18 secondsWe got very ragged, and we had very little to eat. For the first six months, we almost starved. Had the stomach sticking out and we had malaria, hepatitis.
7:287 minutes, 28 secondsWe had every kind of thing. We had dysentery.
7:327 minutes, 32 secondsBut believe me, being away from the United States in the jungles were much better to us because there we were away from the hatred,
7:407 minutes, 40 secondsfrom the racism, from the discrimination. - But soon, it was time to fulfill the vision. In May 1968, Ben Ammi and another pioneer,
7:487 minutes, 48 secondsknown as Prince Chiskiyahu, landed in Tel Aviv. - Nasi Chiskiyahu, that's Prince Chiskiyahu, he's the one that came with Ben Ammi in 1968.
7:577 minutes, 57 secondsAnd Ben Ammi left him here. He didn't know it when he left Liberia,
8:018 minutes, 1 secondbut Ben Ammi left him here with the assignment to learn the language, to learn the land, make friends, and be prepared to receive the rest of those,
8:098 minutes, 9 secondswho came from Liberia.
8:118 minutes, 11 seconds- Chiskiyahu went to work on a kibbutz on Israel's coastal plane. - Prince Chiskiyahu told the officials there at the kibbutz, they had some more brothers like him that wanted to come.
8:198 minutes, 19 secondsHe said, "If you got more like him, we'd take 10, 20 like you."
8:238 minutes, 23 seconds- But the kibbutz leaders were shocked when instead of a group of hardworking men,
8:278 minutes, 27 secondsa group of five families with children showed up on their doorstep ready to become new Israeli citizens. - So initially, when we arrived in Israel in 1968,
8:368 minutes, 36 secondswe came under the law of return. The law of return then said that anyone,
8:418 minutes, 41 secondswho has that affinity and who has that connection and desires to reconnect with our ancestral home, then they're welcome to come.
8:498 minutes, 49 seconds(Ashriel speaks in foreign language) Freedom of Aliyah to the Hebrew State. And so by us being Hebrews, then we said, "Okay, great, we're coming home.
Chapter 5: Arrival in Israel
8:588 minutes, 58 secondsNot a problem at all." And we believed that we were gonna be accepted.
9:019 minutes, 1 second- But the African Hebrews didn't look like Jewish communities Israel's immigration authorities had encountered before. Unsure of what to make of them, the state split the difference.
9:099 minutes, 9 secondsThey gave the families three-month tourist visas,
9:129 minutes, 12 secondsbut also found them housing in Israel South and granted them permission to work.
9:169 minutes, 16 secondsBut when a second larger group of African Hebrews arrived in 1969 and more followed after that, the authorities' antenna went up.
9:239 minutes, 23 secondsAnd this coincided with the change to Israel's citizenship laws. - In 1970, when the law was amended, and they then added the definition of who is a Jew,
9:339 minutes, 33 secondsand who was a Jew meant somebody,
9:359 minutes, 35 secondswho either converted to Judaism and didn't hold on to another religion or who was born to a Jewish mother,
9:409 minutes, 40 secondswe couldn't prove those things because we had come out of 400 years plus of enslavement in America.
9:459 minutes, 45 secondsAnd as a result of that, the people who had received legal status in 1968, '69, that legal status then was revoked.
9:539 minutes, 53 secondsAnd so they started deporting people from the community with the reasoning being that we were illegal aliens
10:0110 minutes, 1 secondin Israel, and there was nothing else left for us to do, but to to fight that. - In the years following the first deportations,
Chapter 6: Deportations and legal limbo
10:0910 minutes, 9 secondsthe African Hebrews fought in court, staged protests, and even renounced their American citizenship, but to no avail.
10:1610 minutes, 16 secondsAnd for decades, the African Hebrews lived on the periphery of Israeli society.
10:2010 minutes, 20 secondsThe rabbinic authorities disputed their qualifications for citizenship and their alternative lifestyle was bewildering to some Israelis. They were vegans, a diet considered fringe at the time.
10:3010 minutes, 30 secondsThey practiced polygamy, which was functionally banned under Jewish law.
10:3410 minutes, 34 secondsAnd their utter devotion to Ben Ammi and calling themselves a kingdom, seemed cultish to some in the outside world.
10:3910 minutes, 39 secondsIsrael offered the African Hebrews the opportunity to officially convert to Judaism and received citizenship.
10:4510 minutes, 45 seconds- All of our lives, people have been telling Black people in America who they are, and we told them we were already Israelites. We had no need to convert.
10:5310 minutes, 53 seconds- Ben Ammi didn't want his Hebrew Israelite identity changed or subsumed into something else.
10:5810 minutes, 58 secondsBut without citizenship, there was no path for them to stay in Israel legally. And without legal status, Israel state systems were off limits.
11:0511 minutes, 5 secondsTheir children couldn't attend public schools. The community couldn't access the national health system.
11:1011 minutes, 10 secondsThe difficult conditions overwhelmed some of Ben Ammi's followers, who returned to the United States, but the majority stayed, and even more arrived,
11:1811 minutes, 18 secondssetting the stage for a hostile showdown between Ben Ammi and the Israeli state. - They've misquoted us, of course,
11:2411 minutes, 24 secondssaying that we said we were gonna take the country and run the Jewish people out.
11:2711 minutes, 27 secondsBut what we did say is that no unrighteous government will last in Israel.
11:3211 minutes, 32 secondsAnd the present government in Israel is an unrighteous government and it will not last. - To the Israeli government,
11:3711 minutes, 37 secondsBen Ammi's provocative statements confirmed their suspicion that the African Hebrews thought the Jewish inhabitants of the land were illegitimate,
11:4411 minutes, 44 secondsand that they weren't interested in accepting Jewish sovereignty in Israel. And despite the government's objections,
11:4911 minutes, 49 secondsthe African Hebrews kept entering the country under the guise that they were visiting tourists and then overstaying their visas, deliberately flouting Israel's immigration laws.
11:5811 minutes, 58 secondsBut from a community's perspective, the state's rejection seemed a lot like racism. - As we have remained and continued to go in these circles,
12:0612 minutes, 6 secondswe see Jim Crow has peeped his head up here in Israel and we are being abused with what we call intellectual racism.
12:1312 minutes, 13 seconds- They felt their identity was being interrogated while J3ws from other far-flung places in the world were accepted as citizens. And yet, despite feeling rejected,
12:2212 minutes, 22 secondsboth religiously and racially,
12:2412 minutes, 24 secondsthe African Hebrews were not deterred in their desire to become contributing members of Israeli society.
12:3012 minutes, 30 seconds(interviewer speaking in foreign language) (interviewees speaking in foreign language)
Chapter 7: Fight for recognition
12:4312 minutes, 43 seconds- We actually had sons who actually went to try to enlist, but it wasn't allowed. We didn't have the status to do that. - We were tourists for 20 years.
12:5212 minutes, 52 secondsWhat other force, other than Y-a-h Yisrael could have kept us here?
12:5712 minutes, 57 secondsBlack people didn't have that kind of power that we could just live in the country, where we were unwanted.
13:0313 minutes, 3 seconds- In 1986, things came to a head when the government arrested 46 African Hebrews and planned to deport them. - So we decided to protest.
13:1113 minutes, 11 secondsAnd we decided in this protest, we were gonna walk to Jerusalem. But early in the morning, the Israeli police surrounded this community.
13:1813 minutes, 18 seconds- We've lived in this land in peace.
13:2013 minutes, 20 secondsWe have lifted not one finger against any inhabitant of this land. Neither have we conspired against this state.
13:2813 minutes, 28 secondsWe returned to this land simply to worship the God of Israel. - Yeah! - We went in peace and they made w4r.
13:3713 minutes, 37 seconds(crowd agreeing) Our mothers are in prison. - Yeah! - Our children are in prison. - Yeah.
13:4513 minutes, 45 seconds- But let all the inhabitants of the world know, we're not afraid. (crowd chanting)
13:5313 minutes, 53 seconds- For the sake of peace, Ben Ammi canceled the march.
13:5513 minutes, 55 secondsThe police dispersed, and most of those slated for deportation were indeed sent back to the U.S. But for the community, the day of the show of strength,
14:0414 minutes, 4 secondsas it came to be known, became a symbol of their steadfast commitment to the land and to peace. - The village of peace, that is who we are, is peace.
14:1414 minutes, 14 seconds- Within a few years, things finally started to change. In 1990, the Ultra-Orthodox Minister of Interior,
14:2014 minutes, 20 secondswho had called for deporting African Hebrews suddenly changed his mind. - It was Aryeh Deri, who said,
14:2614 minutes, 26 seconds"Hey, I've grown up literally with you in this land and we wanna recognize, we want to make this right."
14:3214 minutes, 32 seconds- Wow. - So coming from the Ultra-Orthodox, you would think that that would be something they'd do. - Yeah. - But it was Aryeh Deri,
14:4014 minutes, 40 secondswho started that process. - But getting status wasn't like flipping a switch. It was more like a steady drip, starting tentatively with work visas.
14:4814 minutes, 48 secondsIt was around this time that Yahletal and Khaveevyah's mother, Toveet, arrived in Israel. - Even though I'm an English teacher, to survive here,
14:5514 minutes, 55 secondsI've had to clean house, but I'm not doing again anymore. Not for money. I'll do it to help my loved ones.
15:0415 minutes, 4 seconds(gentle music) I was born in South Carolina. I went to the Peace Corps to Rwanda and Cameroon,
15:1215 minutes, 12 secondsand I taught English as a second language. When I came back, a friend of mine was a Hebrew. He sold me some tickets.
15:2115 minutes, 21 secondsHis Excellency, Ben Ammi, was coming to Atlanta to speak, and I bought tickets from him being, you know, supportive of a friend.
15:3015 minutes, 30 secondsAnd I actually enjoyed. I started coming to classes and I ended up coming to Israel. Loved it.
15:3815 minutes, 38 secondsI was just super zealous. (Toveet chuckles)
15:4315 minutes, 43 seconds- It was at this point when Toveet was just beginning her life in Israel, the tragedy struck her community. - Well, my brother, Aharon, he was an an entertainer.
15:5215 minutes, 52 secondsHe was also the first Sabrah, male Sabrah, born in Israel.
15:5815 minutes, 58 secondsWhen we came in 1970, he was performing at a bat mitzvah and terrorists broke in.
16:0616 minutes, 6 seconds(guests screaming) (gentle music) He jumped in front of the girl to save the girl,
16:1416 minutes, 14 secondsand he took the bullet and it killed him.
16:2016 minutes, 20 secondsThe government took a different perspective of us when that happened.
16:2616 minutes, 26 seconds- The community's grief connected them to every family in Israel that knew the heartbreak of terror.
16:3116 minutes, 31 secondsAnd Aharon's murder changed the way Israel's establishment perceived the African Hebrews as well.
16:3616 minutes, 36 secondsA year later, the government granted some community members permanent residency.
Chapter 8: Army service and integration
16:4016 minutes, 40 secondsThis new status enabled the African Hebrews to make a major leap in their quest for integration.
16:4516 minutes, 45 secondsThey readily agreed to have their young men and women enlist in the army. - We're not neutral when it comes to the state of Israel.
16:5216 minutes, 52 secondsWe would do whatever is necessary to defend Israel.
16:5616 minutes, 56 seconds- Yahneev Ben Israel was one of the community's first members to compete and qualify for an elite special forces unit.
17:0217 minutes, 2 seconds(Yirmiyahu speaking in foreign language)
17:1117 minutes, 11 seconds(Yahneev speaking in foreign language)
17:2917 minutes, 29 seconds(Yahneev continues speaking in foreign language)
17:4617 minutes, 46 seconds- The community celebrated in 2010 when a handful of their members achieved long awaited full citizenship.
17:5217 minutes, 52 secondsAnd three years later came a groundbreaking announcement that completing 18 months of military service would make younger community members and their immediate family eligible for citizenship.
18:0218 minutes, 2 secondsFor a while, it seemed like the African Hebrews had figured out their place in Israel.
18:0718 minutes, 7 secondsBut then in 2021, the pendulum swung again and the government announced a new wave of deportations. Yahletal and Khaveevyah's family was on the list.
18:1618 minutes, 16 seconds- I received a letter of deportation with my name on it as well as all of my children's names. We were given 60 days.
18:2518 minutes, 25 secondsYou know, I had children here. I went through my 30s here, went through my 40s here, and then all of a sudden, I'm what, 51?
18:3418 minutes, 34 secondsAnd somebody's telling me I'm about to be deported? You know, a part of me really just did not accept that.
18:4218 minutes, 42 seconds- For four years, the family shuttled from court to court in a battle for status. Finally, in 2025, they were granted temporary residency.
18:5018 minutes, 50 seconds- After four years, we'll be getting permanent residency. And I feel the change since I've gotten it. Of course, I've always felt like this is home,
18:5818 minutes, 58 secondsthis is Israel. And also this country is so accepting, so I always felt a part. But now that I have it, I feel there's a base under me.
19:0619 minutes, 6 secondsLike, I'm like, I belong here. The apartment is still not together. So my sister was like, "Are they gonna film already?" And I was like, "I know."
19:1419 minutes, 14 seconds(Khaveevyah laughs) Shlomi! (upbeat music) I mean, now we have like a couch, a table, a refrigerator.
Chapter 9: Life in Tel Aviv
19:2419 minutes, 24 secondsWe just don't have our rug. And the rug is gonna really tie it in. Even though you have hardships here, come on now, it's Israel. - Right.
19:3219 minutes, 32 seconds- Like, we have difficulties here. We have this conflict going on, you can feel it. But I feel that the people are unified. Even with their different backgrounds,
19:4019 minutes, 40 secondsthere is a sense of we are together, humans together, working together, living together. So that's why I love this country. And I know some people are like,
19:4919 minutes, 49 seconds"What, you love this country?" But I really do, I really do. Yeah, so do we want something like this? - Oh. (shopkeeper speaks in foreign language)
19:5719 minutes, 57 seconds(Khaveevyah speaks in foreign language) - Mommy, come for a second. (Khaveevyah speaks in foreign language)
20:0020 minutesWhat, you found another rug store? - Yeah (laughs). - (speaks in foreign language), which is over here? (shopkeeper speaking in foreign language)
20:0820 minutes, 8 seconds(Khaveevyah and shopkeeper speak in foreign language) (Khaveevyah speaking in foreign language) - How do you say carpet?
20:1520 minutes, 15 seconds(all three conversing in foreign language) - He about to fight us.
20:2420 minutes, 24 secondsHe said, "Y'all gonna buy this carpet." I'm happy that I was raised here and nowhere else. Like I understand why my parents wanted to leave America.
20:3120 minutes, 31 secondsAmerica is not the home of Black people. This is what I believe, my beliefs only.
20:3520 minutes, 35 secondsI feel you go there and it's like you always looking over your shoulder for this and that and what's gonna happen, and how to live a healthy life. America wasn't sustainable.
20:4620 minutes, 46 seconds- It's been a wild ride. I feel like I can actually set some roots. So now, I can say that I'm okay being in Israel.
20:5420 minutes, 54 secondsLike, you know, I always loved Israel, but like now, I can really see myself being here. - Even though Israel wasn't always sure about them.
Chapter 10: Why Israel feels like home
21:0221 minutes, 2 secondsThe African Hebrews were sure about Israel. And leaving America behind, they were coming home. Their commitment to Ben Ammi's vision was deep,
21:1121 minutes, 11 secondsliving on after his passing in 2014. (upbeat music) - We are a God-based community.
21:2021 minutes, 20 secondsWe prefer to use the name Y-a-h. How do you worship Y-a-h? You worship him in spirit and in truth.
21:2821 minutes, 28 secondsIt's righteousness and morality.
21:3021 minutes, 30 secondsIt's a system of living that makes sense in the context of the world we face. - We went into captivity, disobeying the instructions.
21:3821 minutes, 38 secondsSo in order to be free, there is no freedom without following those instructions by Y-a-h.
21:4221 minutes, 42 seconds- So Yehoshua Ben Israel is the minister of divine health of the African Hebrews. - Welcome to (speaks in foreign language), our nation store.
21:5121 minutes, 51 seconds(bright music) In America, the United States,
21:5721 minutes, 57 secondsour people particularly were plagued with many diseases. Heart disease, kidney disease, liver failure, all because of the Western-based lifestyle that we were in.
22:0722 minutes, 7 secondsNot just the diet, but just the whole lifestyle of racism, stress, trying to make it in the society, et cetera, et cetera.
22:1422 minutes, 14 secondsSo the eating of the meat and all of these things, the processed food is what was killing us. Then maybe if we changed our diet, then maybe these things will be reversed.
22:2222 minutes, 22 seconds- The African Hebrews highlight a verse in Genesis as a divine instruction to cut out all animal products and adopt a strictly organic vegan diet.
22:2922 minutes, 29 secondsAnd this new food regimen was just one part of their holistic approach to health.
22:3322 minutes, 33 secondsSeveral times a year, the African Hebrews cut out sugar altogether or eat only foods that are prepared raw. They're expected to exercise three times a week.
22:4222 minutes, 42 secondsThey also interpreted resting on the Sabbath to include fasting every Saturday to purge their body's toxins. - We are pursuing an idea,
22:5022 minutes, 50 secondswhere you can be in a state of existence, where you're free from disease, free from pain, free from sickness, et cetera, okay?
22:5722 minutes, 57 secondsNow this is a process that doesn't happen overnight, but this is our objective, perfect health. - When they first arrived at Israel, veganism was completely counter-cultural.
23:0523 minutes, 5 secondsSo the African Hebrews got creative.
23:0723 minutes, 7 secondsThey grew their own crops and reworked the recipes around Middle Eastern produce, and even created a line of vegan foods now sold in Israeli supermarkets.
23:1623 minutes, 16 secondsToday, Israel is a vegan mecca, and the African Hebrews definitely get some of the credit.
23:2123 minutes, 21 secondsThey've carried their plant-based message beyond the Village of Peace through products and restaurants, like Genesis Vegan delights.
23:2723 minutes, 27 seconds- The core ingredients here are the tofu, the noodles, the green beans, the vegetables, and seasonings.
23:3623 minutes, 36 secondsSeasonings are very important. - And the seasoning is plants? - Plant-based, exactly.
23:4123 minutes, 41 seconds- The restaurant is the brainchild of Yehonadav and Ahmeetsah, who left Southern Israel for the middle of the country.
23:4723 minutes, 47 secondsThey serve vegan soul food and curries with a dash of Israeli flavor. - Mac and cheese, lasagna, fish, curry tofu,
23:5423 minutes, 54 secondsshawarma tofu, daw, quinoa, tofu rice, brown rice, curry rice, mixed baked vegetables, meat patties.
24:0124 minutes, 1 second- We have people like, "Can you put me a dash of hummus on the side? And I just want to have it." It don't go with the meal, but okay, I'll do it for you.
24:0924 minutes, 9 seconds- So tell me about the role that ice cream, vegan ice cream, has played in the history of the community. I understand that goes back to Liberia, essentially. - Wow, yeah.
24:1824 minutes, 18 secondsI remember as a little girl standing in line, just waiting to get this little bit of ice cream. We were so excited.
24:2424 minutes, 24 secondsWe had one machine for the whole community and we have developed ice cream to a level of eliteness.
24:3124 minutes, 31 secondsThis ice cream is so good. This is the cheesecake. This is cashew. - The commitment to an organic,
24:4024 minutes, 40 secondsplant-based lifestyle goes beyond food. (energetic music)
24:4724 minutes, 47 secondsThe community makes its own clothing strictly out of naturally occurring fibers. There's a heavy emphasis on West African styles. A deliberate move away from Western fashion influences.
24:5624 minutes, 56 seconds- It's modest clothing, flowing and loose fitting,
25:0125 minutes, 1 secondbut beautiful, cultural wear that speaks to divinity and being your feminine self or your masculine self without the European overtones to 'em.
25:1225 minutes, 12 secondsRight now, we're working on school uniforms for our school. - During the early decades in Israel,
25:1925 minutes, 19 secondshomeschooling was the only option for African Hebrews.
25:2125 minutes, 21 secondsBut in the early '90s, they were able to build a public school across the street from the Village of Peace, infusing it with their distinct values.
25:2925 minutes, 29 seconds(gentle upbeat music) (Samakeyah speaking in foreign language)
25:5725 minutes, 57 seconds(Yirmiyahu speaking in foreign language) (Samakayeh speaking in foreign language) - Sojourner Truth, Marcus Garvey, Frederick Douglass,
26:0426 minutes, 4 secondsMalcolm X (speaks in foreign language). (Samakayeh continues speaking in foreign language)
26:1826 minutes, 18 seconds- Ben Ammi's vision is infused into every element of life in the Village of Peace, including their self-expression.
Chapter 11: Ben Ammi legacy
26:2426 minutes, 24 seconds♪ We have found our way ♪ ♪ Our way back home ♪ ♪ We have found our way ♪
26:3326 minutes, 33 seconds♪ Our way back home ♪ - Their slice of Dimona is like a living art gallery,
26:4026 minutes, 40 secondswith dance and music woven into the African Hebrews' worship and celebration. (energetic music)
26:5026 minutes, 50 secondsTheir songs are fusion of classic soul music and their connection to God and the holy land.
26:5526 minutes, 55 seconds♪ Come together ♪ ♪ And see the light ♪ ♪ See the light ♪ - Art was also a bridge to the rest of Israeli society.
27:0327 minutes, 3 secondsFor many years, much of Israel's economy was closed to the community, but performing for the public was something they could do even while they struggled to gain legal status.
27:1127 minutes, 11 seconds- Our bands were very, very instrumental in bringing soul music to Israel.
27:1827 minutes, 18 seconds♪ We came all the way ♪ ♪ And ain't nobody gonna turn us around ♪ ♪ Ain't nobody ♪ - And we would do weddings and we would do bar mitzvahs,
27:2827 minutes, 28 secondsand we would do free shows for the military.
27:3127 minutes, 31 seconds- Their fame even reached international proportions.
27:3327 minutes, 33 secondsIsrael has sent African Hebrew singers to represent the country twice at the iconic Eurovision Song competition.
27:4027 minutes, 40 seconds♪ Together we are one ♪ - Their first Eurovision Song became an anthem at Israeli birthday parties to this day.
27:4827 minutes, 48 seconds♪ Happy birthday to you ♪ (singers singing in foreign language) - But the road to full acceptance was,
27:5727 minutes, 57 secondsand can still be bumpy, especially when racism rears its ugly head. So the lack of of neighborly love, what do you attribute that to?
28:0528 minutes, 5 seconds- Fear of the unknown.
28:0628 minutes, 6 secondsBecause they hadn't really invested time and energy in actually learning and understanding who we are. And unfortunately, this is usually coming from those people,
28:1528 minutes, 15 secondswho experienced prejudice and racism, mainly in Europe. - I will say like I have experienced, like, racism or even microaggressions, like you know.
28:2428 minutes, 24 secondsOne time, we were walking in Tel Aviv and somebody rolled past us and blurted out the N word.
28:3028 minutes, 30 secondsAnd I would say it comes from a space of like ignorance or just people not being informed.
28:3728 minutes, 37 secondsI think maybe it does have a different vibe because of the historical context for America. - Yeah, they got racism in Israel, but so what?
28:4628 minutes, 46 secondsThey got it everywhere. Nothing like where I come from. Nothing like the United States.
28:5228 minutes, 52 seconds- But bigotry hasn't deterred them from serving the country or pursuing life as Israelis.
28:5728 minutes, 57 seconds- All we want to do is just contribute because when we are protecting and defending the land, we're also defending the Village of Peace,
29:0529 minutes, 5 secondsand we're defending also all the other residents within Israel. - It's more than words.
29:1029 minutes, 10 secondsIn 2025, Elishai Young fell in Gaza while defending his country.
29:1529 minutes, 15 secondsToday, the ground under the African Hebrews' feet seems a bit more stable. They see their future here in the holy land. And like any tight-knit community,
29:2329 minutes, 23 secondsthey wrestle with what it means to straddle two worlds.
29:2629 minutes, 26 seconds- We are Israelis, but we are also Hebrews because we are integrated into the army, we are learning in the school system here in Israel,
29:3329 minutes, 33 secondsand then we also have to go into the job market. So we are Israelis (speaks in foreign language). - Yeah. - But yet, we have another side,
29:4029 minutes, 40 secondsand the side is the Hebrew. - I have a complicated relationship with my community. You know, I've come back and left and been on the outskirts,
29:4929 minutes, 49 secondsand I'm not sure if I wanna be there.
29:5029 minutes, 50 secondsSo I feel that my own values are a bit different than what I learned in my community. And I know they aren't so accepted.
29:5829 minutes, 58 secondsI feel like they wanted me to cut off parts of myself to, you know, belong. And I was just like, people are younger. So they have different mindset, different generation.
30:0730 minutes, 7 seconds- Going out into the world, you get exposed to different things. So you have to make a decision for yourself,
30:1230 minutes, 12 secondswhether you want to continue in the traditional way or if you wanna be more secular.
30:1730 minutes, 17 seconds- That's one of the concerns is maintaining our cultural identities. If we all don't stick with this culture,
30:2430 minutes, 24 secondsthis culture will be extinct. People look for the Hebrews in Dimona, and there will not be an address for it.
30:3330 minutes, 33 seconds- Lately, last two years, I'm coming back around. I'm like, I have all of these traditions that we bring. I pray over my food. Like, I'm very spiritual.
30:4130 minutes, 41 secondsSo there's this delicate balance. I'm always trying to, you know, I'm moving between. - This push and pull between identities,
30:4930 minutes, 49 secondsimmigrants to Israel have felt it for generations. Whether their recent ancestors lived in Europe, Iraq, Yemen, or the south side of Chicago.
30:5630 minutes, 56 secondsAnd maybe that's why so many Jewish Israelis of all backgrounds have stood with the African Hebrews in their fight to stay, because we see something of ourselves in them.
31:0631 minutes, 6 secondsA people burning with passion tied to this land with every fiber of their soul. Willing to endure, to struggle, to fight,
31:1331 minutes, 13 secondsjust to be here on this holy soil,
31:1631 minutes, 16 secondsand always searching for that balance between where you come from and where you're going. - Thank you, thank you, Mother Earth, for bringing this food to my table.
31:2531 minutes, 25 secondsThank you, thank you, Yahweh, for bringing this food to my table. I ask you to imbue this food with peace, love, ease, understanding, and gentleness.
31:3331 minutes, 33 secondsI thank you to everybody, who had a hand in bringing this food to my table. Thank you, thank you, thank you. (Khaveevyah speaks in foreign language)
31:4131 minutes, 41 seconds- Y'all love doing it long. - That's long? - Thank you, let's eat. - How that long? That was short.
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Translation credits:
Portuguese: Saymon Pires
About Explainers: From ancient Jewish traditions to the modern State of Israel, we explain it all. Diving into anything and everything related to Jewish culture, history, and even religion.
Understand Jewish holidays, Israeli politics, Jewish diasporic communities, and more. Learn about Judaism in pop culture, debunking myths about Jews, and explore obscure Israeli landmarks. We’re asking questions as basic as “What is the Talmud?”, and as obscure as “How did hip-hop boost Kosher wine sales?”, and everything in between.
About Unpacked: We provide nuanced insights by unpacking all things Jewish. People are complex and complicated — yet we’re constantly being pushed to oversimplify our world. At Unpacked we know that being complex makes us more interesting. Because of this, we break the world down with nuance and insight to drive your curiosity and challenge your thinking.
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