Igbo Jews

An early (and widely influential) statement from an Igbo man, Olaudah Equiano, a Christian-educated freed slave, suggested a migratory origin of the Igbo Jews. He remarked in his autobiography of 1789 on

"the strong analogy which ... appears to prevail in the manners and customs of my countrymen and those of the Jews, before they reached the Land of Promise, and particularly the patriarchs while they were yet in that pastoral state which is described in Genesis—an analogy, which alone would induce me to think that the one people had sprung from the other." For authoritative support, he gives reference to "Dr. Gill, who, in his commentary on Genesis, very ably deduces the pedigree of the Africans from Afer and Afra, the descendants of Abraham. ...[1]

His essay has since been discarded as speculation. Critical historians have carefully reviewed the historical literature on West Africa during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. They have clarified the diverse functions (quite aside from questions of validity) which such histories served for the writers who proposed them at various times in the colonial and post-colonial past.[2][3]

Knowledge from sources broader and more self-critical than the Biblical—from contemporary historians, archaeologists, historical linguists, and other scientifically based disciplines—have argued against these claims. Though there is no doubt that Jews were present in Saharan trade centers during the first millennium AD,[4] there is no evidence that the Igbo people had any contemporaneous contact with historical Jewish populations, or that they had at any point had adopted Judaism prior to colonization by the European powers.[5][6]

Certain Nigerian communities with Judaic practices have been receiving help from individual Israelis and American Jews who work in Nigeria, outreach organizations like the American Kulanu, and African-American Jewish communities in America. Jews from outside Nigeria founded two synagogues in Nigeria, which are attended and maintained by Igbo Jews. Because no formal census has been taken in the region, the number of Igbo in Nigeria who identify as Jews is not known. There are currently 26 synagogues of various sizes. In 2008 an estimated 30,000 Igbos were practicing some form of Judaism.[7] Others have cited a more conservative figure of 3,000 to 5,000 Igbo practicing Judaism.[8]

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A Western rabbi, Howard Gorin, visited the community in 2006[9] and members of "Tikvat Israel", a Jewish synagogue in Rockville, Maryland, USA, supported those in Nigeria by sending books, computers, and religious articles.[10] In addition to Rabbi Howard Gorin, visitors have included Professor William F. S. Miles, Dr. Daniel Lis, filmmaker Jeff L. Lieberman, and journalist Shai Afsai.[11]

The main concern of Igbo Jews is how to be part of the wider Jewish world, according to the spokesman of "Gihon Hebrews Synagogue" in Abuja, Prince Azuka Ogbukaa. In 2013 the American writer Shai Afsai invited two of the Igbo Jewish leaders, Azuka Ogbukaa (Pinchas) and Elder Ovadiah Agbai, to Rhode Island in the United States.[12] Afsai wrote: "Their 12-day visit has helped solidify a budding relationship between the Rhode Island and Abuja communities. Now that we know each other a little better, we may consider what further joys and responsibilities this relationship entails."[13]

This visit of the leaders led Rabbi Barry Dolinger of Rhode Island to go to Nigeria with Afsai in 2014, with musicologist Roil Ggarhs also joining them.[14]

Religious practices of the Igbo Jews include circumcision eight days after the birth of a male child, observance of kosher dietary laws, separation of men and women during menstruation, wearing of the tallit and kippah, and the celebration of holidays such as Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah. In recent times, the communities have also adopted holidays such as Hanukkah[15] and Purim.[16]

Over the past few decades, several Igbo have emigrated to Israel, and Tel Aviv in particular. This wave of immigration can partly be explained by a small diaspora established in Israel when Nigeria was granted independence in 1960.[17] This is due in part to comprehensive educational programs implemented after 1960s by Israel in the new Nigerian state, which familiarized many people for the first time with the idea of Israel as a modern nation state, and the possible opportunities there for Jewish people.[6]

The Igbo Jewish community is not currently recognized by the Israel's Supreme Court as recognizably Jewish for the purpose of immigration. Nor is the group as a whole accepted as authentically Jewish by any of the mainstream denominations of Judaism. Indeed, while they identify themselves as part of the worldwide Jewish community, they are still struggling to be recognized by other Jews.[18] Igbo Jews claim to be descendants of the ancient Israelites, but lack any historical evidence of such a community,[17] or of a continuous practice of Judaism predating colonial contact. [6] In an article by S. Afsai, an affiliate of the Gihon Hebrews' Synagogue, such a claim is asserted:[18] "We say we are Jews from blood. We are now excluded; we cannot go and participate as Jews in any place. I make an appeal that we be recognized, not excluded and isolated from other Jews.”

However, some Igbo Jews are currently adopting more rigorous religious customs, in order to find more acceptance from the mainstream Jewish community. For instance, Daniel Lis explained in his article[6] that parts of the Igbo Jewish community are assimilating themselves to the standards of Orthodox Judaism, so as to be universally accepted as Jews in Israel.

Regardless of the historicity of their claims, Igbo Jews can also simply be recognized as modern Jews, whether by the state of Israel as a whole, or by any of the major streams of Jewish religion, which would confer automatic recognition by the state. Frustrating the possibility that the state might make such a determination, or that a Jewish denomination might recognize the entire community is that some Igbo Jews simultaneously also claim to be Christians, calling into question their commitment to Judaism and Jewish identity. This includes a number of Igbo who have illegally emigrated to Israel by claiming to be Christians. According to the official administration of Israel, a number of Igbo were granted the right to travel in Israel for the purposes of Christian pilgrimage, but have overstayed their visas, and now live and work illegally in the country.[17]

The state of Israel has made no official recommendations as to whether the Igbo Jews constitute a legally recognized Jewish community for the purposes of immigration to Israel, nor is their legal status currently debated at any level within the state. [17] However, several Igbo Jews who have undergone formal conversion to Orthodox or Conservative Judaism have been accepted on an individual basis under the Law of Return, and have immigrated to Israel.

• History of the Jews in Africa
• House of Israel (Ghana)
• Jews of Bilad el-Sudan

• Hebrew Karaite Community Igbo Bene Israel
• Re-Emerging: The Jews of Nigeria
• Kulanu
• Packing for Nigeria