Black Hebrew Israelites are a new religious movement claiming that African Americans are descendants of the ancient Israelites. Some sub-groups believe that Native and Latin Americans are descendants of the Israelites as well. Black Hebrew Israelites combine elements to their teaching from a wide range of sources to varying degrees. Black Hebrew Israelites incorporate certain aspects of the religious beliefs and practices of both Christianity and Judaism, though they have created their own interpretation of the Bible, and other influences include Freemasonry and New Thought, for example. Many choose to identify as Hebrew Israelites or Black Hebrews rather than Jews in order to indicate their claimed historic connections.
A photograph of William Saunders Crowdy which appeared in a 1907 edition of The Baltimore Sun
The former headquarters of the Church of God and Saints of Christ in Washington, D.C. The building is now known as First Tabernacle Beth El and it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
African Hebrew Israelites speak to visitors in Dimona, Israel.
A sign in Dimona.
Groups claiming affiliation with Israelites
Several groups of people have claimed lineal descent from the Israelites, an ancient Semitic-speaking people who inhabited Canaan during the Iron Age. The phenomenon has become especially prevalent since the founding of the State of Israel in 1948. The country's Law of Return, which defines Jewishness for the purpose of aliyah, prompted many individuals to claim Israelite ancestry with the expectation that it would make them eligible for Israeli citizenship through their perceived Jewish ethnicity. The abundance of these claims has led to the rise of the question of "who is a Jew?" in order to determine the legitimacy of one's Jewish identity. Some of these claims have been recognized, while other claims are still under review, and others have been outright rejected.
Interior of the Great Synagogue in Bukhara, sketch based on a photograph by Elkan Nathan Adler
Hebrew inscription at the Synagogue in Cochin.