In 1892, an Oklahoma preacher born into slavery received a series of divine revelations that compelled him to launch a new church and, with it, a new religious movement in the United States: Black Israelism, better known as the Black Hebrew Israelite movement.
A shofar blast signals the start of the ceremony. The guests, many wearing brightly colored African-style clothing and head coverings, take their seats. A DJ cues up “Grazing in the Grass” by South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela, and the groom two-steps his way to the purple wedding canopy.
Although I did not know her well, I had the privilege of sharing the stage with Ahdaiyah and the New Jerusalem Fire Choir several times during my years in Israel.
In the late 1970s, Israel formed a Knesset committee to investigate the “Black Hebrews cult,” a community of non-Jewish African Americans who had been entering the country on tourist visas and settling illegally in the Negev Desert for almost a decade.
An upcoming exhibition in Holon will showcase the regal beauty of this Dimona-based community.
