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Black Hebrew Israelites

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Black Hebrew Israelites (BHI) is a movement founded on the pseudoscientific belief that African Americans are the "real descendants" of ancient Israelites.[1] Some factions of the movement also see Native and Latino Americans as the descendants of ancient Israelites.[1]

Overview

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1990s

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A 1999 FBI terrorism risk assessment report found that "violent radical fringe members" of the Black Hebrew Israelite movement hold "beliefs bear[ing] a striking resemblance to the Christian Identity[2] theology practiced by many white supremacists".[3][4] The assessment concluded that "the overwhelming majority of [Black Hebrew Israelites] are unlikely to engage in violence."[3]

2000s

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In 2008, American civil rights group Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) published the findings that "the extremist fringe of the Hebrew Israelite movement" has a Black supremacist outlook.[5] Those classified as Black supremacist include but not limited to the Israelite School of Universal Practical Knowledge,[6] the Nation of Yahweh[7] and the Israelite Church of God in Jesus Christ.[5][8]

2010s

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As of December 2019, 144 Black Hebrew Israelite organizations have been classified hate groups due to their antisemitism and anti-white beliefs".[9]

Extremism

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Alberta Williams King, the mother of Martin Luther King Jr., was shot and killed on June 30, 1974 at the age 69 by Marcus Wayne Chenault, a 23-year-old Black man from Ohio subscribed to the theology of a BHI preacher called Hananiah E. Israel of Cincinnati. The assassin had reportedly shown interest in a group called the "Hebrew Pentecostal Church of the Living God".[10][better source needed] Israel, Chenault's mentor, castigated Black civil rights activists and Black church leaders as being evil and deceptive, but claimed in interviews not to have advocated violence.[11][better source needed] Chenault did not draw any such distinction, and first decided to assassinate Rev. Jesse Jackson in Chicago, but canceled the plan at the last minute.[source?]

The BHI have also been involved in domestic terrorism towards American Jews since the 1970s, the most recent of which include but not limited to the 2019 Jersey City shooting (7 dead and 3 injured) and the Monsey Hanukkah stabbing (1 dead and 4 injured).[12]

Motivations

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Further information: Khazar myth

Experts believe that those attacks are motivated by their belief in antisemitic conspiracy theories,[12][13] such as "Jews ran the Atlantic slave trade" and "European Jews descended from the Khazars",[13] which are shared by the Nation of Islam (NOI),[13] a prominent Black nationalist group led by Louis Farrakhan.[13]

BHI and NOI: common beliefs about Jews

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In an article, historian Eunice G. Pollack outlined their common beliefs about Jews held by the BHI and NOI:

BHI and NOI: differences in beliefs about Jews

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Name Beliefs
Black Hebrew Israelites (BHI)
Nation of Islam (NOI)

Overall influence

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Both the BHI and NOI have a considerable level of popularity among Black Americans,[16][17] which contributed to the mainstreaming of those antisemitic conspiracy theories, or antisemitic tropes, among the broader community and academics.[16][17] In American society, such antisemitic tropes were normalized over the decades and engendered a form of new antisemitism,[16][17] where Jews are accused of being the "beneficiaries" of "White privilege"[16][17] and "embodiment of evil"[18] allegedly coordinating Western governments to "support Israel at the expense of Palestinians".[16][19] As per a 2016 ADL survey, 23% Black Americans held negative beliefs about Jews,[20] while a 2023 survey reportedly showed that one-eighth of Black Americans doubted whether the Holocaust really happened.[21]

Academic criticism

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Black Hebrew Israelites, who refuse to believe that Jesus was Jewish, protested in San Diego, California against the long-standing depiction of Jesus as a "White man" rather than a Black man.
A propaganda poster made by the Black Hebrew Israelites implying that Black and Native Americans are the "real" descendants of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel. The Black Hebrew Israelites allege that the said peoples have been "wrongfully" classified by White imperialists into different ethnic groups across the Western hemisphere.

Fran Markowitz, a professor of cultural anthropology at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, wrote that the BHI's view on the African slave trade conflicts with historical accounts, as does the BHI's belief that Socrates and William Shakespeare were black.[22] Most BHI factions were classified as hate groups by at least two civil rights groups, including but not limited to the SPLC and Anti-Defamation League (ADL).[1] The ADL noted,[23]

Some, but not all, [Black Hebrew Israelites] are outspoken anti-Semites and racists.

On the other hand, political observer Ralph Lenoard further analyzed the BHI,[24]

Black Hebrew Israelism is an ideology [...] that 'black people are the real Jews' has permeated [...] African-American consciousness, given that big-time celebrities like West, Irving, and DeSean Jackson and Nick Cannon [...] amplified some of these views.

Antisemitic factions

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Antisemitic BHI factions include the Israelite School of Universal Practical Knowledge (ISUPK), House of Israel (HOI), Nation of Yahweh (NOY), Israelites Saints of Christ, True Nation Israelite Congregation and The Israelite Church of God in Jesus Christ (ICGJC).[25]

Antisemitic slurs

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The ADL documented some antisemitic slurs used by the BHI:[25]

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References

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  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2
    • Ong, Kyler (September 2020). "Ideological Convergence in the Extreme Right". Counter Terrorist Trends and Analyses. 12 (5): 1–7. ISSN 2382-6444. JSTOR 26954256.
    • Jikeli, Gunther (2020). "Is Religion Coming Back as a Source for Antisemitic Views?". Religions. 11 (5): 255. doi:10.3390/rel11050255. ISSN 2077-1444.
    • "Teacher who assigned antisemitic text preaches controversial Hebrew Israelite doctrine". The Jewish News of Northern California. February 24, 2023. Retrieved February 24, 2025.
    • Lehman, Charles Fain (December 8, 2023). "Take Black Hebrew Israelism Seriously". City Journal. Retrieved February 24, 2025.
    • "5 of Kanye West's Antisemitic Remarks, Explained". American Jewish Committee (AJC). February 20, 2025. Retrieved February 24, 2025.
  2. ↑
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Project Megiddo" (PDF). Federal Bureau of Investigation. 1999. pp. 23–25. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 15, 2000. Retrieved May 13, 2018.
  4. ↑ Nacos, Brigitte L. (2015). Terrorism and Counterterrorism. Routledge. p. 79. ISBN 9781317343646.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Racist Black Hebrew Israelites Becoming More Militant". Intelligence Report. Southern Poverty Law Center. Fall 2008. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
  6. ↑ "God and the General. Leader Discusses Black Supremacist Group". Intelligence Report. Southern Poverty Law Center. Fall 2008. Archived from the original on September 7, 2008. Retrieved September 8, 2008.
  7. ↑ Lee, Martin A. (Winter 2001). "Popularity and Populism". Intelligence Report. Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
  8. ↑ "Poisoning the Web: Hatred Online – African-American Anti-Semitism". Anti-Defamation League (ADL). 2001. Archived from the original on January 2, 2014. Retrieved November 5, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  9. ↑ "Suspects in Jersey City Attack 'Expressed Interest' in Black Hebrew Israelites, Authorities Say". Southern Poverty Law Center. December 12, 2019.
  10. ↑ "The Decatur Daily Review 12 Jul 1974, page Page 6". Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "Dayton Daily News 03 Jul 1974, page 1". Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1
  13. ↑ 13.00 13.01 13.02 13.03 13.04 13.05 13.06 13.07 13.08 13.09 13.10 13.11 13.12 13.13
  14. ↑ 14.00 14.01 14.02 14.03 14.04 14.05 14.06 14.07 14.08 14.09 14.10 14.11 14.12 14.13 Pollack, Eunice G. (December 9, 2022). "Kyrie Irving and Louis Farrakhan are 2 variants of Black antisemitism. What's the difference?". Jewish News Syndicate (JNS). Retrieved February 25, 2025. A "documentary" that demonizes Jews and delegitimizes Judaism and the Jewish state helped Kyrie Irving "know who" he is.
  15. ↑ Descendants of Cain.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 16.4
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3
  18. ↑ Yossi Klein Halevi (October 10, 2024). "The End of the Post-Holocaust Era". Jewish Journal. Retrieved October 14, 2024.
  19. ↑
  20. ↑ "A Survey about Attitudes towards Jews in America" (PDF). Anti-Defamation League (ADL). Retrieved October 27, 2024.
  21. ↑ Leonard, Ralph (December 10, 2023). "More than one in eight African Americans deny the Holocaust". UnHerd. Retrieved October 27, 2024.
  22. ↑ Markowitz, Fran (2013). Ethnographic Encounters in Israel: Poetics and Ethics of Fieldwork. Indiana University Press. p. 69. ISBN 978-0-253-00889-3.
  23. ↑ "Black Hebrew Israelites". Anti-Defamation League (ADL). Retrieved December 15, 2019.
  24. ↑ "The dangerous rise of Black Hebrew Israelites". UnHerd. 23 November 2022.
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 "Extremist Sects Within the Black Hebrew Israelite Movement". Anti-Defamation League (ADL). 7 August 2020.
  26. ↑
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