Black Hebrew Israelites
Black Hebrew Israelites (BHI) is a contemporary movement believing that African Americans are descendants of ancient Israelites, many of whose factions also consider Native and Latino Americans as descendants of ancient Israelites.[1][2]
Background
changeA 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[3] theology practiced by many white supremacists".[4][5] The 1999 assessment concluded that "the overwhelming majority of [Black Hebrew Israelites] are unlikely to engage in violence."[4]
In late 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.[6] Those classified as Black supremacist include but not limited to the Israelite School of Universal Practical Knowledge,[7] the Nation of Yahweh[8] and the Israelite Church of God in Jesus Christ.[6][9]
As of December 2019, 144 Black Hebrew Israelite organizations have been classified hate groups due to their antisemitism and anti-white beliefs".[10]
Violent extremism
changeAlberta Williams King, the mother of Martin Luther King Jr., was shot and killed on June 30, 1974, at age 69, by Marcus Wayne Chenault, a 23-year-old Black man from Ohio, who had adopted the theology of a BHI preacher, Hananiah E. Israel of Cincinnati, and had shown interest in a group called the "Hebrew Pentecostal Church of the Living God".[11][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.[12][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).[13]
Academic criticism
changeFran 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.[14] 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][2] The ADL noted,[15]
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,[16]
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 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).[17]
The ADL summarized some terms often used by the BHI:[17]
- Jew-ish: Negative term for implying that mainstream Jews are "imposters"
- So-called Jews: Casting doubt on the Jewish identity of mainstream Jews
- Synagogue of Satan: An ancient slur borrowed from the Catholic Church to express dislike of Jews[18]
Related pages
changeReferences
change- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Ong, Kyler (September 2020). "Ideological Convergence in the Extreme Right". Counter Terrorist Trends and Analyses. 12 (5): 1–7. ISSN 2382-6444. JSTOR 26954256.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Jikeli, Gunther (2020). "Is Religion Coming Back as a Source for Antisemitic Views?". Religions. 11 (5): 255. doi:10.3390/rel11050255. ISSN 2077-1444.
- ↑
- Barkun, Michael (1997). Religion and the Racist Right: The Origins of the Christian Identity Movement. University of North Carolina Press. JSTOR 10.5149/9781469611112_barkun. Retrieved December 4, 2024.
- "Christian Identity | White Supremacy, British Israelism, Neo-Nazism". Britannica. Retrieved December 4, 2024.
- "Christian Identity". Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). Retrieved December 4, 2024.
- Marks, Eliza (September 11, 2023). "Why We Should Care about Christian Identity Ideology and its Links to Antisemitic Mobilisation". Global Network on Terrorism & Technology. Retrieved December 4, 2024.
- Lewis, Jon; Wexler, Stuart; Mellea, Jessa; Tyler, M.B. (August 1, 2024). "Christian Identity Reborn: The Evolution and Revitalization of an Antisemitic Theology". The George Washington University. Retrieved December 4, 2024.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Project Megiddo" (PDF). Federal Bureau of Investigation. 1999. pp. 23–25. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 15, 2000. Retrieved May 13, 2018.
- ↑ Nacos, Brigitte L. (2015). Terrorism and Counterterrorism. Routledge. p. 79. ISBN 9781317343646.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Racist Black Hebrew Israelites Becoming More Militant". Intelligence Report. Southern Poverty Law Center. Fall 2008. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
- ↑ "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.
- ↑ Lee, Martin A. (Winter 2001). "Popularity and Populism". Intelligence Report. Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
- ↑ "Poisoning the Web: Hatred Online – African-American Anti-Semitism". Anti-Defamation League. 2001. Archived from the original on January 2, 2014. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ↑ "Suspects in Jersey City Attack 'Expressed Interest' in Black Hebrew Israelites, Authorities Say". Southern Poverty Law Center. December 12, 2019.
- ↑ "The Decatur Daily Review 12 Jul 1974, page Page 6". Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Dayton Daily News 03 Jul 1974, page 1". Newspapers.com.
- ↑
- "Antisemitism in the Black Hebrew Israelite and Christian Identity Movements". Pogram on Extremism, George Washington University. 1 August 2024.
- "Black Hebrew Isralites Are Not Jewish: Tova the Poet Unpacks the Dangers of the Extremist Fringe Group Posing Harm to Jews". Campaign Against Antisemitism. 10 March 2023.
- "Extreme Black Hebrew Israelite Movement" (PDF). Simon Wiesenthal Center. December 2022.
- "Rabbi Dies Three Months After Hanukkah Night Attack". The New York Times. 30 March 2020.
- "Center on Extremism Uncovers More Disturbing Details of Jersey City Shooter's Extremist Ideology". Anti-Defamation League. 17 December 2019.
- ↑ Markowitz, Fran (2013). Ethnographic Encounters in Israel: Poetics and Ethics of Fieldwork. Indiana University Press. p. 69. ISBN 978-0-253-00889-3.
- ↑ "Black Hebrew Israelites". Anti-Defamation League. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
- ↑ "The dangerous rise of Black Hebrew Israelites". UnHerd. 23 November 2022.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 "Extremist Sects Within the Black Hebrew Israelite Movement". Anti-Defamation League. 7 August 2020.
- ↑
- Kaplan, Jeffrey (1997). Radical Religion in America: Millenarian Movements from the Far Right to the Children of Noah. Syracuse University Press. p. 2. ISBN 0-8156-0396-7. Retrieved July 18, 2021.
- Barkun, Michael (1997). Religion and the Racist Right: the Origins of the Christian Identity Movement. University of North Carolina Press. pp. 149–150, 191, 206. ISBN 0-8078-2328-7. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
- Resseguie, James L. (2009). The Revelation of John: A Narrative Commentary. Baker Academic. ISBN 9781441210005. Retrieved July 18, 2021.