African Jew

There are several small groups in various parts of Africa who practice Judaism.

• The Abayudaya of Uganda are not ethnic Jews; their practice of the religion dates only from the early 20th century. [1]
• The House of Israel community of Sefwi Wiawso and Sefwi Sui in Western Ghana claim that their Sefwi ancestors descend from Jews who migrated south through Côte d'Ivoire; however, their continuous practice of Judaism only dates back to the 1970s.
• The Lemba of Malawi, Zimbabwe, and the South African region of Venda claim descent from King Solomon, although their actual history is controversial.
• The Falasha of Ethiopia were recognized by the Israeli government as "official" Jews in 1975.
• The Jews of Rusape, Zimbabwe claim ancient Jewish tribal connections -- in fact, they claim that much of the Black African population is actually of Jewish origin. However, their own active practice of Judaism only dates back to 1903.
• There are people of undoubted Jewish ancestry in Timbuktu, Mali, although none of them today practice the religion.
• King Manuel I of Portugal exiled about 2,000 Jewish children to São Tomé and Príncipe around 1500. Most died, but in the early 1600s "the local bishop noted with disgust that there were still Jewish observances on the island and returned to Portugal because of his frustration with them." [1] Although Jewish practices faded over subsequent centuries, there are people in São Tomé and Príncipe who are aware of partial descent from this population.
• Similarly, a number of Portuguese ethnic Jews were exiled to Sao Tome after forced conversions to Roman Catholicism.
• Remnants of longstanding Jewish communities remain in Morocco and Tunisia, with a strong Jewish community remaining as Djerba in Tunisia. However, as in the rest of the Arab world, since the founding of Israel, most have emigrated, mostly either to Israel, France, or Spain.
• There is a substantial, mostly Ashkenazaic Jewish community in South Africa.
• Historically, there was a Jewish community in Maputo, Mozambique, but in the independence era, nearly all left. The government has officially returned the Maputo synagogue to the Jewish community, but "little or no Jewish community remains to reclaim it." [1]

External link

• This article draws heavily on Jay Sand's site about African Jews.