House of Israel (Ghana)

Last updated
House of Israel
Total population
c. 400 (est.)
Regions with significant populations
200 in Ghana [1]
Languages
Sefwi, French, English
Religion
Judaism
Related ethnic groups
Sefwi

The House of Israel is a Jewish community located in southwestern Ghana, in the towns of Sefwi Wiawso and Sefwi Sui. This group of people, of the Sefwi tribe, built a synagogue in 1998. Many of the men and children read English, but no one knows Hebrew. [2] [3]

Contents

History of Jews in Ghana

The people of Sefwi Wiawso trace a call for a "return" to normative Judaism by Aaron Ahomtre Toakyirafa, a community leader who, in 1976, is said to have had a vision. In 2012, Gabrielle Zilkha, a Toronto-based filmmaker, visited Sefwe Wiawso to do research for a documentary about the House of Israel she is making. According to Zilkha, about 200 people—mostly children—live in the community. She states that the lack of a historical record makes it difficult to verify the group's claims, but that there is an oral tradition dating back 200 years. [1]

In the 1990s, the House of Israel began to reach out to the wider Jewish world. The community worked with Jewish organizations such as Kulanu and Be'chol Lashon. [4]

A smaller community of Jews from the House of Israel lives in Sefwi Sui, a small farming community located twenty miles from Sefwi Wiawso. [5]

Jewish facilities

The leader of the House of Israel since 1993, David Ahenkorah received his own vision in taking up the mantle. [6] He has been granted a 40-acre plot of land to build a Jewish school for the community, but they have not yet been able to raise funds for construction. Children currently attend a local school, run by Christians. They built a synagogue in 1998 in New Adiembra, a Jewish neighborhood in Sefwi Wiawso. Recently, they painted it blue and white, the colors of Israel. [6] There are several family compounds nearby and about 200 people belong to the synagogue. [6] It is a single-room synagogue with a miniature Sefer Torah. There is no mechitza. [7] [8]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 Shlomo Kasputin, "Ghana's House of Israel, descendents of lost tribes?" Archived 2012-12-19 at the Wayback Machine , Jewish Tribune, December 2012, accessed 22 May 2013
  2. "Ghana Virtual Jewish History Tour". Jewish Virtual Library . Retrieved 2022-04-03.
  3. "The lost Jews of Ghana". Canadian Jewish News . Retrieved 2022-04-03.
  4. "Ghana's deep spirituality points some, joyfully, back to Judaism". The Times of Israel . Retrieved 2022-04-03.
  5. "The House of Israel". Scattered Among the Nations. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
  6. 1 2 3 "In West Africa, a Synagogue Where the Pavement Ends". Forward. The Forward. 2005-10-28. Retrieved 2012-10-09.
  7. "Bet You Didn't Know About the Jews of Sefwi Wiawso, Ghana". Jewish Telegraphic Agency . Retrieved 2022-04-03.
  8. "A VISIT TO THE JEWISH COMMUNITY OF SEFWI WIAWSO, GHANA". Kulanu . Retrieved 2022-04-03.