| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 50 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Dakar | |
| Languages | |
| French, Hebrew, Judeo-Arabic (historically) | |
| Religion | |
| Judaism |
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| Jews and Judaism |
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The history of the Jews in Senegal has its origins in the Jews of Bilad al-Sudan, those Jewish communities in West Africa dating to the 14th century. Today only a small number of Jews live in Senegal, mostly of foreign origin.
During the 14th and 15th centuries, Jews who had left or been expelled from Spain, Portugal, Morocco, North Africa, and the Middle East formed communities throughout West Africa. Sephardi Jews from Spain, Portugal, and Morocco settled along the coast of Senegal and on the islands of Cape Verde. Following the rise of Islam in the region, these Jewish communities have gradually disappeared due to assimilation and migration. [1]
During the early 17th century, a group of Portuguese Jewish traders formed communities in the town of Joal-Fadiouth and elsewhere along the Petite Côte in the region of Senegambia, trading with West Africa, Portugal, and the Netherlands. [2] Despite the opposition of Catholic Portuguese government, the Jews of Joal-Fadiouth were protected by the local chief and were allowed to openly practice their religion.
During the Holocaust, some Jews in Senegal were taken by the colonial Vichy administration to an interment camp in Sébikhotane for forced labor. The location of the interment camp has been located, but the functions of the buildings have not yet been identified. [3] Two Jewish refugees who had escaped Europe were captured in Dakar and temporarily taken to the Sébikhotane internment camp and then transferred to the Office du Niger, a large cotton farm in Mali where the French colonial authorities used slave labor. [4]
The residents of the village of Bani Israël are almost entirely Muslim and belong to a tribe that means "sons of Israel". Members of the tribe trace their lineage to two clans, Sylla and Drame, which they claim to be descended from Egyptian Jews. Despite claiming Jewish ancestry, members of the tribe are practicing Muslims and do not wish to become Jewish. According to former town president Dougoutigo Fadiga, "we don't like to talk too much about our Jewish background, but we don't hide it either. We know our people came from Egypt to Somalia, and from there to Nigeria, where they split about 1,000 years ago. One branch of the two families went to Mali, another to Guinea, and we settled here." However, one cultural trait the tribe shares with Judaism is an aversion to intermarriage; members of the tribe avoid assimilation and do not marry members of neighboring tribes. Disagreement exists as to the veracity of the tribe's claim of Jewish descent. Gideon Behar, Israel's ambassador to Senegal, has said that he believes the tribe is likely of Jewish descent. The Senegalese writer Abdoul Kader Taslimanka, who has written a book about the tribe, has doubted the tribe's claim of Jewish descent and believes the town's name has nothing to do with Jews but is rather named after a chapter from the Koran. [5]
In contemporary Senegal, there are around 50 Jews in the country. The small community is based in Dakar and is mostly composed of French Jews, American Jews working for international organizations and NGOs, and Israeli Jews who have married local Senegalese people. Jewish communal life is closely tied to the Israeli Embassy in Dakar, where people gather for Shabbat and Jewish holidays. [6]
Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is a country in West Africa, on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. Senegal is bordered by Mauritania to the north, Mali to the east, Guinea to the southeast and Guinea-Bissau to the southwest. Senegal nearly surrounds The Gambia, a country occupying a narrow sliver of land along the banks of the Gambia River, which separates Senegal's southern region of Casamance from the rest of the country. Senegal also shares a maritime border with Cape Verde. Senegal's economic and political capital is Dakar.
Thiès is a region of western Senegal. The capital is also called Thiès.
African Jewish communities include:
Joal-Fadiouth is a town and commune in the Thiès Region at the end of the Petite Côte of Senegal, south-east of Dakar.
The Petite Côte is a stretch of coast in Senegal, running south from the Cap-Vert peninsula to the Saloum Delta, near the border with the Gambia.
Jews of the Bilad al-Sudan describes West African Jewish communities connected to known Jewish communities who migrated to West Africa as merchants for trading opportunities. Various historical records state that at one time, they were present in the Ghana Empire, the Mali Empire, the Mossi Kingdoms and the Songhai Empire, which was then called the Bilad al-Sudan "Land of the Blacks".
Berber Jews are the Jewish communities of the Maghreb, in North Africa, who historically spoke Berber languages. Between 1950 and 1970 most emigrated to France, the United States, or Israel.
Nianing is a city in Petite Côte, Senegal, south of Dakar, 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) from M'Bour.
Igbo Jews are members of the Igbo people of Nigeria who practice Judaism.
Bani Israël is a village in the rural commune of Kataba I, in the Bignona Department of the Ziguinchor Region of southwestern Senegal. In 2002 it had a population of 74.
The Battle of Logandème was an uprising led by the Serer King Maad a Sinig Kumba Ndoffene Famak Joof, king of Sine, against the French Empire. The battle took place at Logandème which was a part of Sine at the time. The battle was also a revenge attack against the Serer people after their resounding victory against France at the Battle of Djilass on 13 May 1859. It was the first time that France decided to employ cannonball in the Senegambia.
Zera Yisrael, known also as Zera Kadosh is a legal category in Halakha that denotes the blood descendants of Jews who, for one reason or another, are not legally Jewish according to religious criteria. This is usually due to a lack of matrilineal Jewish ancestry.
Sébikhotane is a town in the Dakar Region of western Senegal. It is in the Rufisque Department. The population in 2013 was 27,402.
Black Judaism is Judaism that is practiced by communities of African descent, both in Africa and in the African diaspora, including in North America, Europe, Israel, and elsewhere. Significant examples of Black Judaism include Judaism as it is practiced by Ethiopian Jews and African-American Jews. Jews who may be considered Black have existed for millennia, with Zipporah sometimes considered to be one of the first Black Jews mentioned within Jewish history.
The history of the Jews in Mali dates back to the 8th century CE. Today, around 1,000 descendants of Jews live in Mali, mostly in or near Timbuktu.
The history of the Jews in Cameroon is believed by some to date back over two thousand years. Today the Jewish community in Cameroon is small, with a handful of mostly Israeli Jews living in the capital city of Yaoundé.
The history of the Jews in the Gambia dates back to the 16th and 17th centuries, when Sephardi Jewish explorers and traders came to the region of Senegambia. In contemporary Gambia, a Jewish community of local converts has emerged during the 2010s and 2020s.
The history of the Jews in Guinea-Bissau date back at least to the 15th century, when Sephardi Jewish traders and explorers arrived in the region from Portugal. Portuguese Sephardi Jews maintained a presence in colonial Guinea for centuries. The contemporary Jewish community in Guinea-Bissau is small.
The history of the Jews in Guinea date back at least to the 15th century, when Sephardi Jewish traders and explorers arrived in the region from Portugal. The contemporary Jewish community in Guinea-Bissau is very small.
The history of the Jews in Benin is recent and the contemporary Jewish community in Benin is very small.
