One West Camp

Last updated

The One West Camp is a subdivision of Hebrew Israelite groups that believe in the Old Testament, the New Testament and the exclusive identification of the Twelve Tribes of Israel with ethnic communities of Black, Latin American, and Native American descent in the Americas. [1] The movement is named after its first grouping, which was located at One West 125th Street in Harlem in New York City, then known as the 'Israeli School of Universal Practical Knowledge'. The movement has since splintered into numerous "camps", including the New York-based Israelite Church of God in Jesus Christ, and the Pennsylvania-based Israelite School of Universal Practical Knowledge. Hebrew Israelite Camps related to the One West Camp do not consider themselves Christians and deny the trinity, as well as the belief that Salvation is for all Nations of the Earth; the One West Camp teaches that Jesus was racially black. [2]

The founder of the first grouping and the movement was Abba Bivens (real name Edward Meredith Bibbins, also known as Eber Ben Yomin), who claimed to have a revelation that Blacks and Native Americans were actually Israelites while traveling from Pennsylvania to New York. He attended the Judaism-related Commandment Keepers of Harlem for up to twenty years, but ultimately left this group in 1969 due to disagreement over the relevance of the New Testament, to start a group that rejected both Christianity and Judaism. [3] [4]

After Bivens's death in 1973 two members were selected to lead the School: Moshe Ben Chareem and Yaiqab (Yaiqab was another ex-Commandment Keeper). While Bivens founded the One West style of Hebrew Israelism, many of the specific doctrines that typify it were created by Yaiqab's son Ahrahyah, including a reliance on the King James Bible, the Twelve Tribes Chart which assigned the peoples of the Americas to specific Israelite tribes, and the new form of Hebrew known as Lashawan Qadash (Holy Tongue). [5]

One West Camp groups are known for open-air preaching and protests, and attracted media attention with the January 2019 Lincoln Memorial confrontation which included a small New York-based group. [6] [1] The great majority of Black Hebrew Israelite groups outside of One West Camp and Nation of Yahweh do not share these beliefs. [7]

Some of the church's descendant groups such as Gathering of Christ Church and Israel United in Christ, have gained millions of followers and are expanding worldwide. While some of IUIC's own videos state that they believe in all UFOs being the chariots of God, GOCC believes that this claim is nonsense and says that they will never band together with IUIC because of this.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Israelites</span> Iron Age Hebrew tribal people in Canaan

The Israelites were a group of Semitic-speaking tribes in the ancient Near East who, during the Iron Age, inhabited a part of Canaan. They were also an ethnoreligious group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">African Hebrew Israelites in Israel</span> African-American claimants of Israelite descent

The African Hebrew Israelites in Israel comprise a new religious movement that is now mainly based in Dimona. Officially self-identifying as the African Hebrew Israelite Nation of Jerusalem, they originate from African Americans who immigrated to the State of Israel in the late 1960s. The community claims Israelite descent in line with the philosophy of the Black Hebrew Israelites, who believe that Black people in the United States are descended from the Twelve Tribes of Israel and thus rightfully belong to the Land of Israel. As of 2012, their total population stood at about 5,000 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the Jews in Africa</span> Ethnic and religious groups history

African Jewish communities include:

Arnold Josiah Ford was a Barbadian American spiritual leader, recognized as a pioneering figure of the Black Hebrew movement.

African-American Jews are people who are both African American and Jewish. African-American Jews may be either Jewish from birth or converts to Judaism. Many African-American Jews are of mixed heritage, having both non-Jewish African-American and non-Black Jewish ancestors. Many African-American Jews identify as Jews of color, but some do not.

The Hebrew Bible makes reference to a number of covenants with God (YHWH). These include the Noahic Covenant set out in Genesis 9, which is decreed between God and all living creatures, as well as a number of more specific covenants with Abraham, the whole Israelite people, the Israelite priesthood, and the Davidic lineage of kings. In form and terminology, these covenants echo the kinds of treaty agreements existing in the surrounding ancient world.

Black Hebrew Israelites are a new religious movement claiming that African Americans are descendants of the ancient Israelites. Some sub-groups believe that Native and Latin Americans are descendants of the Israelites as well. Black Hebrew Israelites combine elements to their teaching from a wide range of sources to varying degrees. Black Hebrew Israelites incorporate certain aspects of the religious beliefs and practices of both Christianity and Judaism, though they have created their own interpretation of the Bible, and other influences include Freemasonry and New Thought, for example. Many choose to identify as Hebrew Israelites or Black Hebrews rather than Jews in order to indicate their claimed historic connections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Church of God and Saints of Christ</span> Black Hebrew Israelite group

The Church of God and Saints of Christ is a Black Hebrew Israelite new religious group established in Lawrence, Kansas, in the United States, by William Saunders Crowdy in 1896. William Crowdy began congregations in several cities in the Midwestern and Eastern United States, and sent an emissary to organize locations in at least six African countries. The congregation later established locations in Cuba and the West Indies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ben Ammi Ben-Israel</span> Founder of the African Hebrew Israelite Nation of Jerusalem (1939–2014)

Ben Ammi Ben-Israel was an American spiritual leader. Inspired by the Black Hebrew Israelites in the United States, he founded the African Hebrew Israelite Nation of Jerusalem, which claims that African Americans originate from the Land of Israel. The community's initial members claimed Israelite descent and undertook a major initiative to immigrate to the State of Israel during and after the 1960s. Ben Ammi stated that Black people were descended from the Twelve Tribes of Israel and thus were the "true inheritors" of Israel, and created a new religious movement that he claimed was authentically Hebrew or Israelite in theology and practice. Though he was born a Baptist Christian, he denounced Judaism and Christianity as false religions, but maintained that the Jewish Bible was still divine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mosaic covenant</span> Biblical covenant between God and the ancient Israelites

Abrahamic religions believe in the Mosaic covenant, also known as the Sinaitic covenant, which refers to a covenant between the Israelite tribes and their God, including their proselytes, not limited to the ten commandments, nor the event when they were given, but including the entirety of laws that their patriarch Moses delivered from God in the five books of Torah.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ten Lost Tribes</span> Tribes exiled from the Kingdom of Israel after its Neo-Assyrian conquest

The Ten Lost Tribes were the ten of the Twelve Tribes of Israel that were said to have been exiled from the Kingdom of Israel after its conquest by the Neo-Assyrian Empire c. 722 BCE. These are the tribes of Reuben, Simeon, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Manasseh, and Ephraim — all but Judah, Benjamin, and some members of the priestly Tribe of Levi, which did not have its own territory.

The Commandment Keepers Ethiopian Hebrew Congregation of the Living God Pillar & Ground of Truth, Inc. are a group of Black Hebrews, who believe that people of Ethiopian descent represent one of the lost tribes of Israel. They claim King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba as their ancestors, and believe the biblical patriarchs were black. They originated in Harlem, New York City, in 1919.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wentworth Arthur Matthew</span> Founder of the Commandment Keepers of the Living God

Wentworth Arthur Matthew, a West Indian immigrant to New York City, was the founder in 1919 of the Commandment Keepers of the Living God, a Black Hebrew congregation. It was influenced by the pan-Africanism and black nationalism of Marcus Garvey from Jamaica. Matthew developed his congregation along Jewish lines of observance and the theory that they were returning to Judaism as the true Hebrews. He incorporated in 1930 and moved the congregation to Brooklyn. There he founded the Israelite Rabbinical Academy, teaching and ordaining African-American rabbis. His theory of Black Hebrews is not accepted by Jews.

Beth Shalom B'nai Zaken Ethiopian Hebrew Congregation, more commonly known as Beth Shalom B'Nai Zaken EHC, or simply Beth Shalom, abbreviated as BSBZ EHC, is a Black Hebrew Israelite congregation and synagogue, located at 6601 South Kedzie Avenue, in Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. The congregation is led by rabbi Capers Funnye; and assistant rabbis are Avraham Ben Israel and Joshua V. Salter. Beth Shalom is affiliated with the International Israelite Board of Rabbis.

The Israelite Church of God in Jesus Christ (ICGJC), formerly known as the Israeli Church of Universal Practical Knowledge, is an American organization of Black Hebrew Israelites. Its headquarters are in New York City, and in 2008 had churches in cities in 10 US states. They are not to be confused with Israel of God (IOG) or Israel The Church of Christ (ICOJ), Which are separate denominations of Black Hebrew Churches who believe in multicultural/multiethnic Messianic Judaism, and overall do not align with zionism. The ICGJC is the second largest Black Hebrew Israelite organization in the United States, the first being the Israel United in Christ.

"Yah" is a song by American rapper Kendrick Lamar, from his fourth studio album DAMN, released on April 14, 2017. The third track on the album, the song was written by Lamar, Mark Spears, a.k.a. Sounwave, DJ Dahi, and Anthony Tiffith, and produced by, Sounwave, DJ Dahi, and Tiffith, with additional production by Bēkon.

Black Judaism is Judaism that is practiced by communities of African descent, both within Africa and within the African diaspora, including 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 who was mentioned within Jewish history.

Black Jews in New York City comprise one of the largest communities of Black Jews in the United States. Black Jews have lived in New York City since colonial times, with organized Black-Jewish and Black Hebrew Israelite communities emerging during the early 20th century. Black Jewish and Black Hebrew Israelite communities have historically been centered in Harlem, Brooklyn, The Bronx, and Queens. The Commandment Keepers movement originated in Harlem, while the Black Orthodox Jewish community is centered in Brooklyn. New York City is home to four historically Black synagogues with roots in the Black Hebrew Israelite community. A small Beta Israel (Ethiopian-Jewish) community also exists in New York City, many of whom emigrated from Israel. Black Hebrew Israelites are not considered Jewish by the New York Board of Rabbis, an organization representing mainstream Rabbinic Judaism. However, some Black Hebrew Israelite individuals in New York City are recognized as Jewish due to converting through the Orthodox, Conservative, or other Jewish movements.

Mordecai Herman was a pioneering Black Hebrew Israelite religious leader in New York City who founded the Moorish Zionist temple at 127 West 134th Street in Harlem.

References

  1. 1 2 Kestenbaum, Sam (2019-01-22). "Who are the Black Israelites at the center of the viral standoff at the Lincoln Memorial?". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2019-05-29.
  2. ↑ "The Israelites: The Untruthful Trinity!!!". Israel United in Christ. 2017. Retrieved 2017-04-14.
  3. ↑ Miller, Michael (2024). Black Hebrew Israelites. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 51–53. ISBN   9781009400107 . Retrieved 2024-06-11.
  4. ↑ Kestenbaum, Sam (2020). "Chapter 16: "I'm an Israelite": Kendrick Lamar's Spiritual Search, Hebrew Israelite Religion, and the Politics of a Celebrity Encounter". In Driscoll, C.M.; Pinn, A.B.; Miller, M.R. (eds.). Kendrick Lamar and the Making of Black Meaning. Routledge. ISBN   9781351010856.
  5. ↑ Miller, Michael (2024). Black Hebrew Israelites. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 53–55. ISBN   9781009400107 . Retrieved 2024-06-11.
  6. ↑ Eligon, John (2019-01-23). "Hebrew Israelites See Divine Intervention in Lincoln Memorial Confrontation". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2019-05-29.
  7. ↑ "Jews of African descent 'unnerved' by comparisons to viral video group". Religion News Service. 2019-01-24. Retrieved 2019-05-29.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.