Saturday, December 29, 2007
BLACK JEWS The thousands of black members of the Ethiopian Hebrew Congregation in the United States are commonly referred to as Black Jews. Concentrated in a handful of large urban areas such as Philadelphia, New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, the Black Jews, like Jews everywhere, observe the rituals and holidays stemming from ancient Hebraic tradition. Historically, members of the Ethiopian Hebrew congregation have been closely-knit and clannish and, moreover, somewhat apathetic to the aspirations of the American black movement in general. Although there is some evidence that younger members of the faith are becoming more interested in black activism, cultural and religious preoccupations continue to eclipse racial considerations in the typical Black Jewish community.