Blog

 

Thoughts on race, religion, and other topics that interest me.

The Warrior

The Warrior

The walls of Ahk Ahmeshadye’s house in the Village of Peace are covered with family photographs—black and white prints from the 1950s and ’60s, color prints from later decades, blurry candids, formal portraits, and a few collages, all framed and tacked up in something like chronological order […]

Bayard Rustin: Black Hebrews’ problems not due to racism

Bayard Rustin: Black Hebrews’ problems not due to racism

We conclude that official racism plays no part in this sensitive problem. The initial welcome given to the Black Hebrews and the offer of conversion clearly support that conclusion. The general agreement is that the difficulties stem from deep-seated religious,...

Amar’e Stoudemire, Hebrew Israelite [Updated]

Amar’e Stoudemire, Hebrew Israelite [Updated]

Is Amar’e Stoudemire a Jew or a Hebrew Israelite? Readers can’t be faulted if they are confused about Stoudemire’s identity after reading David Kaufman’s Oct. 9 profile in the New York Post of the former Knicks forward, who now lives in Israel and plays for Hapoel Jerusalem. In the article, Kaufman describes Stoudemire as “an unlikely Jew” and as […]

Ben Ammi goes to Washington

Ben Ammi goes to Washington

Fifteen years ago today, Ben Ammi Ben Israel—the late spiritual leader of the African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem—gave a brief but memorable speech on the steps of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. The occasion was the Million Family March, organized by the...

The Comforter of a Nation

The Comforter of a Nation

On April 26 I received a short Facebook message from Zariyah, my spiritual brother in Dimona: "E Nekamah has passed on." My heart sank. Emah Nekamah was the matriarch of the family I lived with for 14 months in 2007-2008 while conducting research on the...

African Hebrew Israelites seek answers after soldier’s death

African Hebrew Israelites seek answers after soldier’s death

The African Hebrew Israelites have called on the Israel Defense Forces to explain how exactly one of the community’s soldiers died on her base over the weekend and why the soldier’s family received conflicting accounts of what happened to her. Military personnel...