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African JewAfrican Jew has a variety of meanings: Africans with ancient ties - Remnants of longstanding Jewish communities remain in Morocco and Tunisia, with a strong Jewish community remaining as Djerba in Tunisia. However, as in the rest of the Arab world, since the founding of Israel, most have emigrated, mostly either to Israel, France, or Spain.
- The Lemba of Malawi, Zimbabwe, and the South African region of Venda claim descent from King Solomon, and the Beta Israel of Ethiopia claim descent from the Tribe of Dan, although their actual history is controversial.
The Ethiopian Jews The Beta Israel of Ethiopia were recognized by the Israeli government as "official" Jews in 1975, and many of them were air-lifted to Israel during the time of Prime Minister Menahem Begin; significant immigration continued into the 21st century. Begin had obtained an official ruling from the Israeli Sephardi Chief Rabbi (or Rishon LeTzion) Ovadia Yosef that they were descendants of the Ten Lost Tribes, probably from the Tribe of Dan, as there are rabbinical responsa that discussed issues concerning them going back hundreds of years; however, historical and DNA evidence suggest different origins. Rabbi Yosef ruled that upon arrival in Israel they must undergo a pro forma conversion to Judaism without the normal rigid requirements of gentile converts who have no concrete connection with Jews or Judaism; most other rabbinic authorities consider the conversions to be actual conversions, not mere paeans to formality. The practices of the Beta Israel differ significantly from those of other forms of Judaism. The Lemba The Lemba or Lembaa are a tribe of people in southern Africa. Although they speak Bantu languages similar to their neighbours, they have specific religious practices similar to those in Judaism, and a tradition of being a migrant people with clues pointing to an origin in the Middle East or North Africa. They have restrictions on intermarriage with non-Lemba, with it being particularly difficult for male non-Lemba to become part of the tribe. The presence of a disproportionate number of particular polymorphisms on the Y chromosome known as the Cohen modal haplotype suggests an ancestral link to the Kohanim or priests, a distinct subsection of Jews. From the Middle Ages Africans with modern ties - The Abayudaya of Uganda are not ethnic Jews; their practice of the religion dates only from the early 20th century. http://www.ugandamission.org/news/Abayudaya.htm
- The "House of Israel" community of Sefwi Wiawso and Sefwi Sui in Western Ghana claim that their Sefwi ancestors descend from Jews who migrated south through Cte d'Ivoire; however, their continuous practice of Judaism only dates back to the 1970s.
- The Jews of Rusape, Zimbabwe claim ancient Jewish tribal connections -- in fact, they claim that much of the Black African population is actually of Jewish origin. However, their own active practice of Judaism only dates back to 1903.
- There are people of undoubted Jewish ancestry in Timbuktu, Mali, although none of them today practice the religion.
Modern communities of European descent - There is a substantial, mostly Ashkenazic Jewish community in South Africa. These Jews arrived mostly from Lithuania prior to World War II. Connected to them were the small European Jewish communities in Namibia (South West Africa), Zimbabwe (Southern Rhodesia), Lesotho (Basutuland), Swaziland, Botswana (Bechuanaland), Zaire (Belgian Congo), Kenya, Malawi (Nyasaland), Zambia (Northern Rhodesia) all of which had synagogues and even formal Jewish schools usually based in the capitals of these countries.
- Historically, there was a Jewish community in Maputo, Mozambique, but in the independence era, nearly all left. The government has officially returned the Maputo synagogue to the Jewish community, but "little or no Jewish community remains to reclaim it." http://www.mindspring.com/~jaypsand/dispersed.htm
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