The Jews of
Sub-Saharan Africa-Focus on the Abayudaya of Uganda
Rabbi Norbert
Weinberg
Jews have had a
presence in sub-Saharan Africa well before modern times.
Josephus, who
wrote the first comprehensive history of the Jews nearly 2000 years ago,
records Moses conquering Ethiopia, and the Bible itself recounts Moses taking
an Ethiopian wife. Centuries later, the ancient Israelites, in coordination
with their neighbors, the Phoenicians, sailed down the Red Sea to and through
the Horn of Africa, and some 2500 years ago there was a Jewish military outpost on the Nile at
the edge of modern day Sudan. In the Middle Ages, a wandering preacher, by the
name of Eldad Hadani brought tales of Israelite
tribes in Africa, living a protected
life behind a sacred river , Sambatyon.
Whatever the
actual history, throughout Africa, we find communities that identify themselves
as Jews or Israelites. The largest and best documented such group is the Beta
Israel of Ethiopia, sometime referred to as “Falasha”. ( See background referenced ,
“A vanished Community Reappears in the 20th century-The Story of the
Beta Israel of Ethiopia” , under
the tab https://pastfuturememory.org/beyond-yiddish-and-ladino
).
There are others!
The Amazing
Work of Kulanu.org
One
organization which has been involved in outreach to diverse communities around
the world that identify themselves as Jews is Kulanu. This backgrounder is from their website:
Kulanu means “all of us” in Hebrew. We seek to create an inclusive
Jewish world. Founded in 1994, we support isolated, emerging, and returning
Jewish communities around the world. Some are discovering Judaism for the first
time, others reinvigorating a forgotten practice, but all have experienced some
kind of disconnection from global Jewry.
We raise awareness and support to assist these groups with their
desire to learn more about Judaism and connect with Jews beyond their
community. The connections we forge – through education, research, networking,
fundraising, sustainable development, and publications – help “all of us” to
enrich our Jewish lives.
Our backgrounds are diverse in terms of location and denomination,
but we are bound by a common commitment to developing Judaism and Jewish life
for all who seek this for themselves. You can meet our team(
https://kulanu.org/about/staff-and-board/)
here and learn about our
partner communities ( https://kulanu.org/communities/
) here. We encourage you to join “all of us” by getting involved with Kulanu!(
https://kulanu.org/get-involved/)
Kulanu communities are found
in 33 countries, on five continents, North and South America, Asia, Africa, and
Europe. Kulanu provides Jewish resources
to groups such as prayer books, mezuzot, and Torah scrolls. It has helped with
the construction of synagogues and mikvaot (ritual baths) and has taught kosher
slaughtering when possible. Kulanu
serves as a teaching resource, connecting rabbis, cantors, and Jewish educators
of all denominations with Kulanu communities
If you are excited about their projects, you can donate to them:
https://kulanu.org/donate/
.( For more information, contact: Molly Levine, Executive Director Email:
molly@kulanu.org Phone: (646) 285-8815)
Discover the Abayudaya
Jews of Uganda :
When Theodore
Herzl began planning a Jewish homeland, the British made him an offer of
settling Jews in Uganda. Although he toyed with the idea, as a temporary
measure, the Zionist Movement rejected the idea, as Jews had a historical claim
to only one land, the Land of Israel. No one could then imagine that there
would be a full blown State of Israel within a half century after Herzl founded
the Zionist movement, but also, no one could have imagined that shortly afterwards, a major leader in Uganda would look to the
Torah and Judaism for guidance.
The Genesis of the Abayudaya Community
By JJ Keki (August 2001)
The Abayudaya Community was founded in 1917 by Semei Kakungulu, a
Muganda military general who had distinguished himself as a talented and
committed soldier.
After his close reading of the Bible, Kakungulu developed a
religious belief that would be similar to that of the children of Israel. A
close study of the Bible revealed to them that God’s love is great for gentiles
who choose to observe the Torah (Isaiah 56:2, Zacharia 8:23). Encouraged with
this revelation, Kakungulu, his sons and the entire community circumcised
themselves and promised to circumcise their new baby boys at the age of eight
days as God commanded Abraham. This prompted the neighbouring communities to
name Kakungulu and the members of his new faith “the Jews, Christ killers,” a
derogatory statement aimed at discouraging Kakungulu and his followers, but
instead he made a famous announcement( in the Luganda language): “From today
onwards, we are Jews (Abayudaya)”; henceforth they proclaimed Saturday as a day
of rest (Shabbat) and they started to observe the festivals as outlined in the
Torah.
Joseph, a Jew from Jerusalem, stayed with the community for 6
months in the 1920’s, teaching about observance. The community had slightly
more than 3000 followers by then.[ For the rest of the story , go to https://kulanu.org/communities/uganda/genesis-abayudaya-community/
]
https://kulanu.org/communities/uganda/
Slide show
about community
https://kulanu.smugmug.com/Timeless/Kulanu-Abayudaya-Slideshow/i-VJVHJCH
History:
https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/a-history-of-the-abuyudaya-jews-of-uganda
This community
is known as Abayudaya:
Here is their
account, as sent to me by one of the members of the community,
Isaac Mosh Sharutovu
Unfortunately, he died in 1928. This led to a very great decline in
the population of Abayudaya. Many people diverted to other religious sectors.
But before his death, he served a very big piece of land to the Nabugoye Jewish
community since it was the only Jewish center then.
On seeing that the community was declining at a high speed, Samson
Mugombe ( one of the students of Semei) took on the leadership of the community
in 1936. He worked hand in hand with my grand father together with other elders
of the community. He reorganized the community which helped to stabilize the
community. One of the major factors that was decreasing the Jewish population
was intermarriage. So they all decided to marry only Jewish women. These
grandparents held strong friendships among themselves. On Shabbat, my
grandfather could prepare food and call the whole congregation to dine with him
freely. By then my grandfather was the chairman of the community.
In 1971, Idi Amin Dada became the president of Uganda. He was too
rude. He outlawed all small populated religions labelling them as cult
religions. Only Christianity and Islam were the accepted religions in his
regime. This was a generation of our mothers and fathers who were young then.
All people prayed incognito and it was an offence to be found in prayer. The
Abayudaya kids who went to school were forced into Christian services and many
people this time round changed to other religions. Some of the most
conservative parents never took their children to school. At school,
Jewish kids were mocked by others as people who killed Jesus.[ Editors note:
This was the same notorious dictator who enabled the hijacking of an Air France
plane by Palestinian terrorists to Entebbe, which resulted in the daring
rescue led by Israeli forces in 1978.]
On 11th, April 1979 (First day of Passover by then). Idi Amin Dada
was overthrown and a new government that provided freedom of worship came up.
However at this moment, the land that Kakungulu had given to the Abayudaya had
been taken over by the Christians and it's here that the new generation then
led by Jonadav Keki fought hard to claim back the land. This was the same
generation of my father. Jonadav was the master planner. He formed a youth team
that fought to bring back the land. This team suffered the beating from Christians and never ending arrests. They
persisted until they got back the land although some of it still remained for
the Christians. They made bricks and built the synagogue and all made sure they
marry fellow Jewish people so as to maintain the Jewish culture in families.
With time they became known to outside Jewish communities who helped much in
building a secondary school (Semei Kakungulu High School and Hadassah Primary School).These
schools have done great in providing Jewish education to the Abayudaya kids in
the community. Also the community was chanced to get someone to study and
become a Rabbi. Rabbi Gershom Sizomu was chosen and he became the ordained
Rabbi of the Jewish communities in Uganda. Many Jewish communities were set up
in Uganda with time however some others were setup during the hard times of
Amin. Currently we have many Abayudaya communities in Uganda ,over 13 and my
father is the chairman of Nabugoye Jewish community.
Isaac is trying
to help feed needy people and also construct a building for the children’s
Hebrew classes: Here is his project page on FB
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1497910757320330/permalink/2045024055942328/
This is his FB
profile https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100084497266628
He is also
organizing the sale of hand crafted kippot at $20 each $20 plus shipping by
mail. He uses the xoom.com payment system ( a Paypal payment) . I suggest contacting him directly at moshisaac12@gmail.com for details. If
anyone has a marketing expertise to help him bring these and other crafts to a
wider audience, please contact him.
. 
Meet Wambi
Joel:
Here is his
story as told on You Tube
https://youtu.be/HbUh4jP68WM?si=ijmjXHtnx4-nvA6_
Chanukah
Outdoor
synagogue
I'm Wambi Joel from Uganda Africa, I and my wife
Gonza Hellen suggested to start an orphanage organization since we grew up in
an orphanage life. We feel happy to care for orphans, we are based on
Jewish basis because we are Jewish from Ahavat Yisrael Jewish community
Uganda and I ,Wambi Joel, work as the Hazan in the Synagogue.
Gonza Hellen is the matron and most especially cares for girls but we work
together as a group to help our children. The orphanage Name is SHALOM
CHILDREN'S CARE CENTER ORPHANAGE ORGANIZATION UGANDA .Dduring covid 19 in
2020 and 2021 we were participating in” We Sing ,We Stay Together” program of
singing Shabbat morning services, which we recorded and posted on YouTube for subscriptions
[ Here is a playlist of chants by the members of the community.
Enjoy the voices and the vibes
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNHeBWV6MpDSp-Yl1zhS7VLJhBRtJ_jTw&si=zSb2Zoa_X_iJ4tgi ]
. We practice Judaism whenever we are at home with children
when they leave school. We rent the houses children sleep in, we
have 52 children and all are at school but things are not moving well
since we have no sources of funds to get all basic needs for these
children. Uncle John from Kansas city helped us to open up a Go fund me
page where we try to share to different people who can donate a little support
and we buy some little food for these children to eat daily since we receive
little donations, we always find much difficulty in feeding, paying
rent per month, paying for school tuition and requirements for all
children to go to school, medical bills for sick children and
clothes. We always pray to Hashem to help us get some donors and sponsors
for our orphanage so that we can raise these children in a healthy condition
and provide them with every basic need. We would like to start farming
this coming season if we get funds where by we shall decrease on shortage
of food if we start growing crops.
How to help:
I spoke to John
Atherton, of Kansas City, who is himself a Gospel and Folk Music singer, and
has been helping out various charities in Uganda. One of his representatives went
to the Shalom Children’s Care Center and was impressed by the efforts they are
making for the children.
He has set up a
Go-Fund Me page for Shalom Children's Care Center in Magada village,
Namutumba district, Uganda, East Africa.
“Hellen needs a
way to have a sustainable source of income to feed, house, and otherwise care
for over 50 children, most of whom are orphans. The orphans here have needs like school fees, food, clothes and
mattresses and medical treatments for the orphans. She will start a ladies'
hair salon for income to pay rent, provide tuition, school supplies, medicine,
and food.”
His great hope
is to raise about US$ 33,000 for the materials needed to create a chicken farm.
Given the current loss of poultry in the US due to Avian flu, this could be a
valuable and self-sustaining source of support for these children. Anyone with
connections to agribusiness could be a huge help here!
For more
information, contact Wambi Joel atwambijoel83@gmail.com
The continent
of Africa is poised to become the greatest source of skilled labor for the next
generation—worldwide. This project, by David Kabala , is set to put the
Abayudaya community on the right footing fro the future:
Kahal Kadosh Abayudaya Training Centre is dedicated to empowering
women, young mothers, and youths in our community by equipping them with
essential vocational skills. Our mission is to foster personal and professional
growth through hands-on training in various fields, ensuring that our
participants gain the knowledge and confidence to thrive in today’s competitive
environment.
Kahal Kadosh Abayudaya Training Center was established on 17th
July,2023, with the objective of providing hand skills /trainings to widows ,orphans
and young adults in order to enhance their home income to reduce poverty among
them.
However,Kahal Kadosh Abayudaya Training Center is limited with the
training space. It is on that background that we are seeking $27,550 to
enable us construct the training center because where we are now operating,we
just rent and the cost of renting is high. Check our website: https://kahalkadosh.com/
Posted by David Kabala ( on FB ) https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100086872118446
Here is the Go
Fund Me Page
https://www.gofundme.com/f/construction-of-kahal-kadosh-abayudaya-training-center
Here are some
of their projects:
A Fisheries Program:
Tailoring
Crafts for Women
Here are some finished
products ready for market: Contact Kahal Kadosh for orders.
Training
Programs:
- Tailoring. Our program equips participants with
essential tailoring skills such as product development, pattern drafting,
and garment construction, fostering their employability and
entrepreneurial spirit.
- Hair Dressing. This initiative equips participants
with hands-on proficiency in hairdressing techniques tailored to local
community needs and preferences.
- Electrical Engineering. This diploma program prepares
students to become knowledgeable and skilled technicians capable of
installing, operating, maintaining, and repairing
- Driving and Mechanics. This training is offered for those
applicants who want to train drivers of the various license grades. The
course is conducted in both theoretical and practical
- Metal Fabrication. This program equips students with
the practical expertise and technical understanding required to join,
shape, and fabricate metal components using various
- Electronic. This program equips students with
the knowledge and skills required for the installation, operation, and
maintenance of communication systems and electronic
- Repairing. Learners of this course are able to
diagnose problems and repair common Electronic Devices like Radio, TV,
Phones, Computers, woofers etc. Electronics mechanics
- Carpentry. The course will give students a
hands on experience in all processes involved in producing specified
furniture items
- Computer studies. The program covers various fields
such as computer systems design, network analysis, database
administration, and mobile computing.
- Cake making and Bakery
Management. The Baking and Pastry
program prepares students for career opportunities in bakeries,
restaurants, catering, hotels, and other foodservice businesses.
- Poultry Keeping. The overall objective of this course
is to equip students with knowledge and skills required for poultry
production as a business.
- Fisheries. Learn the skills to manage and sustainably
develop the fisheries industry with KKA
- Crop Management. The program encompasses a key course
of Farm practices and special Projects designed to provide students with
daily hands-on practical experience on the farm.
- Detergent Making. Making liquid soap and detergent is
one of the more lucrative skills in Uganda. Let's get you started! Attend
our classes or book a one on one
Contact
- Phone: +256775217964
- WhatsApp: +256707983679
- Email: info@abayudaya.org
kahalkadosh1@gmail.com - Address: Nakigalo Cell,
Aisa Ward, Northern City Division, Mbale, Uganda
- Working Hours: Mon-Fri: 9am -
5pm
