After years of living in Israel but lacking Israeli citizenship, the Black Hebrew community of Dimona will be
awarded a permanent home in a Negev agricultural village based on principles of
organic farming.
"The time has come for our cry to be heard,"
said Ben-Ammi Carter in Hebrew marked by distinctly Biblical tones. "What
more do we need to do be recognized as people of this land and entitled to the
rights granted to all citizens? Thank the Lord that the government heard our
outcry and now we are moving in the right direction."
The new village, approved by the Ministry of Housing and
supported by the United Kibbutz Movement, will be built in the Halutza Sands
region of the western Negev Desert, near Israel's border with Egypt. Yediot
Aharonot reported that Black leaders from the United States helped lobby for a
practical solution to the stateless status of the Black Hebrews and that the
American Congress was donating $1 million to the project.
Carter, 63, who goes by the name Ben-Ammi Ben Israel, is the leader of the
1,500-member Black Hebrew community that first arrived in Israel from Chicago
and Liberia in 1969 under the belief they were descendents of one of the lost
ten tribes of Israel. Israeli authorities rejected claims that Black Hebrews
were authentic Jews and insisted in vain that they convert to Judaism so they
could be recognized as full citizens.
"Our identity is here in Israel. We are Hebrew Israelites, not Americans,
and I think the Israeli government hasn't known what to do with us," said
Yaffa Bat-Gavriel, 44, who came to Dimona in 1976.
In the 1980s a special government committee headed by MK David Glass (National
Religious Party) recommended that Israel establish a farming community for the
Black Hebrews in the Negev or Arava. But for the most part, Israeli leaders
ignored the growing community and their lack of citizenship.
Seven years ago a school was built in Dimona for the Black Hebrews, donated by
the American government. Over the years, the community opened up to Israeli
society, and its colorful singing troupes and softball teams made their mark on
the local cultural scene. In 1999, community members Eddi and Gabriel Butler
were part of the singing quartet that represented Israel at the Eurovision Song
Contest. In January this year, singer Aharon Ben-Yisrael Alis, 32, was gunned
down and killed when a terrorist stormed a Bat Mitzvah celebration in Hadera.
Even so, Israelis have regarded the practices of the Black Hebrew community,
which include strict veganism, holistic medicine, and bigamy, as odd and
subservient to the whims of Carter's charismatic and cult-like leadership.
"Just because you live by certain rules, it does not mean you are a
cult," Bat-Gavriel said, quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle.
In addition to the agricultural village, the Ministry of Housing is developing
plans for a new neighborhood for the Black Hebrews in Dimona which will resolve
their severe housing shortage. The new homes will take into consideration the
fact that the Black Hebrews' family unit is based on one adult man, several
wives and many children, Yediot Aharonot reported.
In his short term as Interior Minister, MK Haim Ramon (Labor) said he saw no
reason why the Black Hebrews shouldn't be awarded Israeli citizenship. But
Ramon's replacement, MK Eli Yishai (Shas), blocked previously-prepared plans
and has not worked towards resolving the status of Israel's Black Hebrew
community, the paper said.