Thursday, the Brooklyn Nets confirmed that Kyrie Irving will be suspended for endorsing an antisemitic video on Twitter.
In a now-deleted tweet, Irving provided a link to the 2018 documentary “Hebrew to Negroes: Wake Up Black America,” which asserts that certain people of color, especially African Americans, are the genuine descendants of the biblical Israelites.
According to the Anti-Defamation League, the video also says that Jews have collaborated to oppress and deceive Black people, notably through the transatlantic slave trade, and that Jews have distorted the narrative of the Holocaust to “contain their nature and protect their position of power” (ADL).
Extremist groups of the Black Hebrew Israelite (BHI) movement, which espouses this doctrine, have a long history of antisemitism, homophobia, misogyny, and xenophobia. The incident has spurred increased interest in the BHI movement.
The more hostile BHI factions’ ideologies have also permeated mainstream discourse. In a podcast broadcast from 2020, the actor Nick Cannon asserted, “They have stolen our birthright,” promoting the notion that Jews are deliberately attempting to steal the identity of Hebrew Israelites.
Recently, Kanye West put himself in deep trouble when he tweeted that he would “go death con 3” on Jewish people. West said that he could not be antisemitic since “black people are essentially Jews.”
Who are the Hebrew Black Israelites?
William Saunders Crowdy, who was born a slave and escaped slavery at the age of 17, declared in the late 19th century that God revealed to him in visions that African Americans are descended from the Hebrews in the Christian Bible. Crowdy founded the Church of God and Saints of Christ, one of the earliest Black Hebrew Israelite congregations, in 1896.
While BHI philosophy combines certain features of Christianity and Judaism, it denies the widely accepted conceptions of both religions and asserts that Black Americans are God’s actual chosen people. Additionally, the movement developed its own interpretations of the Bible: Black Hebrew Israelites believe that Jesus is not white, citing a biblical scripture that portrays Jesus’ feet as “like fine brass, as if they had burned in a furnace.”
Some churches, like Crowdy’s, advocate for harmony among all races and genders, although other sects of the Black Hebrew Israelite movement that emerged in the subsequent decades have adopted a more extreme stance.
Some BHI factions engage in harsh discourse.
According to the ADL, many radical sections of the BHI movement sprang from the One West Camp, which pushed young men to establish their own camps committed to magnifying the violent and hateful aspects of the ideology.
According to the ADL, radical Black Hebrew Israelites refer to European Jews as the “synagogue of Satan,” arguing that they are “demonic impostors” responsible for the enslavement of millions of African Americans. In addition, they assert that African Americans are racially superior, while some subgroups think Native and Latino Americans are also descended from Israelites and have gained adherents from these ethnicities.
The ADL acknowledges that Black Hebrew Israelites are distinct from Black Jews and Jews of color, and that not all BHI factions are radical.
Preaching on Miami Beach are members of the Israelite School of Universal Practical Knowledge.
Getty Images presents images by Jeffrey Greenberg/Education Images/Universal Images Group.
Extremist sects within the movement frequently adhere to a rigid hierarchical structure. According to the ADL, “bishops” and other high-ranking members are heavenly. In several camps, women are prohibited from wearing pants or associating with male members. (A two-part YouTube video series headlined “Black women are out of control in America” and posted by the extremist group Israelite School of Universal Practical Knowledge received a total of 40,000 views.)
Certain cults believe that homosexuality is “a disease among the so-called Black, Hispanic, and Native Indian population” and blame the LGBTQ community for their “vile repulsive lust.”
Movement extremist sects are becoming more aggressive.
Over the years, a large portion of BHI factions have become increasingly militant. In 2019, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) categorized 144 Black Hebrew Israelite organizations as “Black separatist hate groups” because to their antisemitic and anti-white sentiments.
In December of 2019, two individuals opened fire at a Jewish supermarket in Jersey City, killing four people. Investigators discovered that they were thought to have possessed antisemitic beliefs and had expressed interest in the BHI group. The BHI-affiliated Israelite Church of God in Jesus Christ in New York denied any connection.
In January of that year, viral videos of a confrontation between Covington Catholic High School students and Native American activists drew worldwide attention to the BHI movement.
In their clashes with their imagined foes, many have also encountered the aggressive behavior of Hebrew Israelite street preachers. Videos depict gangs of robed street preachers pestering primarily white pedestrians and causing them to cry. According to the SPLC, Zacharyah ben Ya’aqov, a former Hebrew Israelite who was active in the organization in the 1990s, referred to the actions of camps as “evangelical terrorism.”
“Prepare for battle, you white folks! In a clip from the 2007 documentary “The Gods of Times Square,” a preacher remarked, “We’re coming for you, white lads.”” “Blacks are the true Jews. Prepare for war!”