Jews view themselves as people, defined by a shared faith, culture, heritage, and (for the most part) a common lineage. The first Jews were middle eastern people, and as such were darker complected than the later European Jewry that most westerners stereotypically associate with Jewish people; these are Ashkenazi Jews -- Jews of eastern European descent. There are, however, several other ethnic branches recognized by Jewish people. Among these, there are Sephardic, Yemenite, and Ethiopian Jews.

Sephardic Jews descent from the more dark-skinned peoples of Spain and the Iberian peninsula (the word 'Sephardic' means 'Spanish'). Many fled the Iberian peninsula during one of several forced expulsions during the middle ages, a good portion settling in South American nations. Sephardic Jews have their own subtly different traditions, customs, and dietary beliefs as compared with Ashkenazi Jews. Many also have their own distinctly Jewish dialect, Ladino (not to be confused with Latino), which is essentially a Jewish Hebrew/Spanish hybrid, much like the better known Yiddish, which is a Jewish Hebrew/German hybrid. However, though darker-skinned, these can't be considered 'black Jews,' any more than the 'black Irish' are considered 'black,' although this is a perfect analogy, since the 'black Irish' are also darker because of their Spanish lineage. Yemenite Jews also fall into this general category, though they can be darker still.

Ethiopian Jews are darker still, and perhaps would be considered the only Jewish population that has traditionally had black skin. There are also assorted populations around the world that have evolved from Jewish travelers and settlers that have diverse pigmentation; A great example is an Indian Jewish population (no, not Blazing Saddles Indian, but rather Asian Indian), that was shipwrecked centuries ago, losing their only Torah scroll along the way. They persist to this day with many of the Jewish traditions, though without the written record of their traditions, they differ in many ways. They still practice circumcision, and celebrate the Jewish holydays just as other Jews. Further, and even more interesting, because their shipwreck predated the middle ages, their customs exclude many of the more modern customs and decrees about their practices. These Indian Jews are certainly some of the darkest-skinned people, and could certainly be called 'black,' although they are not African, but Asian.

Additionally, Judaism readily accepts converts from every people. Any African-American Jew would likely be from this category, people whose faith and calling led them to convert to Judaism, or perhaps were adopted into Judaism and converted by their parents. However, once a person converts to Judaism, they are considered 'as Jewish as Moses' as we say, and are as absolutely and completely Jewish as someone whose great-great-great-forebears marched out of Egypt; in fact, thinking and feeling as though they did is one of the tenets of Judaism, as is the concept that in conversion, a person receives a 'Jewish soul,' much as a baby on the day of circumcision. As such, they truly are one of the 600 myriads of Jewish souls who left captivity in Egypt.

So, Yes, there are plenty of black Jews!
Descendants of King Solomon and queen Sheba, who were living mostly in the country known as Ethiopia, but are sporadically found in much smaller all along the East coast of Africa, recently among the Lemba of Southern Africa. Any black person practising Judaism. Remember Moses, a great prophet of God had a black wife as well. So black have been with jewish people for a long time.
Some are.
The current State of Israel was set up by the US, Britain and the United Nations in 1948. The Scriptures tell us who they are: Most people have come to incorrectly associate the term Jew with Israel. While all Jews are Israelites, most Israelites are not Jews. It's clear in the Scriptures, yet it is one of the greatest misconceptions Christians have. An Israelite is a descendant of Jacob, whom God named Israel (Gen. 32:28). Jacob (Israel) had twelve sons, of which only one was named Judah. The term Jew is the English translation of the Hebrew Yehewdiy means "descendant of Judah"--The Tribe of Judah--the Ethiopian Jews are descended from Jews who accompanied Menelik, the son of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, from Jerusalem to Ethiopia. Israel included the city of Jerusalem and was named after Judah. In fact, Judah became the name of the southern kingdom when Israel divided into two kingdoms about 2900 years ago. The ancestry of Joseph is traced back to Judah. So is the ancestry of King David. In Jacob's blessing of his 12 sons, in Genesis 49, he described Judah as a lion cub, saying that he would have his hand on the necks of his enemies and that he would be praised by his brothers. Jacob's blessing of Judah, in Genesis 49:8-12, includes a passage that is traditionally understood by Christians to mean that Judah's descendants would rule over the land of Israel, culminating with Jesus. Christians believe the Jewish homeland was given to the Jews in perpetuity by God Himself. The Bible says that whoever blesses Jewish people shall be blessed and whoever curses them shall be cursed. The original Israel of the Bible was encompassed up to Egypt and through Syria and part of Iraq. That is what the Middle East dispute is about. That is why the Arab world is rebelling. The Tribe of Judah--the Ethiopian Jews are descended from Jews who accompanied Menelik, the son of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, from Jerusalem to Ethiopia. More scientific theories place the Falasha in the Agau family of tribes. Isaiah 11:11 strongly implies that there was an established Ethiopian Jewish community in the days of that prophet, approximately 740 BC. European Jews and others in different parts of the world were barely aware of the Falasha for many years. The Falasha thought they were the only remaining Jews. They continued to follow Judaism as it was practiced before the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. Most Westerners and Protestant churchmen learned of the existence of the Ethiopian Jews from James Bruce's five-volume work, Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile, published in Edinburgh in 1790. The Garden of Eden was located in the Tigris-Euphrates Region of Africa. Ham had four sons, and his sons are the people of the African Continent--the Ancient Egyptians, Ethiopians, Somalia's, Canaanites. Genesis Chapter 50 Verses 7-11, scripture describes ALL the Hebrews as looking like the ancient Egyptians. Genesis 2:10 - "And a River went out of Eden to water the Garden; and from thence it was parted and became four heads." Genesis 2:13 - "And the name of the second river is Gihon; the same is it that compasseth the whole Land of Ethiopia." Rishon and Gihon are located in the Tigris-Euphrates Valley. The Pishon and Gihon Rivers mentioned in Genesis 2: 11-13, wind and turn through the Land of Havilah, somewhere in the Persian Gulf. Today the names of the rivers are the Great Zab (South of Nineveh), and the Little Zab; the Diyala River flows into the Tigris at Baghdad, Iraq. There were two Ethiopian nations in ancient times--Eastern and Western Ethiopia. There was an Ethiopian civilization in Southern Mesopotamia (Babylon), and the Ethiopian Tribes called themselves Babylonians. Genesis 10:8 - "Cush begat Nimrod. The word Cush means Ethiopia. Cush is the father of Ethiopians. Nimrod ruled over the cities of Babylon, Erech, Accad (Akkad). The cities are situation in the Land of Shinar (Sumer). In Genesis 11:26-26 Abraham was one of the fathers of the 12 tribes of Israel. Abraham's father (Terah) came from the Land of Ur or the Chaldees. The Chaldeans are a Cushite Tribe. The Sumerians/Ethiopians/Mesopotamians (Elamites) settled from Mesopotamia to Europe. Currently this area now includes: Southern Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Northwest India. Webster's Dictionary (Gazetteer Section, p. 849) defines Sumerian as: The pre-Semitic population of the Lower Euphrates Valley. Sumer preceded Babylonia. The dictionary says there is a blood relationship between Dravidian Tribes of India and Ethiopian Sumerians (Elamites). Archeologists have found skeletons of the ancient Dravidian and Nedda types in Ur and Kish. Examples of Negrito types below: From http://andaman.org

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