The reception of the Black-Jewish African Hebrew Israelite community in Israel.

What is it about?

The AHI are a small African American religious community who have lived in Israel since 1969. This chapter offers a new analysis of the reception of the African Hebrew Israelite community within Israel. It draws on popular reports of the time to build a picture of how their appearance and representation in the Israeli public sphere shifted, as well as providing the perspective of some members of the community. This is contextualised with regard to other minorities in Israel who have arguably been less successful in engineering their acceptance - Arab Israelis, Ethiopians, and African asylum seekers and immigrants.

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Why is it important?

The chapter shows that the shifting fortunes of the AHI are in distinction to other groups, however their own apparent success may indicate more about the differences between Israeli and American society than the community itself.