For quite some time now, the growing belief that Ndi Igbo and Jews are related has stemmed from certain Igbo people’s claim of being descendants of the ancient Israelites. This claim is based on a fantastical lore about their Israelite beginnings, with some traditions suggesting a connection to one of the 10 lost tribes of Israel, specifically the tribe of Gad, one of the sons of the biblical patriarch, Jacob. This belief has led to the practice of Judaism among some Igbos, with documented instances of Igbo Jews practicing Jewish customs and claiming Israelite descent. While some historians have noted the presence of these customs in Igbo traditions before their exposure to Judaism, others have continued to insist on the presence of Jewish identity among Ndi Igbo suggesting a long-standing connection. However, it is important to note that this claim of descent from the ancient Israelites lacks historical evidence, and is in fact simply apocryphal in its nature.
Having similar traditions and cultures does not necessarily mean that two different groups of people have the same ancestry. While shared cultural practices can indicate some level of historical or social interaction, they do not always imply a common genetic heritage. Cultural similarities can arise from various factors, such as trade, migration, or diffusion of ideas, without requiring a shared ancestry. In this post we will highlight multiple reasons why the Igbo-Hebrew claim is an expensive joke, and a reduction to the legacy of our great Igbo ancestors Ndi Gboooo, who have existed since, even pre-existed, the dawn of time.
Here are some of the reasons why everyone should divest from those faux claims:
- Let’s start from the suggested connection to one of the 10 lost tribes of Israel, specifically the tribe of Gad, one of the sons of Jacob. The tribe of Gad was one of the northern tribes of Israel and was sent into exile in 722 BC. The ten tribes of Israel, also known as the “Lost Tribes,” were sent into exile following the conquest of the northern kingdom by the Assyrians. This event took place in 722 BCE. After the conquest, many of the people were deported to other lands, leading to the belief that they were “lost.” The fate and whereabouts of the tribes remain uncertain, and their status is a subject of legend.
Igbo people on the other hand have a rich and ancient history. Evidence of Late Stone Age (late Paleolithic) human presence in Igboland dates back to at least 10,000 years ago. Early settlement of Igboland is dated to 6000 BC, and the earliest found settlements in Igboland date to 900 BCE in the central area, from where the majority of the Igbo-speaking population is believed to have migrated. For those who do not know, 900 BCE is older than 722 BCE. And BCE stands for “Before Common Era.” It is a secular equivalent to “Before Christ” (BC) and is used to refer to the years before the start of the Common Era, which is equivalent to before the traditional Anno Domini (AD) system. How then can Ndi Igbo be descendants of any of the lost tribes of Israel? Historical evidence, not to mention cultural evidence, clearly suggest that Igbo people already existed separately long before those lost tribes were exiled. - According to mainstream sources, the Hebrew language is estimated to be about 3000 years old. It is an old Semitic language. The Igbo language is also estimated to be at least 3000 years old, with evidence of its early presence dating back to around 1000 BCE. Even though ancient Igbo Dibias can show that Igbo language could be much older as indicated in the Afa knowledge system. Regardless, both languages are considered one of the oldest languages in the world. The Igbo language is classified as part of the Niger-Congo language family, while Hebrew is an Afro-Asiatic language, and they are not considered to be related. One would imagine that the language of a people would be the first indicator of their ancestry, yet all we have between Igbo and Hebrew language are merely invented colloquialisms based on syncretism.
- While the Hebrew Bible remains the primary source for Moses’s life, the historicity of Moses, the central figure in the biblical account of the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt, is a topic of debate among scholars. However, the story remains that the God of Israel known as Yahweh, who was the ancient Levantine deity and the national god of the Israelite kingdoms of Israel and Judah, revealed himself to Moses as the God of the Israelites and delivered them from the hand of Egypt which was known during that time as the Land of Rameses. The worship of Yahweh has been a central aspect of the religious and cultural identity of the Israelites and later the Jewish people. There is no definitive evidence anywhere that makes Yahweh “God” outside of its association to the Israelites. Igbos who claim to be Jews (and even the Christains) continue to associate themselves with a foreign god, they adopt the worship of a deity that is not traditionally associated with the cosmology, culture, tradition or spirituality of Igbo progenitors, then turn around to wonder why they continue to suffer or not gain unified victories as a people. In the context of the Israelites, for them the worship of foreign gods was often seen as a violation of their “covenant” with Yahweh, their own god. One has to wonder the amount of covenants Ndi Igbo have abandoned in their chase for foreign approval.
- In 1903, the “Uganda Scheme” was being mulled to carve out a Jewish country out of the modern day Kenya. There have been instances of Jews making colonial efforts in Africa. One notable example is the Uganda Scheme, a proposal by British Colonial Secretary Joseph Chamberlain to create a Jewish homeland in a portion of British East Africa. The plan was suggested in the early 1900s as a short-term solution to deal with the defenseless situation of the Jewish people, at the expense of continental Africans. While the plan was ultimately rejected because other white colonists already had vested interest, it was attractive to some early Zionists as a potential refuge. Additionally, there have been Jewish settlements and communities in various African countries, including Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. These efforts and proposals reflect the historical involvement of Jews in colonial initiatives in Africa. One might ask how this is relevant to the Igbo-Jews discourse, it is very relevant because one’s own so-called ancestors or progenitors would have no need to “colonize” their own people or be involved in colonial initiatives towards people like their own so-called descendants.
- The nation of Israel was founded on May 14, 1948. On that day, David Ben-Gurion, the head of the Jewish Agency, proclaimed the establishment of the State of Israel, and the United States recognized the new nation on the same day. Before the founding of the modern state of Israel in 1948, the region was known as Palestine, which was a geographic region located in Western Asia between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. The region was ruled by various powers throughout history, including the Assyrians, Babylonians, Achaemenids, Greeks, and Romans. The rise of Zionism in the late 19th century led to the establishment of Jewish settlements in Palestine, and the British Mandate placed by the League of Nations after World War I increased Jewish immigration to the region. The conflict between Jews and the Arab majority led to the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, which resulted in the establishment of the modern state of Israel.
The Israeli flag was designed in 1948, shortly before the establishment of the modern state of Israel. The flag features a blue Star of David on a white background, with two horizontal blue stripes above and below the star. The Israeli flag was officially adopted on October 28, 1948, by the Provisional Council of State, and it has been the national flag of Israel ever since. The point of stating a brief history of how the modern state of Israel came to be, is to emphasize another point that the identity some modern day Igbos who claim to be Israelites so desperately cling to was invented by human beings like them, and the flags they flaunt around are barely the same age as some of their parents. Not to mention that the average Igbo person will not be granted asylum, not to talk of residency or citizenship, into the nation of Israel on the basis of this faux claim. In fact to state it plainly, the Igbo Jewish community is not and cannot be formally recognized as a Jewish community, for the purpose of immigration to Israel. - One of the most popular positions is that Ndi Igbo share many similarities with Jewish culture and traditions, including circumcision of male children eight days after birth, refraining from eating tabooed foods, mourning the dead for seven days, celebrating the New Moon, and conducting wedding ceremonies under a canopy. Well renowned historians have noted over and over again over time that Igbos were practicing these customs long before ever having any exposure to the Jewish culture. While some Igbo Jews may claim that they are the descendants of the ancient Israelites, it has been made clear countless times that they lack the historical evidence which would prove their descent. Like we stated earlier for good reason, Igbo Jewish community is not recognized as a Jewish community for the purpose of immigration to Israel, and none of the mainstream denominations of Judaism consider the group an authentic Jewish community. You would think that by now the intellectually renowned community of Jews would have enough sound historians to validate such a claim and consider it authentic if it were factual. To reiterate a point we made at the introduction of this post, the presence of similar traditions between two groups or communities does not necessarily mean they share the same ancestry or descent. While some individuals within the Igbo community claim descent from the ancient Israelites, this assertion lacks historical evidence to support it.
Additionally, DNA testing has been used to dispute the genetic connection between the Igbo people and the Jewish population. In 2017, Jewish Voice Ministries conducted private DNA tests, which they claimed showed that the Igbos are not “genetically” Jewish. Additionally, a BBC article from 2021 mentioned that a DNA test found no Jewish connection among the Igbo people. Even DNA testing, which is a widely used method to determine genetic ancestry in modern science, has refuted this claim. So while there are cultural parallels between Ndi Igbo and the Jewish community, the shared traditions do not definitively establish a common ancestry between the two groups. We might want to consider instead a possibility that actual Igbo ancestors who have been known to migrate and travel all over the world and help communities build their civilizations, might have come in contact with Jews of ancient times and taught them the civilized ways of Igbos, this is a more interesting possibility and even more probable to be true. - One of the best ways to understand a group of people is through their own myths. Myths are stories that are based on tradition. They serve as a compass to each generation, answering timeless questions and expressing the beliefs and values of a certain culture. Myths are a part of every culture in the world and are used to explain natural phenomena, the origin of humans and the world, and the meaning of life and death for the people of each culture. Therefore, studying and interpreting the myths of a particular group can provide valuable insights into their beliefs, values, and the fundamental aspects of their culture and identity, especially their histories. The Hebrew Bible is a collection of writings that was first compiled and preserved as the sacred books of the Jewish people, containing the Torah, the Nevi’im, and the Ketuvim, and it also constitutes a large portion of the Christian Bible, known as the Old Testament. These books are a collection of their own mythologies telling stories about the olden days, featuring supernatural characters and much more which they hold sacred. Igbo people have their own myths which have been passed down orally through storytelling and songs, illustrated in masquerade regalia, festivals, traditional rituals, and titles to name a few. Especially, in the Igbo language itself allowing for flexibility, emotion, and pacing in the transmission of traditional stories from one generation to another. Nowhere is there any authentic indication in Igbo traditional histories that Igbos are descendants of Jews. There is an Igbo proverb that says, Nwata ma ndi Nna ya amalugo Ndi Ichie, meaning a child that knows its parents or fathers has consequently known its ancestors.
In conclusion, as a community we have to be careful and weary of what I like to call “the white man’s imagination”, which alot of our people seem to be immersed in. It is a dangerous mental space to continue to inhabit, and such that the typical African person who has been subject to colonialism for centuries must actively work very hard to liberate themselves from. We must work towards decolonizing the mind, and that involves a process of challenging and unlearning the pervasive influence of colonial ideologies on one’s thinking and perception of the world. It involves first acknowledging the effects of colonization, then questioning those established norms and beliefs that result in inferiority complex about one’s own culture and traditions. It also entails rejecting the assumption that the modern West is the central root of knowledge and culture, and that Africa or Igboland is merely an extension of the West or in this case “Israel”.