Sussman, Bonita Nathan

Jewish Africans Describe Their Lives: Evidence of an Unrecognized Indigenous People--Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda, Zimbabwe

2023 1-4955-1067-0
"The Jewish phenomenon in sub-Saharan Africa continues to be rich and diverse. While the world has long known about the prestigious and often ancient Jewish world in North Africa, dynamic Jewish engagements below the Sahara are news to many. ...This work brings to the world stage indigenous Africans involved in Jewish communities in the region speaking for themselves. The bulk of the book consists of adaptions from recorded and transcribed conversations and interviews conducted throughout the region over nearly a decade." -Dr. Marla Brettschneider, Introduction I "All of the testimonies in this book are unique in their own ways. At the same time, however, we can detect several recurring themes running through most or all of them. To my surprise, many of the issues that they discuss are the same ones that more established Jewish communities face all over the world: the struggles to build community, to have a place to pray, to learn how pray and read from the Torah, to educate themselves and their communities, to access information, and to address economic and financial needs. Some confronted antisemitic attitudes and family rejection; others discussed the problems of community continuity, whom to marry, and how to attract new members." Dr. Bonita Nathan Sussman, Introduction II