House of Israel (Ghana)
The House of Israel is a Jewish community located in southwestern Ghana, in the towns of Sefwi Wiawso and Sefwi Sui. This group of people, of the Sefwi tribe, built a synagogue in 1998. Many of the men and children read English, but no one knows Hebrew.[2][3]
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| c. 400 (est.) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| 200 in Ghana[1] | |
| Languages | |
| Sefwi, French, English | |
| Religion | |
| Judaism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Sefwi |
History of Jews in Ghana
| Part of a series on |
| Jews and Judaism |
|---|
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The people of Sefwi Wiawso trace a call for a "return" to normative Judaism by Aaron Ahomtre Toakyirafa, a community leader who, in 1976, is said to have had a vision. In 2012, Gabrielle Zilkha, a Toronto-based filmmaker, visited Sefwe Wiawso to do research for a documentary about the House of Israel she is making. According to Zilkha, about 200 people—mostly children—live in the community. She states that the lack of a historical record makes it difficult to verify the group's claims, but that there is an oral tradition dating back 200 years.[1]
In the 1990s, the House of Israel began to reach out to the wider Jewish world. The community worked with Jewish organizations such as Kulanu and Be'chol Lashon.[4]
A smaller community of Jews from the House of Israel lives in Sefwi Sui, a small farming community located twenty miles from Sefwi Wiawso.[5]
Jewish facilities
The leader of the House of Israel since 1993, David Ahenkorah received his own vision in taking up the mantle.[6] He has been granted a 40-acre plot of land to build a Jewish school for the community, but they have not yet been able to raise funds for construction. Children currently attend a local school, run by Christians. They built a synagogue in 1998 in New Adiembra, a Jewish neighborhood in Sefwi Wiawso. Recently, they painted it blue and white, the colors of Israel.[6] There are several family compounds nearby and about 200 people belong to the synagogue.[6] It is a single-room synagogue with a miniature Sefer Torah. There is no mechitza.[7][8]
References
- Shlomo Kasputin, "Ghana's House of Israel, descendents of lost tribes?" Archived 2012-12-19 at the Wayback Machine, Jewish Tribune, December 2012, accessed 22 May 2013
- "Ghana Virtual Jewish History Tour". Jewish Virtual Library. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
- "The lost Jews of Ghana". Canadian Jewish News. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
- "Ghana's deep spirituality points some, joyfully, back to Judaism". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
- "The House of Israel". Scattered Among the Nations. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
- "In West Africa, a Synagogue Where the Pavement Ends". Forward. The Forward. 2005-10-28. Retrieved 2012-10-09.
- "Bet You Didn't Know About the Jews of Sefwi Wiawso, Ghana". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
- "A VISIT TO THE JEWISH COMMUNITY OF SEFWI WIAWSO, GHANA". Kulanu. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
