#beta Yisrael

[psychologeek]

Official Memorial Day for Sudan Casualties

(Ethiopian Jews who perished on their way to Israel, via Sudan).

Tonight+tomorrow day (כ"ח אייר, Iyar 28th) is Jerusalem Day.

It is also the official memorial day to those who died during the journey from Ethiopia to Israel.

The date wasn't choose randomly. It came to represent the ancient connection, and the place they were yearning for.

This date is a memory of 4,000 People.

4,000 men, women and children that tried to reach Eret Yisrael and Yerushalayim (Yerusalem).

4,000 who didn't make it - but their families and friends did.

The official ceremony/service is in Har (mt.) Hertzel, in the official memorial, in Jerusalem.

Their bodies didn't make it, but their memories did.

I'm in my home, and I hear the ceremony in the local school.

And I'm sad.

But I'm also happy -

(We remember you)

There's something really powerful in hearing 600 kids (all kids in school) and their families singing.

"Oh, our brothers, all the people of Yisrael/

Who are in trouble, or in captivity, either in the sea or on land/

May G-d have mercy on them and deliver them from troubles to wealth.

And from darkness to light, and from enslavement to salvation,

Hashta Ba'agala Uvizman Kariv (Aramic: now, soon, in our time.)

Songs about the journey

NagashBeatz - Masa Shalem (full journey)

Gili Yalo - Salem

Shva Choir and Shlomo Gronich:

The Journey (to Eretz Yisrael) - video

Better quality

Hasida (stork)

Ba'Karavan

(I lived in one until I was 11, and everytime I talk about it, I automatically say it in a sing-song.)

Other songs

U-da - Ante Abate (you're my father)

Cafe Shachor Chazak - Yihiye Beseder (We'll be ok)

Climbing Up

Hanny Masele - Lambadina (light)

And obviously - The Project (of Idan Raichel)

Cabra Casay - Milim Yafot Me'ele (prettier words)

Im Telech (If you'll go) - despite not being sang by an Ethiopian singer, I do add it due to the background Amharic and the video.

Links for reading more:

Ethiopian Jewry heritage center:

Association of Ethiopian Jews:

(on guidestar)

They've been working for over 30 years, doing SUPER IMPORTANT JOB in multiple aspects, including (but not limited to): fighting racism, fighting over-crimilising of Black people, encouraging and increasing the number of Ethiopian jews in governmental and ministry positions. Help with immigration, housing, more.

[benevolentbirdgal]

Kind of a long shot, but Sigd related question(s): I've read from a few online sources there's a push for non Beta Yisrael/Ethiopian Jews to recognize or even celebrate something for Sigd from certain Quessim. Is this something the larger BY community would like, and if so, what are appropriate ways for non BY Jews to celebrate? What, if any, texts, rituals, or foods would be good choices for me to educate myself further and engage in solidarity with this portion of the Jewish community?

(I am in the U.S., if that is of any relevance).

[psychologeek]

We celebrated it in high school, full with traditional meal and injara and all.

This power Jewish Ethiopian IDF soldier has something to say to the haters of Israel.

[judaismandsuch]

A bit about Minhagim (particularly in relation to the terms Sephardic, Ashkenazi, Yemmeni, Mizrahi, Beta Yisrael, etc.)

I saw this post, and I realized that what I take for granted knowledge wise may not be so, and people rarely talk about the intricacies of Minhagim.

(btw, what I am saying applies to all the different groups but for the rest of the post I'll be mainly using the Sephardic and Ashkenazi b.c. I am lazy)

We use the terms "Ashkenazi" and "Sefardic" (etc.) to refer to where our ancestors came from (or more likely lived in 1500s or so), which is fine! But that not 100% accurate. Or at least it would be more accurate to say that that is a secondary meaning that is used a lot, but there is a primary meaning which can get confusing.

The primary meaning of these terms is "Which bundle of Minhagim do you follow?"

Now seeing as minhagim are traditions that carry the weight of a law, usually it is your ancestry, but not always!

We will take 2 obvious cases first, then talk about some other ones:

First Someone who converted. Now obviously since they converted they have no (halachically) relevant Jewish traditions. So what do they take? One might be tempted to say "whatever area their ancestors were from" but honestly that makes no sense. They don't have a tradition from those people, just geographical happenstance.

Rather they are to take on the traditions of the community/location where they converted. So a Polish person might become Sephardic, or a Italian person Ashkenazi.

The Second is marriage. When people get married (with some exceptions) the wife is supposed to take on the husbands traditions (don't @ me, we can discuss gender in Judaism another year). So, a Ashkenazi woman who marries a Sephardic man is now Sephardic (though they would usually say that they follow Sephardic customs to avoid confusion).

And it is worth noting that many people keep their exes traditions even after getting divorced.

Now to some more interesting ones:

A Jew who was raised not religious in any way has no tradition! So if they become religious later in life, they can take on any minhag they desire. Usually they do end up taking their ancestral one, or the one of the community they live in, but there is no need! (lpt for those becoming religious: 1 hour between meat and milk is a valid minhag that you can take!)

And finally: Moving. If a Ashkanzi Jew moves to a purely Sephardi area, they are obligated to take on Sephardic customs! This is actually the big one, all the others kinda fall from it, but on the other hand it is basically not applicable anymore.

Way back when, when travel was a big deal, you would probably be the only Sephardi in Poland, so you couldn't really keep it.

Nowadays that basically everywhere is uber multicultural that ruling isn't applicable, but still interesting!

N.B. Not my best write up, I may redo it completely later

[germiyahu]

If someone derails your conversation about Israel to be about Israel's treatment of this or that group, Mizrachim, Beta Israel, etc. you may just want to consider their motivations, and do a little digging into the kinds of subjects they normally talk about on their own blogs.

If someone who has staunchly antizionist views, like I'm talking thinly veiled genocidal fantasies about destroying Israel and reveling in the chaos that would bring, and having no concern for the future of 7 millions Jews, their concerns about Medinat Yisrael's treatment of minority groups are not valid.

This is Concern Trolling.

If someone is derailing you to accuse Israel, through accusing you, of sterilizing Ethiopian women, stealing Mizrachi babies and having them raised by "white" parents, trying to destroy Yiddish, all these alleged violent assimilationist policies that Israel employs against fellow Jews?

A non Jew barging into your space and bringing up intra-community issues and grievances is a red flag. Do not fall for the sealioning trap. Do not turn out your pockets. Do not fall for the concern trolling.

Because what is their solution to these problems? To eliminate Israel as a state? And what about these minority groups within Israeli society then? Their answer is the same as their answer for the Ashkenazim: who cares? They largely imagine all Israeli Jews can simply move to the United States or France or something. The fact that over 95% of Israelis cannot just go to the countries of their parents or grandparents is of no concern to them.

That's why it's concern trolling. They're trolling you by pretending to be concerned, and baiting you into discussing an intra-community issue because they think that'll be the argument that finally gets you to disavow Israel. Because now you'll have no choice but to agree Israel is irredeemably problematic, because now it affects other Jews. So they are exhibiting a kind of bitterly envious brand of antisemitism. They think that all Jews believe in Jewish supremacy. They're quite mad about it. This is an aspect of the Chosen People canard.

But the main reason concern trolling is bad is because they don't care about these groups they bring up. They're not defending them, they're not championing their rights. They're trying to distract you and make you look like a hypocrite. When they cheer for Hamas raping and pillaging and spraying bullets into Israelis, they don't care if it happens to Beta Israel women who've supposedly been mass sterilized against their will. They cheer all the same. So much for their legitimate concerns that Israel is antisemitic in of itself I guess?

If the solution to a problem faced by a minority group within a country is "destroy their country which they also believe has saved them from ethnic cleansing and mass death, and figure out the rest later," you're not an ally to that group; stop pretending you are!

This is tied into pinkwashing, but from a sort of opposite approach. If any societal progress that Israel makes for minority groups is a psyop and a marketing ploy to cover up Palestinian Genocide, the concern trolling is antizionists holding Israel hostage to any societal progress it has not made. But they never intend on letting Israel improve these relationships. Israel is too nice to gay Jews, and not nice enough to African Jews. The only course of action therefore, is to let Hamas butcher them alongside straight Jews and "European" Jews.

So if you see someone trying to engage in this game, ignore them! Your time is worth so much more, and the vulnerable minority groups of Jews (both in Israel and the Diaspora) are much safer with Jews who discriminate against them than goyim who tout social justice rhetoric but want to see them dead. Plus, so many Jews are already doing the work, learning and listening, and trying to improve. This enrages the concern trolls like nothing else.

Call out Israel's bigotries, but you know, maybe don't trust the people who aren't affected by those bigotries invading your space and demanding your allyship to groups of people they'd be content seeing die en masse. Like "Israel is actually antisemitic against this vulnerable group of Jews!" and "All Israelis are settlers, none are truly civilians, and any form of violence against settlers is justified" are two stances that do not mesh very well...

Because at the very least, they're separating good Jews from bad Jews again, just based on what they perceive intra-Jewish oppression to be like. And they expect these good Jews to cheer and happily live as dhimmis in the absolute chaos that is a 100% inevitable Hamas-Fatah civil war and total societal collapse... and spit on the graves of their kinsmen.

And at worst, the concern trolls won't bother distinguishing these vulnerable Jews from their alleged oppressors anyway, and happily watch as they all flee with the clothes on their backs or get gunned down or enslaved by Hamas "Resistance" Fighters.

[aviad1b]

"ישנו עם אחד, מפוזר ומפורד"

"There is one nation, all spread out and divided." Those were Haman's (**noises**) words when describing the Jewish people. And as we say, not a single word is extra. "spread out" == diaspora, "divided" == mentally. Haman (**noises**) looked at the Jewish people and saw one nation, but divided. Not only by location but mentally as well.

I think it's safe to say that this saying has stuck with me ever since I first heard it. Because I see it. We have all "types and kinds" of Jews: Ashkenazi, Sephardi, Mizrahi, Beta-Yisrael, Religions, Secular, Traditional, Reformm Orthodox, Israeli Jews, diaspora Jews, Jewish by ethnicity and religion, Jewish by ethnicity but not religion, Jewish by religion but not ethnicity, converts, Jewish-born, Zionists, and Elokim Sheyishmor I must have forgotten at least a couple tens or hundrends or who-knows-how-many.

I feel like in times like this, now more than ever, we need to remember that

this seperation is irrelevant.

We know our truth. We know what being an ethnoreligeon means and in the past couple of months we have been watching ourselves be denied our common identity and history on a global scale.

These times may have turned me somewhat pessimistic, but for this Purim, I am going to hold one vision:

That in the future, people will be able to look at us and say:

ישנו עם אחד,

מפוזר - אך מאוחד.

Purim sameah,

and 'am yisrael 'hai.

[rotzaprachim]

obviously I think the tzahal mandatory recruitment policy is terrible and causes all kinds of problems on the national scale but switching to a U.S. style voluntary enlistment scheme without a genuine enacted long term political peace plan just seems like a possible source of all kinds of interesting and new problems, like, very much could see some kind of national-religious community-on-base intergenerational subculture or even more intensive recruitment of Druze and beta yisrael communities

[laineystein]

Hi! I hope you’re doing alright! I have a question that’s hopefully not too ignorant sounding lol. I think I saw you’re Ashkenazi? I am as well. I’ve been wondering, could you argue Ashkenazi could be descended from Sephardi Jews? If we argue that the Ashkenazi came from various parts of the Roman Empire as they moved north after the expulsion, they’d have started out with Sephardi customs right? Then Askenazi would develop over time out of I guess, original ideas and trying to fit with the new culture of the area, as well as general forced assimilation.

I have a hard time wrapping my head around the idea that Mizrahi Jews would make the trek up to the cold of Eastern and much of Western Europe, but it’s always possible.

Dredging the depths of my inbox and found this, sorry!

Alright, so I am a Jew but not an expert on *this* and with constant forced displacement the history of a lot of these migrations can be murky and contested. A simple way to look at it is that all of us originate in the levant, in Eretz Yisrael. When we were expelled, we all went to different places depending on when we were expelled and why, etc. We picked up customs once we were in those places and the groups of Ashkenazim/Sephardim/Mizrahim/Beta Yisrael are all Israelite Jews that adapted to specific regions and let those regions influence their customs. So if I’m understanding your question, I don’t think what you’re saying is accurate because it misunderstands the conception of Jewish ethnicities and their associated customs — but I think a lot of it comes down to semantics. Or maybe I’m misunderstanding your question completely. I’m a bit sleep deprived.

I’m sure there’s someone that follows me that studies this stuff so by all means, they can chime in and provide clarity if they’d like. 🙃

[jewishvirtuallibrary-blog]

Yaros Shigot, a Major in the Israeli Defense Force and Beta Yisraeli Jewish woman who had made Aliyah to Israel in 1991 and was chosen for her excellence to light a torch in Israel’s Independence Day ceremony, at her father's grave site in Gondar, Ethiopia; 2017. x

There is an important Jewish tradition of visiting a love one’s grave site, as it is extremely important in Judaism to remember, honor, and celebrate loved ones who have departed. According to tradition, the first time that people are permitted to visit the cemetery following the burial is following the seven days of morning known as Shiva.  Sheloshim takes place exactly 30 days after the burial, and it is also common to visit the grave site during this time. 

After this, the mourning period should conclude for most mourners unless if you are mourning your parents, in which case in the Ashkenazi tradition it will continue for a full year until the Yahrzeit, or anniversary of the death, occurs.  The Yahrzeit is a common time for Jewish mourners to visit the grave site. It is also a custom on this day for a special candle to be lit, and to burn for at least 24 hours.  Jewish law stipulates that one should not spend too much time in mourning and instead encourages mourners, after the period of mourning is complete, to concentrate on bonding with life as opposed to dwelling on the deceased.

[jewish-privilege]

...As an Ethiopian Jew living in America, it can be frustrating having to constantly feel like your identity is under suspicion by not only other Jews but also people who have absolutely no knowledge of Jews or Judaism. I’ve complained alongside my Moroccan, Yemeni, and Persian friends countless times about the different microaggressions and plain ignorance of our fellow Jews and non-Jews alike; this can range from a friend’s grandparent making an inappropriate remark to being held up at the airport as the TSA agent looks over your last name once again. I remember in eighth grade history class, hearing my teacher profess how “the Holocaust was stupid because Jews are essentially white.” As a young person who still had no clue how to react when an authority figure behaved ignorantly, all I could do was sit there in silence.

I will not be silent any longer.

For a lot of people, the idea of “Jew” equals “white,” and that leads to a range of annoying to downright insulting encounters while navigating the spaces where we should feel we belong.

In America, many of us are faced with the threat of anti-Semitism that scars the whole of our community, but we’re also faced with the ingrained and monstrous beast that is racism. It happens like this: You overhear terms like “shvartze,” the Yiddish word for black that is considered a slur against Black people, whispered while meeting a friend’s extended family. Your mother is harassed by a random security guard as she picks you up from working Sunday school at the J.C.C. The police harass you following a cousin’s bar mitzvah. These are just some of the forms of harassment that I and my loved ones have experienced in spaces where all Jews are supposed to be able to safely congregate. More often than not, members of our communities are put in precarious positions in regards to dealing with bigotry that presents itself in spaces meant to for all Jews.

...Ashkenormativity is a unique form of eurocentrism that has found its way into Jewish culture. In a twisted way, the “whiteness” that became a hallmark of power due to European colonialism has been able to become a boon for white-passing Jews, in particular Ashkenazim. While in much of actual Europe, anti-Semitism is so deeply rooted that even having white skin doesn’t necessarily enable you with privilege, in the unique case of America, it allows for a situational point of privilege that changes based on the whim of the majority. The same way that in so much of society, we have defined white people as the “default” person, a similar sentiment has translated into defining the Ashkenazi as the “normative” Jew.

For Jews of Color — some of whom are Ashkenazi themselves though still face racism based on the color of their skin — we are not only asking for our fellow Jews to use the privilege they do have in non-Jewish society to better the lives of others; we are demanding to be equal members of our own Jewish communities.

This is not only an American issue. In Israel, even though our Jewishness is no longer seen as a threat, we still face the brutal realities of racism. The slayings of Solomon Teka and Yehuda Biadga last year have caused widespread communal outrage and have brought to the forefront the issues of racism and police brutality in Israeli society. Out of the six Ethiopian Israeli men murdered over the last five years, only the death of one was prosecuted and the sentence only carried the weight of three years. It took until this past January for Haymanot Judaism, the religious practices unique to Beta Israel (Ethiopian Jews), to be fully acknowledged by the Chief Rabbinate as an authentic form of Judaism, despite the ruling of late Chief Rabbi Ovadia Yosef in the early 1970s and decisions made in 2014 to recognize Haymanot Judaism. This means that for the last few decades, many Ethiopian Jews living in Israel either had to convert to Rabbinic Judaism or jump through hoops to be able to engage in major life events like marriage.

Systemic racism from both religious and policing structures in Israel have only worked to attempt to assimilate Ethiopian Jewry in a way that is grossly inappropriate. This includes incidents like the distribution of birth control to Ethiopian women without giving them full disclosure on the effects, throwing out blood donations given by Ethiopians, and sending Ethiopian teens off to boarding schools after settling into Israel. These were all on top of police practices like racial profiling as well as racism from fellow Israelis. Now we are seeing the younger generation taking an active and aggressive stance in protecting themselves and their rights as fellow Israeli citizens against the structures that their own parents couldn’t fight against.

The list of injustices goes on: Out of the many issues of disgusting racism that have occurred against the Mizrahi Jews, one of the most chilling is the disappearances of the over 1000 Yemeni children in the 1950s that until the last two decades went widely under-investigated. Systemic segregation was used as a weapon against many Mizrahi Jews who came to live in Israel. Segregation, religious intolerance, economic inequality, and harassment led to the formation of HaPanterim HaShhorim, the Israeli Black Panthers, in the ’70s to fight against the discrimination faced by Mizrahi and Sephardi Jews. Even today as society improves, there is an education and wealth disparity between Mizrahi and Ashkenazi Jews.

Historically, there has also been a bad habit of the Ashkenazim attempting to triumph their own traditions as greater or more authentic, leading to times when Ethiopian and Indian Jews have been pressured to “convert” as if they weren’t already Jewish.

Even the very way we define Zionism needs to change. Theodor Herzl, the Austrian Jew largely credited as “the father of political Zionism,” was an assimilationist. His viewpoint on what the Jewish state of the future would become was fashioned in a way that only took in the perspective of the non-religious Ashkenazim who frequented his circles. Herzl also supported the Ottoman government against the Armenian rebellion for independence, which resulted in the Armenian genocide.

The issue at the heart of the Zionism that dominates our culture is that the person who we are so quick to give credit to left out a huge portion of our people and didn’t intend on ever including us. Crediting a single person for the dream of Jewish liberation and sovereignty overlooks the fact that our culture, people, and faith thrives because of the fluidity and strength of our many traditions. We should instead credit our families, communities, leaders, and more importantly, ourselves, with the continued survival of our people.

We come from a tradition that calls for us to actively reinterpret what we were left to inherit. For our community to effectively come together, we need to have more hard discussions and push for change. At this point we should not have to ask; we demand our fellow Jews to give us an actual spot at the table.

[mishpacha]

Amazing how goyim trip over themselves to talk about racism in Israel against Beta Yisrael but they are completely unwilling to discuss institutionalized antisemitism in Ethiopia, the targeted murder of Beta Yisrael in Ethiopia, the antisemitic caricatures of Jewish people in Ethiopian society, how Ethiopian cemeteries refuse to bury Jewish people to this day, the central Ethiopian government’s continued program to keep remaining Jewish people landless and in poverty, and how the Coptic church of Ethiopia has deemed the Beta Yisrael community a threat now that they’ve started being open about their Jewish identity rather than accepting them as equals.

[queendeleona]

Itz MamaAfricaMonday... pt.2 of 3

[jewish-microwave-laser]

"sefardic jews … are from the iberian peninsula, so spain and portugal. sometimes the term sefardic also refers to north african and some middle eastern jews, mostly because the sefardic culture was really proliferated through that area"

not really a refutation, i'm just adding that this is due largely to the expulsion of jews from spain in 1492; many jews ended up fleeing to north africa because life under muslim rule was less oppressive than life under christian rule. this is what happened to important figures like maimonides (who, importantly, became the central figure in many yemeni traditions)

askenazi jews were bonded through their common use of hebrew and yiddish

famously, the only ashkenazim that knew hebrew were the men who studied torah regularly, and it was NEVER used colloquially. it only became a common language through the haskalah

mizrahi jews are the jews we would most think of as being ancestrally and genetically tied to the land of israel

i have no idea who thinks mizrahim are somehow more tied to eretz yisrael, but whoever does, generally, is wrong. ALL major jewish populations studied are found to have genetic ties to eretz yisrael. here are some studies that are publicly accessible: x, x, x; and here are some that require institutional access (i have pdfs saved, dm me if you can't access them yourself) x, x

i also want to note that this idea of genetic ties to a culture is. fucking stupid. as we've seen with discussions around blood quantum and as is very lovingly discussed by wc anderson in "nation on no map," genetics should not be regarded as the end all and be all of a cultural claim

israel’s settler colonial policy has really prioritized immigration and settlement of ashkenazi jews—not sefardic jews and not mizrahi jews. it’s also really important to note that ethiopian and black african jews were really excluded from immigration efforts to israel

if we're measuring "immigration efforts" in terms of literal airplanes sent to a land to pick jews up from a place and bring them to eretz yisrael, this is completely, blatantly wrong. for ethiopian jews alone we got operations x moses x, joshua x, and solomon x, the latter of which ended up getting a world record for most people on a flight x. this could and should be a series of posts in and of itself so i'm just gonna link the wikipedia page to the jewish exodus from the SWANA region, x; it's a good starting point lmao

given that like 50% of israelis are mizrahim and/or sefardim x, if the baby state of israel didn't want them to immigrate, they really failed in realizing that lmfao

there have been some really harmful eugenicist policies in israel, like the nonconsensual (forced) sterilization of ethiopian jews who immigrated there. the israeli ministry of health actually admitted to the nonconsensual sterilization of ethiopian jewish women in 2013

nope. that's simply wrong. x, x, x. tge moment in 2013 that a lot of people say is medinas yisrael "admitting" to this, is actually them saying that if there is any doubt in the person's level of consent, then the shot should not be given. basically, the cause of the decline of birthrates of beta yisrael are in dispute, and if it was due to the administration of depo shots, it wasn't out of malice but rather out of miscommunications and grey areas. it's important to note that the original report only spoke to 30 women, not a great sample size

also, if medinas yisrael wanted to decrease the number of black jews in its midst, why all the covert operations to save ethiopian jews specifically?

the differentiation between mizrahi jews and sefardic jews would have helped to legitimize their ancestral ties and genetic ties to the land of palestine

all jewish communities have genetic and ancestral ties to eretz yisrael. see above. also, the history of mizrahim is way more complex than this. they didn't just spring into existence because the state of israel willed them to. many of these communities are (were) the oldest jewish communities in the world (before they were forced from their homes by pogroms)

my family is ashkenazi—we are ethnically polish, with a little bit of lithuanian—which is how i know that our origins are not in palestine

ALL JEWISH COMMUNITIES HAVE ANCESTRAL AND GENETIC TIES TO ERETZ YISRAEL HOW DO YOU THINK THE JEWS GOT TO POLAND AND LITHUANIA???

[my grandfather’s] genetic origins were in poland, where my father was a rabbi. like, look at my face, look at my skin, look at my freckles. i am not genetically mizrahi, i do not have ancestral ties to palestine

please be so for real right now. you are lITERALLY DOING RACE SCIENCE ON TIKTOK TO INGRATIATE YOURSELF TO ANTISEMITES WHO WANT TO ERASE JEWISH HISTORY. YOUR PEOPLE'S HISTORY

[dog-day-morning]

WRONG MESSIAH WRONG PEOPLE Acts 1:1-14 Israel is run by gentiles who are not Israelite by blood. They call themselves Jews by declaration not by lineage. Jews are in the midst of casting out God's chosen people from Israel for fear of the prophetic word that states these Edomite gentiles, along with an admixture of the people of Alkebulan’s (Israel), whose DNA the Father anointed has blessed them will bow down, and worship at our feet. They fear the truth knowing we’ve determined the lies they’ve told us were intended to hide our identity from us, and the world out of hatred. The Jewish holocaust lasted for 4yrs whereas the curses of Deuteronomy have lasted 400yrs, and counting. No other tribe of people has suffered like the Israelites according to the curses, and accounts in Deuteronomy 28 save a peculiar people. And it shall come to pass, that as the Lord rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you; so the Lord will rejoice over you to destroy you, and to bring you to nought; and ye shall be plucked from off the land whither thou goest to possess it. And the Lord shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, even wood and stone. This is why I don't worship other religious faiths or religions. I'm cautious when it comes to Christianity knowing the deviltry of man, and the depths he will go, and has in order to maintain his stranglehold on us as a people. What allows a person to never be held accountable for their sins on Earth, but makes a race or tribe of people the burden bearer for all of Earth's iniquity? The devil is an accuser whose minions are fearful of the word manifesting in this generation. What we see on display isn't just a show of rebellion, but a fear of an arrogant people losing their position in the Earth which was only meant to be temporary, but in truth it wasn't meant to be at all. If 5 Black males congregate on a street corner it puts fear, spite, and hatred in the hearts of the so-called fragile psyche of those who want to control us. They call the Police in the hope of getting innocent people arrested or murdered. But 200 members of the proud boys can march through Urban Philadelphia in a show of defiance with Police protection, and nobody confronts them except a different breed of Black, Brown, and white people who are not like their fathers of old who relish in the thought of sending Jethro back to the woods with the rest of the hood boogers. The Jewish cabal worships Satan in the literal sense. They are the Devils cronies who know their time is up. Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time. They understand that the God of our fathers isn't playing games. If you ascribe this to my person as I’ve done in theory, how can God's 2 faithful witnesses see the Son of God and His Father if their hearts hadn't been tried like some of you? Revelation 11:3-13 3 And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. 4 These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. 5 And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed. 6 These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will. 7 And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. 8 And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. 9 And they of the

people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves. 10 And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth. 11 And after three days and an half the spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them. 12 And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them. 13 And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven. The God of Israel has decreed this. The Jews in Israel will suffer a harsh penalty for their crimes against the Nigerian, Igbo Israelites, the Ethiopian Beta Israelites, the Ugandan Abayudaya, and other sects of Israelite people including the American tribal people of Ghana Africa (Judah), Gad (Native American), Reuben (Aboriginal Australian), and Issachar (Mexican South American descendants.) They are deporting the Yisraelites in Alkebulan out of Yisrael as though this can inundate God's plan. You’re bringing God to a higher and greater glory, fulfilling the promises He made to His people in this day for this generation. Joshua 24:13 13 And I have given you a land for which ye did not labour, and cities which ye built not, and ye dwell in them; of the vineyards and olive yards which ye planted not do ye eat. It’s a shame to construct a global economy only to be denied the American dream; it's a nightmare. For those that cater to the State of Israel like some Congressmen, and women who are Edomite Jews that are not willing to put in place a reparations plan for the ADOS, FBA, and all indigenous people of North America based on the Western Nations financing of the temporary inhabitants of Israel is an injustice to humanity. Our oppressor isn’t going to give up his throne or authority willingly, he’s drunk with it. Look to God to deliver us not man, especially those who historically have shown their extreme distaste and revulsion for us. God tells us: If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. God foreknew, He's all knowing, and all seeing. If one of them were to cosign a reparations bill for Black people they would’ve been found dead inside their congressional office within days or maybe hours. When your own people who look as you do, but think according to their massa’s will, in order to live a season of sin with the wicked advocating for the gentiles who live off our promised inheritance, and this nonphysical, hidden, unseen, but shrewd, devious bit of craft called white privilege, that Black people who believe in Yeshua spiritually call favor with God. What this microwave generation has asserted, and addressed as privilege in actuality is sinister, and diabolical. It's a Janus-like, double minded, spirit of torment that has caused a lot of agony to a people they refuse to relinquish that will bring a harsh judgment to them and the Earth, and yes, I’m paying my price. The people of Canaan were destroyed after having knowledge of the true living God. The Father isn't one who relishes in the spilling of innocent blood. He will always send you a warning before calamity comes to your doorstep. He's been doing it for the last 2,000 years. Like the Egyptians they refused to believe in the God the Israelites praised, and worshipped thinking He finds favor in them who shed innocent blood. This is the situation we find the Earth in once more with the Israelites who this time are being forced out of their homeland waiting for a deliverer. The people that lived in Canaan were not ignorant of

the God of Israel. Many times the impression is given that God ordered the Israelites to swoop in and destroy innocent people. But these people were neither innocent nor ignorant. They had heard about the God of Israel; it was they who rejected Him. When the 2 spies were sent to spy out the Land of Promise they were told by Rahab the prostitute: Joshua 2:9-11 9 And she said unto the men, I know that the Lord hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you. 10 For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed. 11 And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the Lord your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath. They had heard of the true God but had rejected Him. Consequently, their entire society acted in a sinful way. The Apostle Paul spoke of these people: Though they knew God they refused to believe let alone acknowledge Him as the true living God. The Father let their minds become reprobate following their flesh. What comes good of the flesh people? Nothing. They were shapen in iniquity, and in sin did their mothers conceive them. Israel is the biggest Nation on Earth that supports the Trans community being led by a morbidly, corrupted government overrun with rampant homosexuality, and like Amerikkka they endorse pedophilia. Of all the Nations on the Earth, Israel ranks number one in unnatural sex, and relations more so than the United States of Amerikkka, and Amerikkka’s European counterparts. When Jews here in the states get arrested for unlawful sexual acts committed against children those who have convenient connections are able to seek refuge, and fly to Israel fleeing prosecution. Oftentimes this is warranted, by US gov’t protection agencies who assist them in their transition back to Israel. Larry Nassar whose last name is Jewish, but they claim him not. The faith he was raised in makes him a Catholic which reeks of corruption, and entitlement that exceeds the realm of sexually deviant malfeasance executed by this religious sect that historically has gotten away with the most egregious sins committed against God's innocent ones. The FBIs handling of his high profile case was a case study in buffoonery, and an insane margin of flexibility that cannot be explained to a person of a simple mind. Hopefully this gov’t will learn which is doubtful. Pray that the payoff of a high monetary lawsuit will make the US government look at this flawed system, and send Goober Pyle back to law school or a police precinct to learn how to do his job. This is not privilege, it’s sin. Romans 1:21-25 21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, 23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four footed beasts, and creeping things. 24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: 25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. The inhabitants of Canaan were neither ignorant nor innocent victims of an angry God. They were committing these terrible sins being fully aware of the true and living God. Because they rejected Him, God judged them harshly. How do you explain the people of Israel, Amerikkka, Europe, and the rest of the West in this day and time? You can't without condemning them, and the rest of humanity which the Father had all authority to do. Instead, He sent His Son to die for Yisrael whom we rejected giving the

gentiles a pathway to His Kindome. Why do you refuse to accept His truth? Forgiving a jackass is like storing wine in old wineskins or plastic garbage bags. The messenger has made your hearts cold, and bitter towards the Father, and His Son Yeshua? Learn from us, and prepare for a New World in its natural order of things because this right here ain't it. Good evening people, Elohim 9/25/2021

[davidibenzion]

La storia di Beta Yisrael è un po 'complicata quando si tratta di sapere da dove è iniziata. Sappiamo che Moshe ha sposato una donna di Etiopan di nome Ziporah in Numbers 12. Ciò ha causato un sacco di attrito tra Moshe, suo fratello Aaron e la sorella Miriam. Dio intervenne e punì Miriam con la lebbra e comandò al popolo di Israele di non muoversi nel deserto per 7 giorni. Credo che ciò dimostri che il razzismo è iniziato anche allora, considerando la discordia sulla moglie di Moshe. Credo che i bambini di Moshe siano sparpagliati in Africa perché il loro padre non si è recato nella Terra Promessa. In Atti 8: 26-40 vediamo il primo credente messianico nella terra. Ancor prima che gli europei prendessero il Vangelo. Stiamo presentando la storia dei nostri antenati dalla fonte dell'Associazione israeliana per ebrei etiopi (IAEJ). come segue.

EBREI AUTENTICI

Poiché gran parte della storia di Beta Israel è passata oralmente di generazione in generazione, potremmo non conoscerne mai veramente le origini. Esistono quattro teorie principali sugli inizi della comunità Beta Israel:

1.Beta Israel potrebbe essere la tribù israelita perduta di Dan.

2.Potrebbero essere discendenti di Menelik I, figlio del re Salomone e della regina Saba.

3.Possono essere discendenti di cristiani e pagani etiopi che si sono convertiti al giudaismo secoli fa.

4.Potrebbero essere discendenti di ebrei che fuggirono da Israele per l'Egitto dopo la distruzione del Primo Tempio nel 586 a.C. e si stabilirono in Etiopia.

A prescindere da quale teoria possa effettivamente essere corretta (e ogni teoria ha il suo supporto), l'autenticità dell '"ebraicità" della comunità è diventata un problema.

[obsidianarchives]

Ashley Romans

Ashley Romans started her formal acting training at Pace University School of Performing Arts. She moved to Los Angeles immediately after graduating in 2015.  Los Angeles theater credits include:  Celebration's Charm (Beta), Rotterdam (StageRaw and LADCC award recipients).  Film/Television credits include: "I'm Dying Up Here" and "Shameless" (Showtime), "Are You Sleeping?" (Apple TV), "Hermione Granger and the Quarter Life Crisis" (Sunshine Moxie), "NOS4A2" (AMC new series).

Black Girls Create: What do you create?

I’m an actor. I create by acting. Collaborating with writers, directors, designers, and visionaries in whichever medium possible to hopefully create an honest reflection of a being’s life experience.

BGC: How do I create?

I suppose my entire creative process begins with healthy self trickery. Not quite deception but more healthy, playful, self manipulation. Naturally as creators we have a way of resisting and fearing whatever it is we most want to bring about into the world. Similar to a mother’s fear of giving birth or raising a child, we think “what if the world doesn’t receive my creation well? What if people are mean? What if it’s not healthy or ready?” I often find myself trying to bribe or trick my way out of this fear. I trick myself into going into my next audition as confidently as I can, or preparing for that day on set when I really don’t want to, or finding some connection with a character trait I find reprehensible.

I also think it is very important to stay relaxed and loose so one can reach a playful and spiritual place of creativity. So I try and keep myself healthy; mentally, spiritually, and physically by reading, eating healthy, journaling, praying, meditating, and exercising.  

BGC: How did you get into acting?

I would say my professional pursuit officially began when I went to study theater at Pace University in New York City for my undergraduate degree, but for as long as I can remember I always had an interest in acting. I loved watching ‘90s action/drama movies with my father and “I Love Lucy” reruns with my mother as a child at all hours of the day. I became even more interested in theater and performance through high school choir, joining community summer camps, and doing the spring high school musical.

Even as an adolescent I felt it was best to keep my professional aspirations to myself in fear of naysayers. In retrospect, I understand now that high school is a time a lot of young people are dealing with self doubt and insecurity. Considering that I was far from the funniest, smartest, or most talented individual in the theater department, I, unconsciously, kept my performing ambitions quiet even from the people closest to me because I didn’t want to risk someone rubbing their self doubt on me. I worked up the courage to audition for a couple of acting schools but I told no one except my acting teacher Douglas Hooper and a few very close mates.

I still abide by this privacy philosophy even now and it hasn’t steered me wrong to this day. I still feel that speaking one’s dreams and aspirations among chaotic or unsupportive energy environment would most likely dissipate or poison their own source.  

Eventually after graduating from Pace University through a couple months of tumbling I landed representation for acting with a management company and I moved out to Los Angeles. I’ve been able to land some great acting opportunities and gain a supportive team of people and I could not be more grateful.

BGC: What has been your favorite role so far?

I have so many favorites. The roles that stand out to me as my favorite are the ones that have most challenged me and allowed me to explore a different aspect of life, and explore and connect to the full range of the human experience. I’ve received some of my most valuable acting lessons in various roles in the theater. I played Inez, a red dressed-vixen-leading lady with a passionate, deep-seeded hatred for her ex-husband in Stephen Adly Guirgis’ Our Lady of 121st. Two years ago I played Beta, a young teenage gang affiliated boy in Chicago with a secret in Phillip Dawkins’s play Charm at Celebration Theater. This coming March I will be part of the Kirk Douglas’s production Rotterdam by Jon Brittain. Set in the Netherlands, I will play Fiona/Adrian, one half of a modern London couple who decides to make a huge change in their life. My experience acting in these productions specifically has been positively nurturing. Throughout our rehearsal process, I learned what it means to be not just a more nuanced and skilled actor but also a more supportive and capable teammate in the creative process.

In terms of film/television world, my work as Hermione Granger in Sunshine Moxie’s Hermione Granger and the Quarter Life Crisis remains my greatest acting lesson in the film/television/on-camera discipline.  Eliyannah Yisrael, Megan Grogan, Alice Pierce, other writers and producers leveled up my game up. I’ve never before been number one on the call sheet and I’m not sure if I ever will again, but having that responsibility was so enlightening. It was also an invaluable learning experience getting to work with those amazing creators and seeing those women just get shit done. It was truly an honor being chosen to play such an important and monumental literary character in this version. I remember reading the Harry Potter series as a little girl in London and thinking how much I wanted to be part of and live in that magical world. Playing Hermione in the HGQLC series was by far the best artistic adventure I’ve ever had. Exploring moments, scenes and how far we can bring characters all felt like adventures. Even our trip to Dublin, Ireland this past year felt like one big adventure. I’ll be forever grateful for that experience.

BGC: Why do you create?

I enjoy acting because I love being seen and getting to disappear. It’s a paradox but it’s my truth. I enjoy exploring the range of human experience. I love that I get to feel connected to people in the safe incubator that is pretend. I love that I get to feel and say all the things I’m afraid to feel and say in my real life. I still never get bored of going to the theater, movie or stage, sitting in a dark room with other people and watching performers simply tell us a story. I hope to serve God and the people around me through my creativity and acting. I always hope to truthfully represent a human experience no matter how high or low the stakes it might seem to us at first. Losing your phone and frantically trying to find it can be as exciting and dramatic a story as losing one’s job or finding out your spouse is unfaithful. It’s all in the storytelling and truthfulness of the moment and I love as an actor I get to explore that.

BGC: Who do you hope to reach through your work?

Honestly, the most important people I aim to ultimately reach and impress are my nieces and nephews. Yes the public, my agents, and producers are all important but I feel as though they are a means to an end. Right now my oldest niece is 10 years old and she loves the Hermione series and is always pretty excited to see me act on TV. At the moment she still thinks I’m pretty cool and I hope to keep it that way.

If this was a decade ago and you asked 16-year-old Ashley the same question I probably would have said something like “I want to be a voice for the voiceless and the underrepresented… blah blah blah.” Truthfully, I don’t think I ever really knew what that meant. I mean, I knew what it meant on a superficial-runner-up-in-Beauty-Pageant kind of level but now that answer doesn’t resonate with me as the gutter truth. Whenever I’m working on scripts, deciding on content to create or post etc, I ask myself “Is this something I would be proud to let my niece see? Is this the kind of work that can help make the world even the tiniest bit better for her?” Eventually, she’s going to grow up and have a voice in this world and I hope that her seeing me embrace mine will give her the courage to embrace hers. My nieces and nephews and all the children like them are who I hope to reach.

I really love seeing how the world is changing now. Representation in the media was so limited even 10 years ago but now it’s getting more and more beautiful by the day. With so many platforms, works such as Pose, Glow, Fresh Off the Boat, Chewing Gum, Masters of None, Eighth Grade, and more, so many beings who have been underrepresented for years are getting a chance to reach their audiences and tell their stories. And we all get to identify and see ourselves in each other. I don’t have to reach out and save the world because it kind of starts with myself and our own backyard.

BGC: Who or what inspires you to keep creating?

Oh geez, that’s a loaded question. My peers are my first and foremost inspiration and motivation. Again Eliyannah Yisrael, Megan Grogan, Alice Pearce, Jessica Jenks. It’s remarkable to watch those ladies do what they do. I love being in acting class and witnessing breakthroughs or being in a really great rehearsal with a cast mate. That’s always promising when you get to be part of the creation of something honest and true.  Even if it is just a great moment in a scene. Actors who inspire me are endless. Octavia Spencer is a fantastic actress and creator who I adore. I had the blessing of working with her once and she’s an even better human.  Lovely doesn’t do her justice. I love watching Regina King. There’s a great example of an honest to God creator and storyteller. She’s accomplished so much in acting, directing, writing, and producing. That’s also how I feel about Shonda Rhimes, Boots Riley, Jim Carrey, Maggie Gyllenhaal. There are many more. I’m sure as soon as you publish this interview I’m going to think of more.

BGC: Why is it important as a Black person to create?

As Black people, we have such a specific and loaded way we walk through the world. The Hermione Series has such a beautiful tag line.  It says “HGQLC - Write Your Own Ending.”  I’ve always loved that because it gives power to the subject.  As Black people it is our responsibility to take control of our story the best way we can.  We must feed our communities the best and most honest images of ourselves to ourselves because images and representation matters. In the area of cinema, for years non-Black people have told their version of the Black experience and it has left us misrepresented.

BGC: How do you balance creating with the rest of your life?

It’s always a struggle to keep a balanced life. I have a tendency to obsess and quickly lose perspective but when I want to regain balance I plan my day to make sure I get everything I need in. Luckily for me in my particular art form, acting is about living so I know I can’t be a good actor if I’m not allowing myself to experience life and fun.   

BGC: Have you been able to build a support system around yourself? What does that look like?

I feel so grateful for my support system. I have amazing representation, an amazing day job with super awesome and motivating coworkers who are actively pursuing their life goals. I also have super supportive family and friends who tell me they’re proud of me just for being myself. My sister is also a great support system, someone I can speak and think out loud with no fear of judgment. I could not be any luckier.

BGC: Any advice for young creators/ones just starting?

It takes 10,000 hours to be a professional at anything. So just put in the hours, however that may look. Either do it, read about it, watch a YouTube video on it, whatever you have to do to learn about your craft and get better.  

BGC: Any future projects?

I’m going to be doing a remounting of the stage production Rotterdam at the historic Kirk Douglas Theater in Culver City. It’s a short run, performances run from March 28 - April 7th, but it’s such a blessing to revisit this work with such a remarkable group of people.  It’s a super funny and insightful play about gender and love.

In the television world I just finished wrapping a new AMC series starring Zachary Quinto and Ashleigh Cummings called NOS4A2. I don’t know the exact date it is to be released but it’s happening soon. The series is based of the hit novel by Joe Hill and it centers around a teenager (Cummings) who uses supernatural abilities to track down the seemingly immortal Charlie Manx (Quinto), who steals children and deposits them in “Christmasland.”  I play a Detective Tabitha Hutter trying to suss out the truth. This series has supernatural fantasy, horror, action/adventure, procedural, and family drama. Everything you want to see.