Total population | |
---|---|
c. 400 (est.) | |
Regions with significant populations | |
200 in Ghana [1] | |
Languages | |
Sefwi, French, English | |
Religion | |
Judaism | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Sefwi |
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]
Part of a series on |
Jews and Judaism |
---|
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]
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]
Total population | |
---|---|
c. 400 (est.) | |
Regions with significant populations | |
200 in Ghana [1] | |
Languages | |
Sefwi, French, English | |
Religion | |
Judaism | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Sefwi |
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]
Part of a series on |
Jews and Judaism |
---|
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]
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]