kulanu presentation
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KulanuA 501(c)(3) organization
helping dispersed and emerging Jewish
communities
Communities with a Kulanu Connection
• India - Bnei Menashe, Bene Ephraim and Pashtuns• Uganda – Abayudaya• Ethiopia – Beta Israel• Southern Africa - Lemba• Ghana - Sefwi• Nigeria• Rwanda and Burundi• Many Countries - Anousim (“Marranos,” “Conversos”,
“Crypto-Jews”) • Peru• Brazil• Ecuador• Suriname• Mexico• Italy
Where Are These Communities?
Jewish Communities in India (1) Manipur and
(2) Mizoram Bnei Menashe
(3) Kolkata Baghdadi
(4) Andhra Pradesh Bene Ephraim (Telugu)
(5) Mumbai Bene Israel Baghdadi
(6) Cochin Cochini
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Kulanu’s Journey Began in 1994 Among the Bnei Menashe
in India• Descendants of the
tribe of Menashe exiled in 722 B.C.E.
• In the 1800’s, Christian missionaries found Jews on the Burmese border in northern India
• Many now making aliyah to Israel
At the ark
Kulanu Sent a Rabbinic Couple to Teach and Study with the Bene
Ephraim in IndiaThe Bene Ephraim community in Andhra Pradesh speak Telugu and maintain Jewish traditions
African Communities with Kulanu Connection
(1) Ethiopia Beta Israel
(2) Southern Africa Lemba
(3) Ghana Sefwi
(4) Nigeria Igbo (Ibo)
(5) Uganda Abayudaya
(6) Burundi and Rwanda Tutsi
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Abayudaya of Uganda• Embraced Judaism 1919• Persisted despite persecution• Educated by Jewish visitors• United States-trained rabbi
returned in 2008
Rabbi Gershom Sizomu with mother and brother
at his installation
Purim Service at Moses Synagogue
Abayudaya (cont.)
• Conversion 2002: 300+ individuals in Uganda
How Kulanu Helps: Abayudaya Education
• Support for elementary and secondary schools
• Nutrition program• Health education• Women’s empowerment• Agricultural development
Kulanu volunteer teaching at Abayudaya primary school
Girls’ book project Child hunger project
How Kulanu Helps: Abayudaya Economic
Development• Micro-credit projects• Water and electricity• Fair trade interfaith coffee project• Agricultural
development• Tourism
program
Package from interfaith fair trade coffee shop
Abayudaya women welcoming mitzvah tourists
Kulanu Helps Ethiopian Jews in Israel and
Ethiopia• The Ethiopian Jewish
community known as Beta Israel (House of Israel) can trace its lineage to biblical times
• Western travelers to Ethiopia discovered the community in the 1800’s
• 75,000 have gone to Israel (Operation Moses, 1984, and Operation Solomon, 1991)
• Many more are waiting
Men generally do
the embroidery
Ethiopia (cont.)
National Conference of Ethiopian Jews (NACOEJ)
COMPOUND IN ADDIS ABABA (closed in 2007)
Children’s feeding program
Children waiting for the circus
Ten Commandments in Amharic
Kulanu Has Worked with the Lemba in South Africa and
Zimbabwe
• Oral history of Jewish origins
• Genetic evidence of Jewish origins
• Anthropologist Tudor Parfitt has written books about the Lemba
Tudor Parfitt
Kulanu Helped the Jewish Community in Ghana Develop a
BusinessSefwi Wiawso in Ghana• Oral history: they were Jews
from Ethiopia via Mali • Kulanu helps them sell beautiful
African fabric challah covers and kente-cloth tallitot
• Kulanu has helped send Jewish studies teachers to Ghana
• Kulanu sent Ghana leader to study with Abayudaya in Uganda
Igbos (Ibos) of Nigeria • Possible descendants of ancient
Israelites• Kulanu helps community in many
ways: – Arranged month-long
consultation for American rabbi with Nigerian Jewish leader
– Sent Jewish books and materials
– Supported research, writing and outreach projects on Igbo/Israel connection
– Assisted Igbo Jewish leader in application to American university to continue his studies
Igbo-Ukwu Visit w Rabbi Brant Rosen
Tutsis of Rwanda and Burundi
• Supported the work of Havila, organization led by Yochanan Bwejeri, a Tutsi exile living in Belgium
• Havila researches history of Tutsi/Israelite connection• Supports Havila human rights work to prevent further
genocide• Sponsored two Tutsi community seders in Brussels• Advocated with members of US Congress and State
Department to avert impending genocide
Latin American Communities with a Kulanu
ConnectionThe Jewish communities in Latin America are primarily Anousim and descendants of Jewish traders
(1) Brazil
(2) Mexico
(3) Ecuador
(4) Peru
(5) Suriname
(6) Caribbean
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Anousim (“Forced Ones”)
Expulsions:Spain (1492)
and Portugal (1497)
TurkeyEurope
North AfricaBrazil, Ecuador
MexicoSurinameCaribbean
U.S.
Bnei Anousim are descendants of Spanish and Portuguese Jews forcibly converted to Catholicism 500 years ago during the Spanish Inquisition
Based on genetic studies, scholars suggest that 20% of Spain’s and one-third of Portugal’s population may have Jewish heritage
Anousim (“Forced Ones”) (cont.)
• Many Jewish communities in Latin America have Anousim Roots
• Some have a heritage of Jewish traders intermarrying with local settlers and assimilating into the general population
• Other communities have been out of touch with the mainstream Jewish community for decades. Kulanu helps some of these: – Turkey– Europe– North Africa– Brazil– Ecuador– Mexico– Suriname– Caribbean– U.S.
Jewish Community of Peru
Tarapoto• Assimilated Moroccan Jews
who arrived in 19th century
Huánuco (400 km NE of Lima) • Originally Ashkenazic Jews
who came for business• Died out/chose Catholicism in
early 20th century when Peru only permitted the registry of civil status, marriage, and children via the Catholic Church
• Later became Crypto-Jews or people no longer accepting Catholicism
Anousim in Brazil
• It is estimated that 10% of Brazil’s 170 million people are of Jewish heritage
Synagogue in Recife
Jewish Community of Suriname in Paramaribo
The 2008 community SederTorah reading in the Neve Shalom
Synagogue (2008)
Anousim in Mexico
Havurah in Mexico City
Women in Veracruz SynagoguePesach in Puebla
Tefillin
Anousim in Mexico (cont.)
• The Anousim of Mexico have a difficult time being accepted by the “mainstream” Jewish community
Anousim are also Found in the United States
• Secretive about background
• Southwestern U.S.
How Kulanu Helps
Linking Jewish Communities• Maintains contact with >20 communities in
more than 13 countries on five continents• Encourages group and individual travel to
isolated communities• Organizes community meetings with guest
speakers• Supports Bar and Bat Mitzvah Projects
How Kulanu Helps (cont.)
Jewish Education• Organizes Batei Din groups of Rabbis (Jewish
courts)• Assists in Rabbinic training• Sends books, religious items, recordings• Recruits teachers and sponsors
study/teaching trips to isolated communities• Sponsors interns to work in Kulanu
communities
How Kulanu Helps (cont.)
Financial Opportunities• Provides scholarships• Encourages cottage industries• Operates an online boutique of
handicrafts• Raises money to build community
institutions
How Kulanu Helps (cont.)
Media• Quarterly newsletter• Recordings of music • Books
• Jews in Places You Never Thought Of• Under One Canopy: Readings in Jewish
Diversity• Email discussion groups in English, Spanish, and
Portuguese• Website• Kulanu email updates• Kulanu blog and Facebook page• Operates online boutique of Jewish crafts, books and
music
• It’s easy to design a mitzvah project with us!• Visit our web site, kulanu.org/mitzvahprojects
for more ideas or to get started on designing a project!
• Sign In
• Donate
• Visit
How You Can Help
• Volunteer
• Host speakers
• Raise funds
kulanu.org/getinvolved
Contact Information
www.kulanu.org
Kulanu165 West End Ave., 3R
New York, NY 10023
(212) 877-8082
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