Lost Jewish Communities
The Lost Jewish Communities (LJC) Olami participants accent their nine months in Israel with one week each in Portugal, Uganda and India. Throughout the course of the year, they study and explore the physical, cultural and spiritual survival of a variety of small Jewish communities who lived for many centuries in isolation. These groups not only live according to some Jewish rituals and beliefs, but also spark for us questions about Jewish identity and challenge definitions previously more clearly understood. LJC Olami is an in depth investigation of these groups and offers students opportunities to meet some of their representatives.
Portugal - The inquisition reachedPortugal in 1497 and was Christianity’s attempt to massively convert the Jews. Many Jews fledPortugal. Some converted to Christianity. Others had their children taken from them to be raised in Catholic homes. Some were imprisoned and tortured to death as they continued to practice their religion. Lastly, a large group pretended to convert to Christianity while secretly practicing Judaism and hundreds of years later, in modern dayPortugal, they still remember fragments of their Jewish ancestry and some still practice Jewish rituals in secret. LJC Participants meet some of these Jews who now struggle with their identity and thoughts of returning to a full Jewish life. Sites may include:
- Jewish quarter of Porto
- Rossio Square, site of Inquisition Trials
- Sera De Estrela Nature Park
- Covhila winery
- The Monument to the Discoveries
Uganda - Christian missionaries have been active for hundreds of years inAfrica. Through their work, various African tribes have been exposed to the Jewish and Christian Bibles, raising the curiosity of a few communities that identified with the Jewish story. One of those communities inEastern Uganda is the Abayudaya who began to delve into Jewish practice in the early 1900’s. Thousands were on their way to becoming fully Jewish when the dictator Idi Amin came to power in 1971 and subsequently outlawed Judaism forcing Ugandans to convert to either Christianity or Islam. After Idi Amin was overthrown in 1979, there was resurgence in Jewish interest. In2002, a group of Conservative Jewish rabbis went toUganda to perform a mass Jewish conversion for the Abayudaya. Today the community is small but flourishing with branches in several villages. During this exciting visit toUganda, LJC participants spend time in the Abayudaya villages surrounded by the unique traditions of this intriguing Jewish community. Sites may include:
- Entebbeairport
- Budongo Nature Reserve
- Jinja commercial centers
- Kampala; consider the merits of the “British Uganda Program” as Herzl considered this potential homeland
India – Over the centuries various groups of Jews made their way toIndia, but after the establishment of the Jewish State, most of these Jews migrated toIsrael. Today there are about 5,000 Jews mostly located in Mumbai and LCJ will visit the Bnei Moshe community. In addition, there is another large group in the northeast ofIndia that is descendents of the original 10 Lost Tribes. The tribe of Menashe was banished fromIsrael in 722 BCE and slowly migrated east. Tens of thousands live today inIndia and still maintain some Jewish practices. They are Asian in appearance and thousands have undergone Orthodox Jewish conversion. Recently several hundred landed inIsrael as they made aliyah. Sites may include:
- The Hanging Gardens
- Baha’i Lotus Temple
- Taj Mahal
- Mani Bhavan, former residence of Ghandi
- Juni Masjid Synagogue whose founders were spared from execution by a former Muslim ruler when it was pointed out that the Bene Israel are mentioned in the Koran
While exploring the past, present, and future of each community, LJC participants will gain a better appreciation of Jewish history and culture and will confront questions, such as, how should the established Jewish world relate to these groups? What should be Judaism’s modern-day stance towards conversion? ShouldIsrael strive to absorb these groups understanding that many are from third-world countries? And finally, as Zionist how should one approach this phenomenon?
Note: Itineraries and activities of Olami tracks are subject to change or cancellation in Young Judaea’s sole and absolute discretion.
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