Black Hebrew Israelites: Anti-Semitic Extremists in the Movement
Black Hebrew Israelites believe that black people are the real “Jews.” They claim they are the “Israelites” who descended from the biblical patriarch Jacob and his sons, known as the “12 tribes of Israel.”
A number of the groups in the movement are extremists and virulently anti-Semitic.
Israel United in Christ (IUIC) is the largest of the extremist Black Hebrew Israelite groups.
IUIC’s most recent event was a mass rally in New York City in November 2022. The rally was held in support of Brooklyn Nets NBA star Kyrie Irving who was temporarily suspended for tweeting out a link to an anti-Semitic Black Hebrew Israelite film.
Marching through Brooklyn in matching purple shirts, the group chanted, “Hey, Jacob, it’s time to wake up,” referring to the group’s belief that Blacks are the biological descendants of the biblical Jacob. This was followed by, “We’ve got some good news. We are the real Jews.”
After the rally, a group of IUIC members as well as another Black Hebrew Israelite group called Sicarii gathered outside the Barclay Center, the Nets’ home venue. They detailed their belief that Jews are imposters and the "synagogue of Satan. Some expressed their avid support for Hitler. Others made the common claim that Jews will become their slaves when the “real Jews wake up.”
Who are the Black Hebrew Israelites?
Black Hebrew Israelites believe that those who call themselves Jews today are not “real” Jews. Rather, they are “fake Jews,” imposters – Ashkenazic and Sephardic Jews alike.
There are many different groups that alternatively go by the names of Black Hebrew Israelites, Black Israelites, Black Hebrews and Hebrew Israelites. Many Black Hebrew groups also consider Hispanics and Native Americans to be part of the descendants of the biblical Israelites.
Some of the groups believe in the New Testament and in Jesus, either as a prophet or a messiah. Scripturally, these groups base their claim that blacks are the “real Jews” on a passage in the New Testament (Revelation 1:15) which states:
“And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace …”
Other Black Hebrews reject Christianity altogether and rely on their own interpretations of the Old Testament, the Tanach [the expanded Jewish Bible] and/or the Talmud.
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Many Black Hebrews believe that because of their sins, black people were exiled from the Holy Land and sent to Africa. These groups tie certain curses prophesized in the Bible (Deuteronomy 28:15-68) to the transatlantic slave trade.
Other ills that are perceived to have befallen black people are also believed to be divine punishments for not keeping their covenant with God.
The Black Hebrew Israelite cause recently got a boost from a number of celebrity supporters, including Kanye West, Kyrie Irving and Nick Cannon.
Black Hebrew groups range from peaceful to extremist and from conciliatory toward Jews to hostile. The most hostile extremist groups have capitalized on the support for the movement from the above high-profile influencers.
Although the extremist groups within the movement aren’t the majority, they are the most visible. They are also virulently anti-Semitic.
The most prominent extremist group in the movement, Israel United in Christ, uses confrontational street preaching and slick internet promotions to spread their fanatical anti-Semitic, anti-white and anti-American ideology.
Key Findings on Black Hebrew Israelite Extremist Groups
Common anti-Semitic messaging used by the extremist sects within the Black Hebrew Israelite movement:
Anti-Semitic Murders and Assaults
Black Hebrew Israelite followers have been responsible for anti-Semitic murders and assaults, most recently in December 2019, when two Black Hebrew Israelites killed a police officer and then targeted a Jewish supermarket in Jersey City, New Jersey, where they shot and killed two people.
That same month, another Black Hebrew extremist, Grafton E. Thomas, attacked a group of Orthodox Jews with a machete while they were celebrating Chanukah in Monsey, New York. A 72-year-old rabbi died from his wounds three months after the attack.
Thomas is also under investigation on suspicion of having committed a previous stabbing attack on an Orthodox Jewish man on his way to the early prayer service at 5:30 a.m. on November 20, 2019; the victim was critically injured.
In October 2019, Larry Greene, a Black Hebrew follower who goes by the name of Elijah Israel, assaulted two people at a Miami synagogue while calling them “fake Jews” and telling them they should “go back to Israel.”
Attacks by Black Hebrews occurred in the 1970s and 1980s as well. In 1974, a Black Hebrew opened fire in a church, killing Alberta King, the mother of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
In the 1980s, 14 people were killed by members of the Nation of Yahweh, a Black Hebrew group. Victims included people who were white and had left the sect.
Israel United in Christ (IUIC)
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Israel United in Christ (IUIC) is the largest of the extremist Black Hebrew Israelite groups. It was founded in 2003 by Nathaniel Ray, who now goes by the name of Bishop Nathanyel Israel. Bishop Nathanyel leads the organization like a cult.
In his former profession as a detective with the New York Police Department, Bishop Nathanyel allegedly framed two young Black men for a robbery they didn’t commit. The men, who couldn’t afford bail, spent 11 months in jail until the truth came out and the charges against them were dropped.
Bishop Nathanyel regularly engages in virulent anti-Semitism and anti-white racism. He also claims that blacks – specifically those that ascribe to the Black Hebrew Israelite ideology – are the “chosen” people who are “not desired by the nations [of the world].”
IUIC’s goal is to recruit 144,000 Black, Latino and Native American people. Based on the book of Revelation (7:4), the group believes this is the number of people who will be spared by God at the End of Days.
Besides recruiting in North America, IUIC actively proselytizes overseas, including in Africa and the Caribbean.
Organizational Structure
IUIC is modeled after the military. The group is “governed” by three bishops and five deacons. Below them are captains, officers and soldiers. The U.S. is divided into five regions, each of which has at least three appointed leaders — deacons, captains or both.
Outreach and Membership
IUIC’s YouTube channel has 126,000 subscribers and almost 30 million video views. The group also runs its own Internet TV channel.
Individual IUIC chapters and members also run dozens of YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts where they post a constant stream of videos and memes, often containing anti-Semitic material.
In addition to its large online presence, IUIC gives Saturday classes and organizes outreach programs, often targeting economically depressed and racially diverse communities.
IUIC also organizes lectures and seminars on college campuses, including at Florida A&M University as well as the University of Buffalo and Rutgers University.
In addition, IUIC uses traditional community events as vehicles for outreach. The group mobilized hundreds of its members in public marches in Memphis in August 2018 and Chicago in September 2019.
Ideology
IUIC regularly refers to Jews as the “synagogue of Satan,” a common phrase used against Jews by other anti-Semitic extremists including Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan.
It is a phrase mentioned in two verses (2:9 and 3:9) in the book of Revelation and has been used through the ages to justify hatred toward Jews. IUIC and Bishop Nathanyel regularly use these verses to denigrate Jews and whitewash – even justify – the Holocaust.
- For example, IUIC retweeted a December 10, 2022 post from Bishop Nathanyel that said: “Why are Black students forced by the public school system to study and learn jewish Caucasian literature such as the diary of Ann Frank, Helen Keller, visit the Holocaust museum and the Simon Wiesenthal center? Read Revelation 2:9 and 3:9.”
In 2020, Bishop Nathanyel spoke on a Rave TV program on YouTube, saying, “Germans and the so-called Europeans that got burned up. Six million you said, right? Six million got burnt up. They’re all the same race. They are the Edomites in the Bible. They are the devil.”
On November 29, 2022, Israel gave an interview to the YouTube channel GoBlack2Africa where he displayed an article about a conference of Orthodox rabbis, who he called “fake so-called rabbis from the Jewish community.” He then accused them of “demonic activity behind the scenes."
Anti-Semitism and Anti-White Racism
Both anti-Semitism and anti-white racism are prominent in the extremist movements of the Black Hebrew Israelites. For example:
In a YouTube interview in 2022, Bishop Nathanyel said, “Let me say this about white people in Israel. They are the devil the Bible speaks of…These people are transplants. These are converts. These are not the people of God.”
In a video filmed at the Western Wall in Jerusalem and uploaded to IUIC’s YouTube channel in 2019, Benl Israel wrote a prayer on a piece of paper which he put into a crevice of the wall asking for “death to all Esau and all Edumi [Edomites],” i.e., death to all Jews and white people.
Promoting Anti-Semitic Conspiracy Theories
From accusing Jews of Zionist plots to control the world to being behind the transatlantic slave trade, IUIC’s social media is rife with anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. For example:
On December 10, 2022, IUIC tweeted: “Tune in at 2pm today as Deacon Yoshua continues to expose the secret plots of todays elite! Todays topic ‘The Zionist Replacement Theory Conspiracy ’ will put a spotlight on the lie they are pushing to the whole world!...”
(The “Zionist Replacement Conspiracy” is a Black Hebrew Israelite conspiracy theory that claims that the original biblical Jews were black but “Zionists” stole their identity. Thus, today’s Jews are imposters.)
On December 4, 2022, IUIC tweeted that Jews are “the Red Hebrew Israeli Amalekites” and accused them of “extensive involvement in the slave-trading and #HOLOCAUST of the Negroes.”
(The claim that Jews were dominant in the transatlantic slave trade was discredited in the book “Jews, Slaves, and the Slave Trade: Setting the Record Straight” by professor of History at City University, New York Eli Farber. The Amalekites, a tribe described in the Old Testament, are relentless enemies of the Jews.)
On October 1, 2020, Bishop Nathanyel tweeted: “‘#BlackPeople have been #Experiencing a #Holocaust since the 1400s and the #Jewish man has #perpetuated the #Situation’...”
On July 26, 2020, Bishop Nathanyel tweeted: “We are still waiting for the #Jewish apology for their #participation in the largest #Holocaust know to man!” [sic]
Hatred of America
Bishop Nathanyel and IUIC also have a deep hatred of the United States. For example:
On February 29, 2020, Bishop Nathanyel delivered a presentation called “The Book with the Seven Seals | Revelation 5.” During the talk, he said, “We’re the only ones that revealed that America is ‘Babylon the Great,’ the Mother of Harlots. She is the 666 [Satan]. She's the Mother of Harlots, that Demon, okay?”
On April 6, 2021, Bishop Nathanyel tweeted, “...#America’s Plan to Bring Us to #Satan #TuneIn Tonight @8pm EST on #IUICEvents…Bishop #Nathanyel7 goes over the pawn of the #devil…”
On December 25, 2021, Bishop Nathanyel tweeted: “#Christmas, #ThanksGiving, #July4th and the list goes on and on! All #American #holidays are celebrations of #WhiteSupremacy!”
On July 12, 2022, IUIC tweeted: “#Amerikkka has cast a spell on #blackwomen. The #Truth is #abortion is #murder…”
(“Amerikkka” connotes the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) and it used to label the country fascist and/or racist.)
On November 24, 2022, IUIC tweeted: “Why do you think #Kyrie doesn’t celebrate #Thanksgiving? It’s because it’s the celebration of the genocide of our people! Wake up!...”
Members of the Black Hebrew Israelite Movement
Nathanyel Israel [Nathaniel Ray] has trivialized the Holocaust, called for the death of Jews and white people, spread anti-Semitism, promoted anti-Semitic conspiracy theories and expressed hatred of America.
Nathaniel Young [Nathaniel I. Young] has spread anti-Semitism while a member of the Israel United in Christ (IUIC) chapter in Alamo City/San Antonio, Texas (IUIC Alamo).
Deon Sinquefield has spread anti-Semitism and promoted anti-Semitic conspiracy theories.
Devin Jackson has demonized Jews and spread anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. She has self-identified as a “Hebrew Israelite” on social media.
Emerson Fair [Emerson Tarig Fair] spread anti-Semitism on social media while he was a member of Israel United in Christ (IUIC).
Harold Maze [Harold A. Maze Jr./Harold Rawls Maze] has expressed violent hatred of Jews and spread anti-Semitism. In 2016, Maze wrote that he served time for “Possession of Cocaine w/intent to distribute…”
Jaylen Pounds [Jaylen Thomas Pounds / Jaylen Yashar-El] has spread and justified anti-Semitism on Twitter. Pounds has self-identified as a “Hebrew Israelite” on Twitter.
Joseph Burnett has spread anti-Semitism and anti-Semitic conspiracy theories on social media. Burnett has self-identified as a “Hebrew Israelite” on Twitter
Keymarious Mcmillian [Jeremiah Ben-Israel] has spread anti-Semitism on social media. Mcmillian was a member of Israel United in Christ (IUIC) as of January 2023.IUIC is an African-American religious sect founded in 2003.
Larry McKinzkie Jr. has spread anti-Semitism as well as anti-Semitic conspiracy theories on Twitter.
Maulik Smith has spread anti-Semitism and anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. Smith has also justified anti-Semitism. Smith was affiliated with Israel United in Christ (IUIC)
Nikosi Harry [Nikosi K. Harry / Abidan Shal Yasharahla] has threatened and called for violence, praised Hitler and spread anti-Semitism. He has also promoted anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, bigotry and violent homophobia.
Scottie Sherod Bell has promoted Holocaust revisionism, spread anti-Semitism and promoted anti-Semitic conspiracy theories.
Zenopha Hudson has spread Holocaust revisionism and anti-Semitism as a member of Israel United in Christ (IUIC).