Well, this feels like hate.
No fear that Hitler would want to eliminate this kind of Jew, I suppose. But he would have put them on the top of his list.
The Wiesenthal Center issued a special report about this yesterday. I'm going to copy and paste directly from the Wiesenthal Center Special Report. It sent me directly to the mint chocolate chip ice cream. Go to the website for better pictures.
therapydoc
The full text from the Wiesenthal Center:
OVERVIEW
This short report will outline the ideology of the extremist Black Hebrew Israelites (BHI) in the US. During October and November 2022, multiple anti-Semitic attacks by US rap artist and major social media influencer, Ye (Kanye) West and a tweet from NBA player Kyrie Irving’s providing a link to an anti-Jewish film, Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America, have thrust radical BHIs into the national spotlight.
It is important to note that the BHI movement is not monolithic. There exists a diverse spectrum of beliefs and practices. This report will only focus on the extremist elements that espouse anti-Semitic, anti-LGBTQ+ and misogynistic rhetoric. This radical subgroup of Black Hebrew Israelites should not be confused with Black Jews or other Jews of color.
CORE BELIEFS OF BLACK HEBREW ISRAELITES
BHI supporters reject the history of Christianity, Judaism and the Jewish people. Its adherents claim that Black Americans are the true descendants of the 12 Tribes of Israel, and therefore, are God’s “chosen people”. Some BHI groups believe that Native Americans and Hispanics are also included.
BHI adherents contend the true children of Israel were scattered across the globe, driven into slavery, and forced to accept other religions such as Christianity. They believe the Bible prophesizes that the “true” Israelites were displaced from their homeland and cursed to suffer atrocities. They trust they will eventually receive salvation as the chosen people if they return to their Hebrew roots. Adherents point to Deuteronomy 28 as evidence for this prophecy and consider it their duty to inform other true descendants of their lineage. These beliefs can be traced back in the US to the 1890s.1 However, there are Black Hebrew Israelites who promote militant, extremist interpretations of biblical religious texts, fueled by and fomenting anti-Semitic and anti-white rhetoric.
ANTI-SEMITISM
Often, BHI extremists claim they cannot be anti-Semitic because they believe themselves to be the true Semites. They argue the people who present themselves as Jewish today are in fact, imposters. The 2018 pseudo-academic film Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America posits that Sephardic, Ashkenazi and Mizrahi Jews are just religious converts with no blood connection to the ancient 12 tribes of Israel. It also promotes Holocaust denial and claims Hitler believed that “negroes” were the real Jews.
The assertion that BHI believers cannot be anti-Semitic is often followed by a series of anti-Semitic tropes. In a recent video from Bishop Nathanyel, the leader of Israel United in Christ (IUIC), one of the most extreme BHI groups currently operating in the US, he accuses Jewish people of always playing the victim in any situation, raising his hands in a mocking manner stating Jewish people claim that - “I am a victim, but I run society.”2
The extremist fringe of BHI promotes a litany of anti-Semitism in numerous ways. The most extreme believers argue that today’s Jewish people, including Israelis, are not descendants of biblical Jacob, but actually descendants of Esau (also known as Edomites). As a result, BHI considers them to be the enemies of the “true” Israelites. They believe that these false Jews are just white people who have deliberately usurped or stolen the true identity of people of color. This incendiary allegation spawned traditional anti-Semitic tropes promoted within BHI.
Another video from IUIC titled “Jewish Fables”, argues that the imposter Jews stole the land of Israel using the Balfour Declaration, because “we’ve been duped by Jewish fables”.3 They also argue that today’s Jews are descendants of converts to Judaism and are descendants of the Khazars (a long-debunked conspiracy) – “they have established the vision of being us”, they argue. One of the videos from the Sicarii Hebrew Israelites features a discussionbetweenaJewishmanandstreetpreacherstitled“AmalekconfoundedbyGRLAHebrewinPhilly”.4 The Amalekites mentioned in the Bible, descendants of Amalek, were the first nation to seek the total destruction of the Israelites after the Exodus from Egypt, and are viewed as the genocide-seeking enemy of the Jews.
Often extremist BHI groups reference New Testament Revelation 2:9 and 3:9, passages taken out of context to “prove” that the Bible indicates that a group of imposters will masquerade as Jews in the future – “I know the slander on the part of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.”5 The use of this passage, to refer to all Jews as a synagogue of Satan, was a cornerstone of medieval Christian theological anti-Semitism and mirrors the beliefs of the white supremacist Christian Identity movement. Adherents of Christian Identity allege that white Aryan people are the true Israelites, and like extreme BHI believers, contend that today’s Jews are imposters, and are the “children of Satan”. Similarly, Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan has also charged that the Jews are “not real Jews.... you are deceiving and sending this nation [USA] to hell.”6 This anti- Semitic trope runs through all three movements, despite their otherwise conflicting ideologies.
IT GETS BETTER
In November 2022, IUIC hosted a livestream on Twitter titled “Satan on Mt. Sinai NWO” (NWO – New World Order referring to the anti-Semitic conspiracy that Jews control secret governments who run the world).7 It features a video of a religious Jew wearing a yarmulke and sidelocks, who walked past IUIC demonstrators outside the LA Lakers’ basketball home, the Crypto Arena, in Los Angeles in November 2022. The video was edited to make the Jewish man’s eyes glow red as the voice-over references “the synagogue of Satan”.
In December 2022, a video circulated of another BHI demonstration held by members of the Sicarii Hebrew Israelites, outside the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. This followed Ye’s appearance alongside fellow anti-Semite Nicholas Fuentes on long-time conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ InfoWars show, where Ye praised Hitler. The Sicarii speaker also states in the video agreed with Ye, claiming that “Hitler knew who the real Jews was” and that the Jewish person speaking to them in the video is “the seed of the devil”. The speaker also states that “fake Jews” will go into slavery, and that he was glad that the Holocaust happened.8
A music video released in November 2022, titled “Death Con 4” by artist Natazab, features members of The Israelite School of Universal Practical Knowledge (ISUPK) and spews numerous anti-Semitic tropes. Natazab is a Sacramento- based rapper. The title is inspired by a recent outburst by Ye, who tweeted he was “going death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE.” Lyrics for Death Con 4 include “You’re the synagogue of satan with them black hats, your whole nation sitting ducks”. Natazab’s lyrics also charge that “they making millions off our culture and black people suffering from it”, another reference to the belief that Jewish people are imposters.9
Another anti-Semitic trope promoted by extreme BHI adherents insists that Jews are afforded a level of protection because of alleged control they have over society. One video from an Australian branch of Great Millstone, another extremist BHI group, insists that “them small hat people are being protected worldwide... they’re the ones who is in power right now.”10
Some adherents of extremist BHI believe that those who present themselves as Jewish today are actually Europeans (rather than Israelites), and as a result, these extremists promote anti-white beliefs portraying white people as the devil. This is particularly evident in several videos uploaded to YouTube by the Sicarii Hebrew Israelites, where the street preachers refer to white people as devils. Similarly, in an interview with the Chicago leader of ISPUK, he states that “There is nothing that gives me more pleasure, you know what I’m saying, on earth than saying that the white man is the devil... because it is the absolute truth.”11 He also goes on to claim white people are responsible for allowing homosexuality to proliferate across the earth.
A screenshot from an ISUPK TikTok account featuring part of Natazab’s “Death Con 4” music video, including a caption of some lyrics, referencing the 6 million Jews murdered in the Holocaust as “$6,000,000”.
SIMON WIESENTHAL CENTER SPECIAL REPORT WIESENTHAL.COM
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ANTI-LGBTQ+
The extremist BHI adherents believe that members of the LGBTQ+ community are evil. One member from ISUPK Killeen (Texas), compares a child-friendly drag event to the murder of children in an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, in May 2022, stating “it is the spirit that wants to hunt and murder children”. He insists that the oppressor is trying to drag children into this “wicked” culture which they consider to be an “abomination”.11 Another video from ISUPK Staten Island refers to the LGBTQ+ community as a “plague” intended to “destroy the Lord’s chosen people”.13
MISOGYNY
The extreme BHI religious doctrine places God above man, and man above a woman. One video from ISUPK features a street preacher advocating for polygamy, because there are only “weak men” left, so they have to “go and marry seven or eight women so... that our women can have a strong man.” He goes on to argue that women are made to be “soft and delicate”. The video is titled “ISUPK Turns LGBTQ Member Straight”, implying sexual identity is a choice and that their rhetoric is some sort of remedy.15 Another video from IUIC in Queens, New York, refers to the Bible as asserting that women who wear pants are an abomination against God, and that men should make the rules in a household. They also claim that a husband takes the role of the Lord in the house over a wife. Another video claims that households in Europe are dysfunctional because women take a role in leading them, against the will of God.16
BHI EXTREMIST GROUPS
It is hard to gauge the number of people that belong to extreme BHI movements.17 Many extreme BHI host groups for learning that they refer to as schools or camps but the number of members within each is difficult to assess. Social media statistics are useful in assessing the reach of their preaching, but cannot be relied on as evidence of membership numbers. Public displays, such as a recent protest outside the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, to support Kyrie Irving, was attended by hundreds of individuals who appeared to be connected with IUIC.
One of the most prominent organizations promoting extremist BHI ideology is Israel United in Christ (IUIC), founded by Bishop Nathanyel in Coney Island, New York, in 2003. His goal is to resurrect the “Children of Israel”, and “rebuild the nation of Israel according to bible prophecy.”18 IUIC preaches that Black, Hispanic and Native Americans are the true descents of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. They refer to themselves as the true Israelites and the 12 Tribes of Israel. They claim that today’s Jewish people are Edomites, the enemies of the true Israelites, and descendants of Esau who was cursed by God. The IUIC argues that these Edomites financed the slave trade from Africa, and were responsible for the genocide of Hispanics and Native Americans. Several YouTube videos reference the anti-Semitic screed, “The Synagogue of Satan”, contending that the New Testament states that Jews are imposters stealing the identity of the true Israelites.
The IUIC has approximately 70 different YouTube channels with hundreds of thousands of subscribers, representing multiple regions in the US, as well as the UK, Germany, Belize, Liberia and Jamaica. The IUIC dismisses criticism of their movement as part of a wider conspiracy to prevent unity within the black community.19 They also have a channel available for free on Roku, a media device and streaming platform that provides over 63 million monthly active users with access to media content.19
A promotional image for an upcoming IUIC livestream on YouTube titled “The End of the Fake Jews”.21
The Israelite School of Universal Practical Knowledge (ISUPK) is based in Pennsylvania and was established in 2006. They appear to be a registered non-profit in multiple states including New York, California, and Michigan.22 They have several TikTok channels with 10,000s of followers.
The Sicarii Hebrew Israelites are an extreme Black Hebrew Israelite group based in San Diego, California. They are led by Adonis Glaude, also known as the “Guerilla Hebrew”. They have over 50,000 subscribers to their YouTube channel and have raised over $88,000 using GoFundMe since 2015.
Great Millstone is a loosely organized US-based extreme BHI organization that also believes Black, Hispanic and Native Americans are the true Israelites and descendants of the 12 tribes of Israel. Their street preaching videos are extensive, with hundreds of hours of content uploaded to multiple YouTube channels, representing branches in a multitude of places including various US states, the Virgin Islands, and Australia.23
SIMON WIESENTHAL CENTER SPECIAL REPORT WIESENTHAL.COM
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CONTEMPORARY EXTREME BHI ATTACKS
Extreme BHI followers have been responsible for several attacks and murders in the US in recent years, most notably in December 2019. In Jersey City, New Jersey, four people were killed at a kosher supermarket after being targeted by two individuals who were motivated by anti-Semitic beliefs fueled by extreme BHI ideology.24 Later that month, five Jewish people were wounded in a stabbing attack at the home of Rabbi Chaim Rottenberg in Monsey, New York, during a Hanukah celebration. Rottenberg later died of his injuries. The perpetrator was deemed incompetent to stand trial and was hospitalized in a mental health facility but had expressed extreme BHI beliefs in his journals and internet searches leading up to the attack.25
CONCLUSION
Whenever an individual or group, whatever its size, endorses anti-Semitism, celebrates Adolf Hitler, and the Nazi mass murder of 6 million Jews in a public display of hatred against the Jewish people, they must be taken at their word. When such hatred is expressed in the heart of New York City, home to the 1.6 million Jews, the largest Jewish community in the world (outside of Israel), then everyone should take notice—elected officials, faith leaders, social media influencers, and neighbors.
When American Jewry is targeted, there also needs to be action from law enforcement to ensure the community’s safety. A recent statement from FBI director Christopher Wray shared the alarming statistic that while Jews make up only 2.4% of the US population, anti-Semitism is the motivating factor in 63% of all religious-based hate crimes.26 Additionally, social media platforms must be held accountable for their role in spreading anti-Semitism and hate, particularly the use of YouTube to host thousands of hours of anti-Semitic street preaching archives from extreme BHI groups, and livestreaming on platforms such as Twitter.
Tragically, this brief report presents an overview of a worldview, ideology, and rhetoric of extremist elements in the Black Hebrew Israelite movement. They fan the flames of anti-Jewish hate and like some white extremist movements, literally present Jews as the devil incarnate, spawning targeted violence, mayhem and even murder of Jews.
The Simon Wiesenthal Center will continue to bolster our relationships and alliances with Black Americans, who in 2022, remain the #1 target of race-based hate crimes in the US and will continue to fight against anti-Semitism, bigotry, and racism, whatever the source and whoever the target.
SIMON WIESENTHAL CENTER SPECIAL REPORT WIESENTHAL.COM
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1For more information on the history of Black Hebrew Israelites in the USA: Jacob S. Dorman, “Black Israelites aka Black Jews aka Black Hebrews: Black Israelism, Black Judaism, Judaic Christianity”, Volume 5: African Diaspora Traditions and Other American Innovations, in William M. Ashcraft (Editor), Eugene V. Gallagher (editor), Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America (2006)
2 ”#IUIC | Message to the ADL, SPLC, & the Media”, YouTube, uploaded by IUIC Events, 11/23/2022 [https://youtube.com/watch?v=_Qo1CxDxv - accessed 12/8/2022]
3”#IUIC | 15 Minutes with the Captains | Jewish Fables”, YouTube, uploaded by IUIC Captains, 2/15/2021 [https://youtu.be/V2Aw5g-CVwQ – accessed 12/6/2022]
4“AMALEK CONFOUNDED BY GRLA HEBREW IN PHILLY”, YouTube, uploaded by Sicarii, 6/11/2022 [https://youtu.be/W6nGN5HHqlo – accessed 12/6/2022]
5To read the verses in isolation, visit: https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Revelation-2-9/ and https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Revelation-3-9/ [accessed 12/6/2022]
6Dr Harold Brackman, Simon Wiesenthal Center, Louis Farrakhan – Four Decades of Bigotry in His Own Words (June 2020) [https://www.wiesenthal.com/assets/pdf/new-swc- report-farrakhan.pdf - accessed 12/6/2022]
7Israel United in Christ (@IUICOfficial), “Satan on Mt. Sinai NWO”, Twitter, 11/19/2022, [https://twitter.com/IUICOfficial/status/1594084039245598721?s=20&t=rhij4CG4k0oS1- S0JA764A - accessed 12/6/2022]
8Michael Rapaport (MichaelRapaport), “This was in Brooklyn outside Barclays yesterday. These dudes have been doing this since I can remember but now they have some famous spokespeople #kyrie #Kanye”, Twitter [https://twitter.com/MichaelRapaport/status/1599387610471768064 - accessed 12/6/2022]. The Sicarii Vice City (Miami, Fl.) branch of Sicarii Hebrew Israelites tweeted a link to their livestream of the demonstration on YouTube before subsequently making the video private.
Sicarii Vice City (@SicariiViceCity), “SICARII LIVE FROM THE BARCLAYS CENTER IN BROOKLYN NY! - FLUX FRIDAY https://youtu.be/4-5ht3dNqAs via @YouTube APTTMH TAP IN!! #LIKE #SHARE #SUBSCRIBE #SUPERCHAT #LIVE #ISRAELITES #BLACKJEWS #YE24 #KYRIEIRVING @GRLAHebrew”, Twitter, 12/3/2022, [https://twitter.com/SicariiViceCity/ status/1599234769044504576?s=20&t=6wbwQRWBw2pQBvWG95BPIA - accessed 12/6/2022]
9“Natazab – Death Con 4”, YouTube, uploaded by Natazab, 11/14/2022 [https://youtu.be/YAv8VcYPyvU – accessed 12/6/2022]
10“Esau is about to bring a new law January 2023, to protect the small hat in Australia”, YouTube, uploaded by GMSDOWNUNDERAUSTRALIA, 11/15/2022 [https://www.youtube.
com/watch?v=Eve6wQrR7jQ – accessed 12/6/2022]
11“Is The White Man The Devil? Captian Mawaqad Of I.S.U.P.K | 290 Moe Podcast”, YouTube, uploaded by Salo Hommie Moe Presents, 8/7/2022 [https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=ExqsWCCPrtw – accessed 12/6/2022]
12“Both Old and Young....The Sin of Sodom #ISUPK”, YouTube, uploaded by ISUPK Killeen, 6/22/2022 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIJyiWyFAGQ – accessed 12/6/2022] 13“THE CRAFTY GENOCIDE OF A NATION-#LGBTQ #ISUPK #STATEN ISLAND”, YouTube, uploaded by ISUPK Staten Island, 10/13/2022 [https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=6xaWKw7YK_U – accessed 12/6/2022]
14“#IUIC | The Writings On The Wall Radio Show | The Sodom Agenda | Exposing Pride Month”, YouTube, uploaded by IUIC TALLAHASSEE IN THE CLASSROOM, 6/27/2021 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7J56wsREh0&t=88s – accessed 12/6/2022]
15“ISUPK Turns LGBTQ Member Straight #ISUPK”, YouTube, uploaded by ISAPK Killeen, 8/21/2022 [https://youtu.be/BYhUQpS9iYs – accessed 12/6/2022]
16“The Israelites: The Black Woman Must Be Taught”, YouTube, uploaded by IUIC Queens Camp, 10/3/2013 [https://youtu.be/8wGWTWXjodU – accessed 12/6/2022]
17Andrew Esenstein, “How many Hebrew Israelites are there, and how worried should Jews be?”, The Jewish News of Northern California, 11/28/2022 [https://jweekly. com/2022/11/28/how-many-hebrew-israelites-are-there-and-how-worried-should-jews-be/ - accessed 12/6/2022]
A 2019 poll conducted by LifeWay Research, a branch of a Christian media publishing company, sampled approximately 1,000 African Americans, 4% of whom said they identified as Black Hebrew Israelite (this is not reflection of how many adhere to extremist ideology within this movement), available at: https://research.lifeway.com/wp- content/uploads/2019/11/The-Philos-Project-African-American-Attitudes-Toward-Israel-Report.pdf
18http://israelunite.org/about-iuic/history/
19“Let’s Talk: Israel United in Christ”, YouTube, uploaded by Rave TV Channel, 2/16/2020 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11yGu24QMYo – accessed 12/6/2022]
20IUIC TV available on Roku: https://channelstore.roku.com/details/39edf3e0e19b9f995ea00f922f795d71/iuic-tv
21“IUIC | Q&A | The End Of The Fake Jews | A Study Of Balaam”, YouTube, uploaded by IUIC TALLAHASSEE IN THE CLASSROOM, premiers 12/12/2022 [https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=MXX5PkeRH7g – accessed 12/6/2022]
22ISRAELITE SCHOOL OF UNIVERSAL PRACTICAL KNOWLEDGE (I.S.U.P.K.) – registration information available at: https://opencorporates.com/companies/us_il/CORP_73055644 [accessed 12/6/2022]
23GMS Houston Texas, YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/@gmshoustontexas/videos [accessed 12/6/2022] GMS Virgin Islands Strait Gate, YouTube, https://www.youtube. com/@gmsvirginislandsstraitgate1733/videos [accessed 12/6/2022]
GMSDOWNUNDERAUSTRALIA, YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-9qvsUZYFE4ffqjzp6lfXg [accessed 12/6/2022]
24Derick Waller, Jersey City shooting was planned for months, based on hate, investigators say”, Eyewitness News ABC 7 NY, 1/13/2020 [https://abc7ny.com/new-jersey-city- supermarket-attack/5844233/ - accessed 12/6/2022]
25https://www.justice.gov/opa/press-release/file/1230906/download
26Times of Israel Staff, “FBI director says US Jews under threat ‘from all sides’ amid rise in antisemitism”, Times of Israel, 11/19/2022 [https://www.timesofisrael.com/fbi-director- says-us-jews-under-threat-from-all-sides-amid-rise-in-antisemism/ - accessed 12/6/2022]
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