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!

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• Donate

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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