The One West Camp is a subdivision of Hebrew Israelite groups that believe in the Old Testament, the New Testament and the exclusive identification of the Twelve Tribes of Israel with ethnic communities of Black, Latin American, and Native American descent in the Americas.
History
The movement is named after its first grouping, which was located at One West 125th Street in Harlem in New York City, then known as the 'Israeli School of Universal Practical Knowledge'. The movement has since splintered into numerous "camps", including the New York-based Israelite Church of God in Jesus Christ, and the Pennsylvania-based Israelite School of Universal Practical Knowledge. Hebrew Israelite Camps related to the One West Camp do not consider themselves Christians and deny the trinity, as well as the belief that Salvation is for all Nations of the Earth; the One West Camp teaches that Jesus was racially black.
The founder of the first grouping and the movement was Abba Bivens (real name Edward Meredith Bibbins, also known as Eber Ben Yomin), who claimed to have a revelation that Blacks and Native Americans were actually Israelites while traveling from Pennsylvania to New York. He attended the Judaism-related Commandment Keepers of Harlem for up to twenty years, but ultimately left this group in 1969 due to disagreement over the relevance of the New Testament, to start a group that rejected both Christianity and Judaism.
After Bivens's death in 1973, two members were selected to lead the School: Moshe Ben Chareem and Yaiqab (Yaiqab was another ex-Commandment Keeper). While Bivens founded the One West style of Hebrew Israelism, many of the specific doctrines that typify it were created by Yaiqab's son Ahrahyah, including a reliance on the King James Bible, the Twelve Tribes Chart which assigned the peoples of the Americas to specific Israelite tribes, and the new form of Hebrew known as Lashawan Qadash (Holy Tongue).
Present day
One West Camp groups are known for open-air preaching and protests, and attracted media attention with the January 2019 Lincoln Memorial confrontation which included a small New York-based group. The great majority of Black Hebrew Israelite groups outside of One West Camp and Nation of Yahweh do not share these beliefs.
Some of the church's descendant groups such as Gathering of Christ Church and Israel United in Christ, have gained millions of followers and are expanding worldwide. While some of IUIC's own videos state that they believe in all UFOs being the chariots of God, GOCC believes that this claim is nonsense and says that they will never band together with IUIC because of this.
References
- ^ Kestenbaum, Sam (2019-01-22). "Who are the Black Israelites at the center of the viral standoff at the Lincoln Memorial?". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2019-05-29.
- "The Israelites: The Untruthful Trinity!!!". Israel United in Christ. 2017. Retrieved 2017-04-14.
- Miller, Michael (2024). Black Hebrew Israelites. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 51–53. ISBN 9781009400107. Retrieved 2024-06-11.
- Kestenbaum, Sam (2020). "Chapter 16: "I'm an Israelite": Kendrick Lamar's Spiritual Search, Hebrew Israelite Religion, and the Politics of a Celebrity Encounter". In Driscoll, C.M.; Pinn, A.B.; Miller, M.R. (eds.). Kendrick Lamar and the Making of Black Meaning. Routledge. ISBN 9781351010856.
- Miller, Michael (2024). Black Hebrew Israelites. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 53–55. ISBN 9781009400107. Retrieved 2024-06-11.
- Eligon, John (2019-01-23). "Hebrew Israelites See Divine Intervention in Lincoln Memorial Confrontation". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-05-29.
- "Jews of African descent 'unnerved' by comparisons to viral video group". Religion News Service. 2019-01-24. Retrieved 2019-05-29.