Are the Igbos truly a direct descendant of The Israelites? It's a normal Cliche to hear some of our Igbo brothers bragging about being a direct descendant of the Israelites and hence some even refer to themselves as Igbo Jews. This could also explain why the self-acclaimed leader of IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu has made a Haven of Israel, the country of the Jews. But is there any truth to this widely speculated belief or it's just one of those things that started as a bluff and has finally grown into a belief system? Well, let us look at some Myths and facts surrounding this topic.
The first African People to claim to be descendants of Israel but forcefully dispersed from the holy land almost 2,800 thousand years ago were the Ethiopian Jews. Some time ago, the Jewish government approved the immigration of 9,000 Ethiopian Jews under the law of "Jewish return" which allows for Jewish descendants to express immigration into Israel and also citizenship. This is what the Igbo Jews are agitating for. The story of the Igbo Jews can be traced to Jacob. Some historians believe that Jacob had a son, Gad who was part of the people that had to leave Israel in exile. While in Exile, he had a son called Eri who later gave birth to the first Jewish Ancestor of the Igbo race, Aguleri.
This story has been passed down several generations in the Igbo land of over 30 to 50 million inhabitants. Some Igbos strongly believe that Igbo is a bastardized word for Hebrew. Another story has it that Gad, Jacobs 7th son had three sons (Eri, Arodi, and Areli as mentioned in the book of Genesis), who settled down in the eastern part of NIGERIA which is majorly dominated by the Igbos, hence teaching them the Jewish culture and adopting then as Jews. There are Kingdoms today in the Igbo land whose King is called King Eri as they believe that they are direct descendants of Jacob's son. They believe they and the Israelites are brothers. They strongly believe that Igbo Jews are one of the "Lost tribes of Isreal".
Recall, in the 18th Century B.C, Assyrians invaded Northern Israel, forcing our 10 tribes to exile, the lost tribes of Israel. Historians have a theory that some of these tribes migrated westward into Africa. Some African historians have tried to eliminate bias by comparing some of the ancient Igbo practices with that of the Jews and have concluded that indeed, there are similarities. These practices include; Circumcision of babies at eight days Refraining from eating "unclean" meat Mourning the dead for 7 sevens and doing a befitting burial Celebrating new moon Wedding ceremonies under a canopy and so on. Sadly, the Jewish government does not officially recognize any group, including the Igbo Jews who claim to have a direct link to Israel. This is because they cannot "prove" any ancestry to Israel.
The Messianic Jews spokes (Jewish voice Ministry) man also issued a statement that has been condemned widely amongst Igbo Jews when he said that Igbo Jews are not real Jews, as concluded by private DNA testing (this can be done in the USA for $300). Vehemently dismissing these claims, One Mr. Ilona who is a strong Igbo Jews condemned the methodology used (on which the JVM have refused to comment) and said that he also did the same DNA test and found out that he has roots in Western Semitics which can be traced to the red sea. He says that he knows his Ancestors were at Mount Sinai. Some hope that in the near future as the science of genetics keeps evolving, that one would soon be able to prove these claims, as some people have tagged so many groups as "wishful thinkers".
Some Igbo historians who are part of the people who believe that the Igbo Jews are "wishful thinkers" is Acholonu, in her book "They lived before Adam", she claims that Igbos existed even before the Israelites. She said that of course, everyone wants to be linked to the Legendary tribe of Israel but the Igbos don't know exactly what they are, that by doing so, they are diminishing their pride and value.
If the Igbos are truly direct descendants of the Jews is still left to be investigated as what's obtainable are just strong claims and semi-factual stories.
