Earlier this month, Rabbi Gershom Sizomu, one of the leaders of the Abayudaya—as Uganda’s indigenous Jews are called—was sworn into his country’s parliament. Tommy Trenchard and Aurelie Marrier D’Unienville report:
The Abayudaya, which means “people of Judah” in the local Luganda language, live in a handful of eastern Ugandan villages, and they could do with some political leverage. There are fewer than 2,000 members; they make up less than 0.006 percent of Uganda’s predominantly Christian population and only 3 percent of [their region’s] Muslim-dominated population.
Sizomu’s brother, Kintu Moses Aron, [believes] Sizomu’s new position will help the community obtain the same legal rights as Christians and Muslims, including getting the government to recognize Jewish holidays so the Abayudaya can observe their traditions [more easily]. Community members also hope that Sizomu’s election will help them obtain funding for Jewish educational services and places of worship.
The Abayudaya, originally followers of a tribal leader who came to Judaism through Christianity in the early 20th century, suffered intense persecution during the reign of Idi Amin in the 1970s. More recently, they converted to Judaism under the auspices of the Conservative movement; a small group is now seeking Orthodox conversion. Last year they were formally recognized as a Jewish community by the Jewish Agency.
More about: Africa, African Jewry, Conversion, Jewish World