Are 40 Million Lost Jews Hidden in Africa?
“That then Hashem thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the peoples, whither Hashem thy God hath scattered thee.” Deuteronomy 30:3 (The Israel Bible™)
Remy Ilona was born into a Catholic family in Nigeria, but these days he spends his time proving that his African tribe, the Igbo, are descended from the 12 Tribes and were exiled from Israel after the destruction of the First Temple 2,600 years ago.
Currently in Israel networking and doing research, Ilona spoke to Breaking Israel News about his upbringing and his 20-year quest to have his people recognized as Jews.
He described how, 200 years ago, the Catholic and Anglican churches sent missionaries to Nigeria. From the age of 6, Ilona was “very, very uncomfortable with the Catholic Church. Everyone in the family was skeptical of the Catholic Church.
In fact, Ilona claims that everybody in the Igbo tribe knows of their Jewish origins. His plainly-spoken claim is “Every Igbo knows that all Igbos are Jews.” Ilona told Breaking Israel News that when Igbos first tried to connect with Jews outside of Nigeria, “they were shocked that they were not accepted as Jews.”
Ilona explained that there are 40 million Igbo alive today. Of those,“5,000 are practicing rabbinic Judaism.” He is one of only a handful of Igbo who have visited Israel. “If I’m recognized [as Jewish by the State of Israel], I would like to live in Israel. It would send a powerful message and bring more Igbos to the Torah. Anything that will draw Igbos close to Torah is what I want to do. What I want is for all 40 million Igbos to return to Torah.”
https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/78082/40-million-lost-jews-hidden-africa/