THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

Friday, March 5, 19 71-13

1,000 Nigerians Who Consider Selves
Jews, Prepared for Conversion Rite

NEW YORK (JTA)—A Conser-

vative rabbi declared here that
had been in correspondence
with leaders of some 1,000
Nigerians who considered them-
selves Jews and who had informed
him that they were prepared to

he

undergo conversion to assure their
acceptance as Jews.
The report was made by Rabbi
Lester Hering, spiritual leader of
Cong. Beth Jacob of Merchantville,
N.J., at a meeting of Hatzaad
Harishon, an organization seeking
to aid black Jews.
The meeting, held at the 92nd
Street Y, was open to the public.

Rabbi Hering told the meeting
that his discovery of the Nigerian
would-be Jews started with a
letter he received in 1967, from
one of the leaders of the group,
reporting they had discovered
Judaism on their own and that
they wanted help and recogni-
tion as Jews.
Rabbi Hering said that the

Nigerian leaders had learned
about the existence of a worldwide
Jewish community from a Christian
missionary, who happened to be
carrying a Camden County (N.J.)
yellow-page telephone directory.
One of the Nigerians, identified
by Rabbi Hering as Jacob, looked
through the directory and found
Beth Jacob Congregation. Rabbi
Hering said he suspected that the
Nigerian chose his congregation
because of the similarity between
its name and his.
He said that in response to a
letter from the Nigerian leader
to his synagogue, he had replied
in 1967, starting a correspondence
which was interrupted by the
Nigerian civil war and then re-
sumed. In July 1970, he reported
a member of the Nigerian group
came to California for a univer-
sity course and wrote to him from
there. He said that he had learned
from his correspondence that the
Nigerians "have truly discovered
the philosophy of Judaism" inde-
pendent of any previous knowledge
of Judaism.

Hussein Seen Wary
of Separate Peace
Between Egypt, Israel

NEW YORK (ZINS) — Sources
close to the Jordanian UN delega-
Rabbi Hering said that the tion report that King Hussein is

group has "five or six" synagogues
and that the members were mis-
sionizing in the southern section
of Nigeria. He reported they call
their houses of worship syna-
gogues, although the structures
have none of the usual components
of a Jewish house of worship.
Rabbi Hering reported also that
the Nigerians have only the Jew-
ish materials he had sent them—
some prayerbooks and Jewish his-
tory textbooks. He added that he
wrote to them in English, since
they do not know Hebrew, and that
they replied in an "understand-
able" pigeon-English.
He also reported that the Nig-
erians had called their leaders
"rabbis" until he suggested, in
one of his letters, that the term
was limited to individuals who had
taken specific training. Accord.
ingly, he reported, the Nigerians
started calling their leaders teach-
ers.

Asked by the Jewish Tele-
graphic Agency for- his views on
their status as Jews, Rabbi Her-
ing said that, in terms of Jewish
religious law, they could not be
considered Jews, but that they
were "sincere" in their desire
to do whatever was necessary
for that status, including con-
version under acceptable ha-
lakhic direction.
He said they observe such rituals

greatly concerned over the latest
developments in Egyptian policy
vis-a-vis Israel.
Confiding his disappointment to
friends in the American and Bri-
tish governments, he sees Cairo
moving toward a separite agree-
ment with Israel, heedless of the
interests of other Arab countries
involved in the Middle East con-
flict.
According to observers, Hussein
is convinced that the UAR is on the
verge of an agreement with Israel
even if it falls short of leading to
direct talks with the Israeli author-
ities.

Under the circumstances, the
sources say, Hussein is now
ready to make his own peace
with Israel even if It involves
certain territorial concessions.
He will not, however, be the first
of the Arab leaders to conclude a
treaty of peace with the Jewish
state.

Until now, King Hussein believed
a simultaneous agreement could be
made with Israel as the result of
coordinated negotiations by the
Arab world. But now Hussein is
convinced that Egyptian President
Anwar Sadat will not respect the
need for coordination.

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OPENER

as they know about and can ob-
serve, including rest on Sabbath
and the Holy Days.
On that basis, he said, he felt
American Jews should assist the
Nigerians by providing them with
necessary ritual materials, educa-
tional aid and similar help. He
said he thought some American
Jews should visit Nigeria for a
direct contact and observation of I
the Nigerians and their needs.

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The Nigerians had no Jewish
background, and the three ori-
ginal founders were Christians
who had decided to reject
Christianity. He quoted a letter
from U.E. Umoren, which said,
"we are not Christians but Is-
raelites. Teach us about Juda-
ism."

Occupied Territories
3 Times Larger Than
Pre-6-Day War Israel

JERUSALEM (ZINS) — The
combined land area of the occu-
pied Arab territories aggregates
26,548 sq. miles as compared with
the 8,108 sq. miles representing
the state of Israel prior to the
Six-Day War.
According to official sources,
the breakdown is as follows: Golan
Heights„444 sq. miles; Judea and
Shomron (West Bank), 2,317 sq.
miles; Sinai Desert, 23,552 square
miles; Gaza Strip and El Arish,
139 sq. miles,
Israel's present size, inclusive
of the liberated areas, is now three
times larger than it was before
June 4, 1967.
UN sources allege some 538,000
Arab refugees live in these terri-
tories, but Israeli sources insist
that the number is closer to 300.-
000. There are 19 refugee camps
containing 100,000 persons in the
West Bank and eight camps hous-
ing 160,000 displaced persons in
the Gaza Strip.
The remainder are located in
Jerusalem and in the Sinai Penin-
sula. Half of the displaced persons
are age 40 or younger. The total
population In the occupied area
amounts to 987,000 as follows: Gol-
an Heights, 7,000 Druze; West
Bank, 800,000 Arabs; Sinai, 40,000

Bedouins; Gaza Strip and El Arish,
340,000 Arabs.

.. •

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