History of the Jews in Cameroon

Ethnic group

Cameroonian JewsTotal population

12[1]
Regions with significant populations
Yaoundé
Languages
French, Hebrew
Religion
Judaism
Part of a series on

Jews and Judaism

* Etymology
* Who is a Jew?
* Jewish studies

Religion

* God in Judaism (names)
* Principles of faith
* Mitzvot (613)
* Halakha
* Shabbat
* Holidays
* Prayer
* Tzedakah
* Land of Israel
* Brit
* Bar and bat mitzvah
* Marriage
* Bereavement
* Baal teshuva
* Philosophy
* Ethics
* Kabbalah
* Messiah
* Claimants
* Customs
* Rites
* Synagogue
* Rabbi

Texts

|  Tanakh

* Torah
* Nevi'im
* Ketuvim

Talmud

* Mishnah
* Gemara

Rabbinic

* Midrash
* Tosefta

* Targum
* Beit Yosef
* Mishneh Torah
* Tur
* Shulchan Aruch
* Zohar

History

|  General

* Timeline
* Land of Israel
* Name "Judea"
* Antisemitism
* Anti-Judaism
* Persecution
* Leaders
* Modern historiography
* Historical population comparisons

Ancient Israel

* Twelve Tribes of Israel
* Kingdom of Judah
* Kingdom of Israel
* Jerusalem (in Judaism
* timeline)
* Temple in Jerusalem (First
* Second)
* Assyrian captivity
* Babylonian captivity

Second Temple period

* Yehud Medinata
* Maccabean Revolt
* Hasmonean dynasty
* Sanhedrin
* Schisms (Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, Zealots, Sicarii)
* Second Temple Judaism (Hellenistic Judaism)
* Jewish–Roman wars (Great Revolt, Diaspora, Bar Kokhba)

Rabbinic period and Middle Ages

* Rabbinic Judaism
* History of the Jews in the Byzantine Empire
* Christianity and Judaism (Jews and Christmas)
* Hinduism and Judaism
* Islamic–Jewish relations
* Middle Ages
* Golden Age
* Expulsion from Spain

Modern era

* Haskalah
* Sabbateans
* Hasidism
* Jewish atheism
* Emancipation
* Old Yishuv
* Zionism
* Soviet Union
* The Holocaust
* Israel
* Arab–Israeli conflict

Communities

* Ashkenazim
* Galician
* Litvak
* Mizrahim
* Sephardim
* Teimanim (Yemenite Jews)
* Beta Israel
* Gruzinim (Georgian Jews)
* Juhurim (Mountain Jews)
* Bukharim
* Italkim
* Romanyotim
* Cochinim
* Bene Israel
* Berber
* Crimean Karaites
* Krymchaks
* Kaifeng Jews

Related groups

* Bnei Anusim
* Lemba
* Igbo Jews
* Samaritans
* Crypto-Jews
* Anusim
* Dönmeh
* Marranos
* Neofiti
* Xueta
* Mosaic Arabs
* Subbotniks
* Noahides

Population

* Judaism by country
* Lists of Jews
* Diaspora
* Historical population by country
* Population by city
* Genetic studies

Israel and Palestine

* Old Yishuv
* New Yishuv
* Israeli Jews
* Palestinian Jews

Africa

* Algeria
* Angola
* Bilad-el-Sudan
* Botswana
* Cameroon
* Cape Verde
* Benin
* Democratic Republic of the Congo
* Djibouti
* Egypt
* Ethiopia
* Beta Israel
* Eritrea
* Eswatini
* Gabon
* Gambia
* Ghana
* Guinea
* Guinea-Bissau
* Ivory Coast
* Kenya
* Libya
* Madagascar
* Malawi
* Mali
* Mauritius
* Morocco
* Mozambique
* Namibia
* Nigeria (Igbo)
* Republic of the Congo
* São Tomé and Príncipe
* Sierra Leone
* Somalia
* South Africa
* Sudan
* Tanzania
* Tunisia
* Uganda (Abayudaya)
* Zambia
* Zimbabwe

Asia

* Afghanistan
* Bahrain
* Cambodia
* China
* Hong Kong
* India
* Indonesia
* Iran
* Iraq
* Israel
* Japan
* Jordan
* Kazakhstan
* Kurdistan
* Kuwait
* Kyrgyzstan
* Lebanon
* Malaysia
* Mongolia
* Myanmar
* Nepal
* Oman
* Pakistan
* Philippines
* Qatar
* Saudi Arabia
* South Korea
* Singapore
* Sri Lanka
* Syria
* Tajikistan
* Taiwan
* Thailand
* Turkey
* United Arab Emirates
* Uzbekistan
* Vietnam
* Yemen

Europe

* Albania
* Armenia
* Austria
* Azerbaijan
* Belarus
* Belgium
* Bosnia
* Bulgaria
* Croatia
* Cyprus
* Czechia
* Denmark
* Estonia
* Finland
* France
* Georgia
* Germany
* Greece
* Romaniote
* Hungary
* Iceland
* Ireland
* Italy
* Italkim
* Latvia
* Liechtenstein
* Lithuania
* Luxembourg
* Moldova
* Montenegro
* Netherlands
* North Macedonia
* Norway
* Poland
* Portugal
* Romania
* Russia
* Soviet Union
* Serbia
* Slovakia
* Slovenia
* Spain
* Sephardim
* Sweden
* Switzerland
* Ukraine
* United Kingdom
* England
* Scotland
* Wales

Northern America

* Canada
* United States
* Greenland

Latin America and Caribbean

* Argentina
* Bolivia
* Brazil
* Chile
* Colombia
* Costa Rica
* Cuba
* Dominican Republic
* Ecuador
* El Salvador
* Guatemala
* Guyana
* Haiti
* Honduras
* Jamaica
* Mexico
* Nicaragua
* Panama
* Paraguay
* Peru
* Puerto Rico
* Suriname
* Uruguay
* Venezuela

Oceania

* Australia
* Fiji
* Guam
* New Zealand
* Palau

Denominations

* Orthodox
* Modern
* Haredi
* Hasidic
* Reform
* Conservative
* Karaite
* Reconstructionist
* Renewal
* Science
* Haymanot
* Humanistic

Culture

|  Customs

* Minyan
* Wedding
* Clothing
* Niddah
* Pidyon haben
* Kashrut
* Shidduch
* Zeved habat
* Conversion to Judaism
* Aliyah
* Hiloni

Music

* Religious
* Secular

Art

* Ancient
* Yiddish theatre
* Dance
* Humour

Cuisine

* American
* Ashkenazi
* Bukharan
* Ethiopian
* Israeli
* Israelite
* Mizrahi
* Sephardic

Literature

* Israeli
* Yiddish
* Judeo-Tat
* American

Surnames

* Ashkenazi
* Mizrahi
* Sephardic

Languages

* Hebrew
* Biblical
* Mishnaic
* Medieval
* Modern
* Bukharian
* Ghardaïa Sign
* Jewish Koine Greek
* Judeo-Arabic
* Judeo-Aramaic
* Judeo-Berber
* Judeo-Gascon
* Judaeo-Georgian
* Judaeo-Iranian
* Judeo-Italian
* Judeo-Malayalam
* Judaeo-Spanish
* Judeo-Tat
* Knaanic
* Shassi
* Yeshivish
* Yevanic
* Yiddish
* Zarphatic

Politics

|  Jewish political movements

* Autonomism
* Bundism
* Feminism
* Leftism
* Secularism
* Territorialism
* World Agudath Israel

Zionism

* General
* Green
* Labor
* Kahanism
* Maximalism
* Neo-Zionism
* Religious
* Revisionist
* Post-Zionism

* Category
* Portal

* v
* t
* e

The history of the Jews in Cameroon is obscure and found in several legends and myths. Today the Jewish community in Cameroon is small, with a handful of mostly Israeli Jews living in the capital city of Yaoundé.

## History

[edit]

According to the organization Kulanu, some Cameroonian tribes claim ancient Israelite descent. Tribes claiming Jewish ancestry include the Bassa, the Bamileke, the Eton, and the Douala. According to Kulanu, many Cameroonian tribes practice customs that are similar to Jewish customs, such as circumcision and avoiding eating non-kosher animals listed in the Bible. An oral tradition exists claiming that the Bassa people are descended from Egyptian Jews who immigrated to Cameroon two thousand years ago. The Bamileke claim to be one of the Lost Tribes of Israel.[2]

During the 1990s, some members of the Beth Yeshourun Pentecostal community decided to leave Christianity and become Jewish. Community members had never met any Jewish people, but began to study Judaism and Jewish practice, primarily through Orthodox Jewish websites. Leaders of the Beth Yeshourun Jewish Community of Cameroon approached Kulanu, from whom they were provided with guidance and a Sefer Torah.[3][4]

On February 3, 2019, during an interview with Cameroonian state media, the Cameroonian Minister Delegate in the Ministry of Justice, Jean de Dieu Momo, caused controversy by comparing the opposition party Cameroon Renaissance Movement (CRM) to the Jews "who were crushed by Hitler because of arrogance."[1] De Dieu Momo compared the status of the Bamileke people to that of German Jews, claiming that the German Jews were "a very rich community who wielded all economic power" and were so "arrogant that the German people were frustrated. Then one day, a certain Hitler came to power and put them in the gas chamber." The Cameroonian government apologized for the comments, expressing "sincere regret" amid outrage from the Israeli government.[5]

The modern Jewish population in Cameroon lives close to the Israeli Embassy in Yaoundé. Services for Jewish holidays are held at the home of the Israeli ambassador, where kosher food can be found.[1]

## See also

[edit]

* Judaism portal
* Cameroon portal

* History of the Jews in Nigeria
* History of the Jews in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
* Jews of Bilad el-Sudan
* Yaphet Kotto

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c "Cameroon Virtual Jewish History Tour". Jewish Virtual Library. Retrieved 2023-03-11.
2. ^ "ARE THERE LOST JEWISH TRIBES IN CAMEROON?". Kulanu.org. Retrieved 2023-03-11.
3. ^ "CAMEROON'S BETH YESHOURUN COMMUNITY WELCOMES FIRST JEWISH VISITORS". Kulanu.org. Retrieved 2023-03-11.
4. ^ "Jews of Cameroon". Kulanu.org. Retrieved 2023-03-11.
5. ^ "Cameroon apologizes after official says 'arrogant' Jews brought on Holocaust". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 2023-03-11.

## External links

[edit]

* Beth Yeshourun official website
* Cameroon, Jews Were Here

* v
* t
* e

History of the Jews in Africa

Sovereign states|

* Algeria
* Angola
* Benin
* Botswana
* Burkina Faso
* Burundi
* Cameroon
* Cape Verde
* Central African Republic
* Chad
* Comoros
* Democratic Republic of the Congo
* Republic of the Congo
* Djibouti
* Egypt
* Equatorial Guinea
* Eritrea
* Eswatini
* Ethiopia
* Gabon
* The Gambia
* Ghana
* Guinea
* Guinea-Bissau
* Ivory Coast
* Kenya
* Lesotho
* Liberia
* Libya
* Madagascar
* Malawi
* Mali
* Mauritania
* Mauritius
* Morocco
* Mozambique
* Namibia
* Niger
* Nigeria
* Rwanda
* São Tomé and Príncipe
* Senegal
* Seychelles
* Sierra Leone
* Somalia
* South Africa
* South Sudan
* Sudan
* Tanzania
* Togo
* Tunisia
* Uganda
* Zambia
* Zimbabwe

States with limited
recognition

* Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
* Somaliland

Dependencies and
other territories

* Canary Islands / Ceuta / Melilla (Spain)
* Madeira (Portugal)
* Mayotte / Réunion (France)
* Saint Helena / Ascension Island / Tristan da Cunha (United Kingdom)

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