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Formerly a British colony called Rhodesia, Zimbabwe gained independence in 1980. The first Jews, however, arrived in
the colony at the end of the 19th century and the population swelled to nearly 1,500 by the middle of the twentieth
century. Today, there are approximately 400 Jews in Zimbabwe.

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- Early Jewish History

- Contemporary Community
- Hebrew Congregations
- Lemba Jews
- Relations with Israel

Learn More - Cities of Zimbabwe:

Bulawayo | Salisbury | Lemba

Early Jewish History

Prior to the 1970s, Rhodesia was formerly a British colony. Eastern Europeans, most from Russia and
Lithuania, first settled in Rhodesia and became active in the trading industry. In 1894, the first synagogue
was formed by 20 Jews in a tent in Bulawayo, Rhodesia. The second community arose in Salisbury (Harare)
in 1895; a third congregation, which has remained small, was established in Gwelo in 1901. By 1900, 400
Jews lived in Rhodesia. The first Jews came by way of the southeast coast through Portuguese Beira.
Rhodesian Jewry was always very active in regional and international Zionist activities. In 1898, the Central
African Zionist Organizations were established in Bulawayo as the Zionist supervising organization in the
region.
In the 1920s and 1930s, several Sephardic Jews arrived from Rhodes. By 1921, census data reported 1,289
Jews living in Rhodesia. In the late 1930s, several German refugees, moved to the country fleeing Nazi
persecution. Following World War II, Rhodesia witnessed a period of economic prosperity; consequently a
number of Jews arrived from South Africa and England.
In 1943, both the Rhodesian Zionist Council and the Rhodesian Jewish Board of Deputies were established
to organize national Jewish and Zionist activities in the country. Jews became largely responsible for the
national pioneering endeavors in transportation systems, mining, hotel corporations, and cattle selling,
among other industries. By 1961, the Jewish population peaked at 7,060.
On January 1, 1964, the Federation of Rhodesia was dissolved upon the independence of Malawi and
Zambia (formerly Northern Rhodesia). Southern Rhodesia remained a British colony and became known as
Rhodesia. On March 2, 1970, the white minority Rhodesian Front government, led by Ian Smith, severed
ties with the British crown; Smith declared Rhodesia an independent republic. An armed campaign was
initiated by ZANU (Zimbabwe African National Union) and ZAPU (Zimbabwe African Peoples Union)
against the Smith government. Due to the ongoing civil war, most of the Jewish population emigrated. After
years of conflict, on April 18, 1980, the country became the independent Republic of Zimbabwe. The former
capital, Salisbury was renamed Harare.
By 1987, the Jewish community of Zimbabwe had shrunk from more than 7,000 people to barely 1,200.
Until the late 1980s, rabbis resided in Harare and Bulawayo, but left as the economy began to plummet. By
the late 1990s, a few rabbis did return to Zimbabwe to lead the Jewish congregations.

Contemporary Community
Today, approximately 400 Jews live in Zimbabwe, predominately in Harare and Buawayo. Only a few Jews
remain in Kwe Kew, Gweru, and Kadoma. Two-thirds of the population is over retirement age of 65. Very
few children remain in Zimbabwe, most have immigrated to Israel or South Africa, in search of economic
opportunity and Jewish marriage prospects. While most of the population is Ashkenazic, a strong
representation of Sephardic Jews remains in the country. The last Bar Mitzvah in Zimbabwe took place early
in 2006.
Both an Ashkenazic (1895) and Sephardic (1931) synagogue exist in Harare; furthermore, there is an
Ashkenazic Orthodox synagogue in Bulawayo. Daily services and Jewish holidays are celebrated in Harare,

but since the early 2000s, both the Ashkenazic and Sephardic synagogues have joined forces for services to
ensure a minyan. Rabbi Nathan Asmoucha of the Bulawayo Hebrew Congregation, is the country's only
rabbi. Jewish cemeteries can be found in Kwe Kwe, Harare, and Bulawayo.
The Zimbabwe Jewish Board of Deputies, located in Harare, is the leading communal organization. Since
the mid-1990s, groups of Bnei Akiva have been active in Bulawayo and Harare. Furthermore, despite the
small number of Jewish youth present in Zimbabwe, Zionist youth organizations are active. Two Jewish
schools exist in Zimbabwe: Carmel in Bulawayo and Sharon in Harare. Both schools have a large percentage
of African and Indian students, along with local Jewish children. There also exists in Bulawayo, the only
Jewish home for the elderly in Zimbabwe, called Savyon Lodge. A shochet comes twice a year from South
Africa, but with a lack of animals available as a result of rationing of meat.
Since the late 1990s, Zimbabwe has been struck with an ongoing food shortage and
poverty, placing the small Jewish community in jeopardy of survival. The country
continues to fall into massive unemployment and inflation. Due to this economic
crisis, in 2002 the mayor of Ashkelon, Benny Vaknin, offered to assist Zimbabwe
Jews settle in Israel; several accepted his proposal and immigrated to Ashkelon.
Anti-Semitism has not been a problem, but the Palestinian embassy in Zimbabwe
actively promotes the Palestinian cause and often creates a sense of uneasiness
among the Jewish community.

Hebrew Congregations
Bulawayo
The Bulawayo Hebrew Congregation began in 1894, in a canvass tent with
barely 20 members. The congregation is based on the traditions of the
Ashkenazi Orthodox. On May 17, 1910, the first stone was laid for the
construction of a new community synagogue, which was consecrated in
April 1911. Over the years, the community has fluctuated in numbers, reaching a maximum in
the 1950s of a few thousand. Once civil strife broke out in Zimbabwe in the 1970s, much of the
community left the country.
On October 5, 2003, the day before Yom Kippur, the historic synagogue burned to the ground.
Just as the communitys new rabbi, Nathan Asmouch, arrived, the community lost its spiritual
heart. The Bulawayo Hebrew Congregation synagogue was reconstructed, however, and Jewish
communal life continues in Bulawayo.
Harare
The Harare (formerly Salisbury) Hebrew Congregation is an Ashkenazi community. The
congregation was founded on June 2, 1895, by twenty men and two women. The community
was first led by Joe van Praagh, who five years after the congregations establishment became
the first Jewish mayor of Harare. In 1901, the first synagogue was built on Rhodes Avenue with
70 members. From 1909 to 1912, the community was led by Rev. L. Rubin. By 1912, however,
the community was growing so fast that the synagogue proved too small for its functions. In
1920, a new synagogue was erected on Salisbury Street.
By 1964, the community had more than 500 families. There existed a chevra kaddisha, Hebrew
School, youth groups, and Zionist organizations. Today, the Harare Hebrew Congregation
synagogue is located in Milton Park Jewish Center. The congregation maintained a rabbi to lead
the community until the 1980s, when Zimbabwe was faced with an economic crisis;
nonetheless, since the early 21st century the services of a rabbi have been restored to the
congregation.
Kadoma (Gatooma)
Jews began settling in Kadoma in the early 1900s. By the late
1930s, 25 to 30 Jewish families resided in the local area of
Kadoma. Prior to World War II, no formal congregation was
formed, with services being led by laymen on the High
Holidays. In 1945, with the arrival of new immigrants from
Europe, the Kadoma Congregation was officially organized.
After years of holding services and communal activities in
various places, the Kadoma Congregation synagogue was
erected in 1953. In 1956, Robert Sternberg became
Kadomas first Jewish mayor. By the late 1950s and 60s, much of the Jewish community began
to leave Kadoma due to economic trouble. The last minyan with the Kadoma Congregation
occurred in 1979. Today, fewer than 20 Jews remain in the city, with no children.

The Lemba "Black Jews"

Rusape is located in the northeast Zimbabwe, about 120 miles (200 kilometers) from Harare. The
community claims both an ancient and modern Jewish heritage. The Jews of Rusape believe to be the
descendants of one of the lost tribes of Jacob. These people are believed to be offspring from the Bantu
people who came from Northern Africa.
Almost 2,500 years ago, after the destruction of the Temple, a group of Jews left Judea and settled in Yemen.
When the economic situation in Yemen began to fail, the Jews left and moved to Africa; with one group
settling in Ethiopia and the other in Tanzania. After several years, many Jews left Ethiopia and moved
further south into what today is Zimbabwe. They became known as the Ba-Lemba. Today, there exists a

Lemba Cultural Association attempting to bring all the various Lemba communities in South Africa,
Mozambique, Ethiopia, and Zimbabwe together.
Within the past few years, extensive research has been done on the
Lemba communities. These tests verify that many male Black
Jews have the same genetic structure as the Cohen priests,
providing evidence of the relation to Jews of this ancient heritage
story.
The Jewish community of Rusape can date itself back to 1903,
when an African American Baptist deacon named William
Saunders Crowdy met Albert Christian. Although, Crowdy was
deemed a deacon of the Church, in the 1880s he had a dream where
God instructed him to lead the blacks to Judaism. Crowdy passed
his Judaic teachings and traditions onto Christian; afterwards, Christian settled in Southern Africa where he
preached about Judaism.
Today, Congregation Betel in Rusape consists of thousands of members, approximately 4,000 people. Rabbi
Ambrose Cohen Mukawaza leads the community in services and studies. In 1938, the Congregation Betel
synagogue was built about seven kilometers (4.34 miles) outside the Rusape city limits. Every Saturday, the
building is packed with more than a hundred Jews practicing prophetic Judaism. Originating in Virginia a
little over a century ago, the practice is associated with African American Beth El Congregations. The main
belief is that while Jesus was not the messiah, he was a prophet, as was William Crowdy who delivered the
word of God. This congregation believes that while the teachings of Jesus should be respected, Jesus was an
active member of the Jewish community of Israel. Besides this difference in Western Judaism, the Rusape
community observes all Jewish holidays and prayer services are conducted in Hebrew.
One of the Rusape congregations high holidays is the Convocation of the Feast of Tevet. This holiday
remembers the destruction of the Temple and the migration of the Jews from Yemen into Africa. For eight
days the community remains together, with prayer services beginning at 4 a.m. Each day the congregants
pray to God in a different position: from standing on the first day to lying on the floor on the eighth day.
Customs of Zimbabwe Black Jews:
1. Belief in only one God, and that he created all things.
2. One day a week is considered holy: On this day the Rusape Jews give
thanks and praises to God.
3. Strict observance of Shabbat.
4. Adherence to the Ten Commandments.
5. A bris is performed according to local African tradition, at the age of
ten.
6. When praying, a choir melds Shona (the local Zimbabwe dialect),
Hebrew, and English words into African melodies to create a distinctive
service. Nevertheless, the services contain almost all the traditional Jewish
prayers found in Western siddurim.
7. They do not eat pork or any other animal prohibited by the Old
Testament; nor do they mix milk and meat. All animals are slaughtered by
a professional kosher butcher and bled thoroughly.
8. The calendar follows the path of the moon.
9. Stars of David are engraved on tombstones.
The Zimbabwe Orthodox Jewish community does not recognize the Rusape Jews as Jews. Although, the
Rusape Jews may have good intentions, according to the Orthodox community they cannot claim to be
Jewish until internationally established as Jews.

Relations with Israel

In 1993, Israel and Zimbabwe established formal diplomatic relations. Since 1948, 714 Jews have made
aliya from Zimbabwe and the former Rhodesia. The Israeli ambassador also represents Zambia and
Botswana.
Sources: World Jewish Congress
Zimbabwe Jews seriously consider aliyah options by Moira Schneider
100 years of Jewish history up in smoke
History of the Salisbury Hebrew Congregation
The Kadoma (Gatooma) Jewish Community
"Zimbabwe. Encyclopaedia Judaica
"Tiny Jewish community perseveres despite Zimbabwe's economic woes" by Moira Schneider
The Jews of Africa: Rusape, Zimbabwe
The Story of the Lemba People
Pictures Courtesy of: Jay Sand

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