The history of the Jews of Ghana, previously known as the Gold Coast, is marked by a small presence. The contemporary Jewish community is small and mostly composed of foreign residents. The House of Israel, a community of aspiring converts, has begun to emerge in recent decades.

Modern history

In 2015 the

Chabad Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch (; ; ), is a dynasty in Hasidic Judaism. Belonging to the Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) branch of Orthodox Judaism, it is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements, as well as one of ...

Lubavitch movement set up a Chabad house and synagogue in

Accra Accra (; or ''Gaga''; ; Ewe: Gɛ; ) is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , had a population of ...

Ghana that caters to tourists and visiting business people, mostly from Israel.

Ghana–Israel relations

Ghana–Israel relations Ghana–Israel relations refers to the bilateral relations between Ghana and Israel. Ghana–Israel relations dates back to the mid-1950s after Israel offered support to develop the Ghanaian armed forces. However, following the 1973 Yom Kippur War ...

refers to the current and historical relationship between

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

and

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

. Ghana has an embassy in

Ramat Gan Ramat Gan (, ) is a city in the Tel Aviv District of Israel, located east of the municipality of Tel Aviv, and is part of the Gush Dan, Gush Dan metropolitan area. It is home to a Diamond Exchange District (one of the world's major diamond exch ...

, Israel, and Israel has an embassy in

. An Israeli consulate was established in Ghana in 1956, prior to independence.Historical Dictionary of Ghana - David Owusu-Ansah - Google Books
/ref> Ghana was the first country from

Sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lie south of the Sahara. These include Central Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, and West Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the list of sovereign states and ...

to establish diplomatic relations with Israel. In April 1959, Israel, with help from

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, supervised the establishment of the

Ghana Air Force The Ghana Air Force (GHF) is the aerial warfare organizational military branch of the Ghanaian Armed Forces (GAF). The GHF, along with the Ghana army, Ghanaian army (GA) and Ghana Navy, Ghanaian navy (GN), make up the Ghana Armed Forces, Ghanaia ...

. A small Israeli team also trained aircraft maintenance personnel and radio technicians at the

-based Air Force Trade Training School. After prime minister

Kwame Nkrumah Francis Kwame Nkrumah (, 21 September 1909 – 27 April 1972) was a Ghanaian politician, political theorist, and revolutionary. He served as Prime Minister of the Gold Coast (British colony), Gold Coast from 1952 until 1957, when it gained ...

's overthrow, Israeli military activities in Ghana ended, but Israel continued to aid Ghana in shipping, construction, security, research, manpower training, and agriculture. From shortly after the 1973

Yom Kippur War The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was fought from 6 to 25 October 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states led by Egypt and S ...

through September 2011, Israel and Ghana maintained basic diplomatic ties through Nigeria. In September 2011, Ghana and Israel renewed direct diplomatic relations.

House of Israel

The House of Israel is a Jewish community in Ghana that claims to have roots in the

Ten Lost Tribes The Ten Lost Tribes were those from the Twelve Tribes of Israel that were said to have been exiled from the Kingdom of Israel (Samaria), Kingdom of Israel after it was conquered by the Neo-Assyrian Empire around 720 BCE. They were the following ...

of ancient Israel.Parfitt, Tudor (2002) The Lost Tribes of Israel: the History of a Myth. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson pp.182-3;Parfitt, Tudor Black Jews in Africa and the Americas, Harvard University Press ( 2013) pp.118-119

References

External links

Sephardic Jews in Ghana and West Africa
Sephardic Genealogy {{Africa in topic, History of the Jews in