(RNS) — The small African Hebrew Israelite community in Israel’s Negev Desert last month celebrated a major milestone in its struggle for recognition in the Jewish state, as more than 100 members seem to have avoided deportation.
In a court battle spanning decades, Israeli judicial authorities ruled a majority of residents with undocumented or unclear status in the country will be placed on a pathway toward permanent residency and potential citizenship.
“It’s been really rough. We are happy for this day,” Dawn Hercules, who, along with her eight children, had faced deportation before the court ruling, told RNS.
Hercules said she moved from Atlanta to Israel in 1998, seeking a sense of freedom and community that many in her movement say they’ve found after moving from the United States — where their ancestors were enslaved — to the holy land. However, her family and others who identify as African Hebrew Israelites are not considered Jewish by the Israeli government, meaning they are not given citizenship under the country’s Law of Return.
Because of her undocumented status, she said she has been unable to find jobs outside of the Hebrew Israelite enclave and is locked out of the Israeli health care system.
“It’s an enormous stress,” Hercules said. “Think about having no medical c …