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We Were Never Lost

@wewereneverlost

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Docu-series bringing light to Tribes of Israel from the 4 corners of the Earth. 🌍🎬
Exec Prod/Host @rudy_israel
Director @kavanafilms

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Jewish women of Africa.
🇺🇬 🇹🇿 🇿🇦
Featuring representation from Uganda, Tanzania, and South Africa taken in Africa by @wewereneverlost

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4 years ago

There are moments in life where one’s involvement can change the course of human history. This is one of those moments. We need your help to unite the Tribes of Israel and to bring their existence to the consciousness of our generation.

@wewereneverlost is a non-profit docu-series: each season set in a different world region, starting with Season 1 across the African continent with 6 full-length episodes.

From Zimbabwe, Tanzania, South Africa, Nigeria, Uganda, Madagascar, Ethiopia and beyond, you can help bring their stories, struggles, and aspirations to the forefront of the global conversation, and have them finally be heard.

Over the past two years, our team has set out to document and connect with thousands of Israelite descendants along with the remnants of hundreds of unknown Jewish communities that have yet to be reunited with the rest of the “mainstream” Jewish population.

This documentary series will revolutionize the way the international community understands the Jewish People, and bring answers to the most misunderstood people in the world.

This documentary is 3,000 years in the making. Be a part of it.

causematch.com/we-were-never-lost taken in Jerusalem, Israel by @wewereneverlost

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4 years ago

Spiritual Upgrade: Nigerian Jews

It’s time to reunite the family of Israel and to unlock the greatest family reunion the world has ever seen.

Support: https://givebutter.com/WWNL
Learn More: https://www.wewereneverlost.com

#igbo #nigeria #tribes taken in Nigeria by @wewereneverlost

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7 months ago

Israel has approved a plan to bring 5,800 members of the Bnei Menashe community from northeast India by 2030.

The group, believed to descend from the ancient Tribe of Menashe, one of Israel’s Lost Tribes, will be resettled in northern Israel’s Galilee, an area linked to their ancestral roots.

Upon arriving, members will complete a rabbinical conversion under Israel’s Chief Rabbinate to ensure alignment with Jewish law and integration into Israeli society.

Israeli officials describe the initiative as part of a broader effort to strengthen the North while reuniting a community with deep historic and biblical ties to the Jewish people.

#IsraelNews #BneiMenashe #Aliyah #India #JewishCommunity #Galilee #LostTribes #JewishHistory #MiddleEastNews by @wewereneverlost

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a year ago

Bar Mitzvah for the Tanzanian Jewish community - marking the moment a young boy officially becomes a man and counted as a part of the Nation of Israel. 🇹🇿🇮🇱

He now takes on the responsibility to uphold the 613 mitzvot and plays his role in the collective Jewiah responsibility of bringing heaven to Earth.

Tanzanian Jews descend from a mix of mostly Yemmenite and Ethiopian Jews who came to Eastern Africa for trade, economic opportunities, and due to religious persecutions they faced in other diasporic lands.

How amazing is it that this Bar Mitzvah boy is part of the last generation to have been born disconnected from the larger Jewish community, and that he will witness, as a man, the reunification of the entire Nation. taken in Arusha, Tanzania by @wewereneverlost

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a year ago

“Do you hear us now?”

Igbo Jew @minasheh_obinna is the chazan (cantor) of his mighty Jewish community in Nigeria.

Not many yet know about the Jews of Africa, but the @wewereneverlost docu series is a few months away of being released.

Very soon everyone will know. taken in Nigeria by @wewereneverlost

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a year ago

A milestone moment for @wewereneverlost: 🇹🇿 Tanzanian Jewish community gathered around to watch the episode that will reveal their story to the world.

This religious Jewish community descends from Yemenite Jews who mixed with some Beta Israel (Ethiopian Jews) and who poured into Eastern Africa through trade routes due to the persecution they faced. The Jews of Arusha are a fully halachic community that practices & preserves every mitzvah, from Mikva, Torah, Tefilin, Shabbat, Tzniuyut, Tefilin and more.

When they realized the level of impact this film would have, the amount of tears, warmth, and empowerment it brought to them was beyond words. This is really the last generation that was born not knowing who the rest of the family of Israel is, and this project is the catalyst to a revolutionary reunification.

Over the past week, our team has been working on getting additional shots to enhance the Tanzania episode, while also generating the first draft of the Madagascar episode.

The final stretch is here, WE WERE NEVER LOST is about 80% complete, and we are not slowing down.

This film is 3,000 years in the making. taken in Arusha, Tanzania by @wewereneverlost

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2 years ago

Discussing matters on Am Israel’s future unity with the Lemba elder in the Limpopo region of South Africa. 🇿🇦🐘

Lemba Jews are descendants of Yemenite traders who migrated to the eastern coast and southern parts of Africa due to the persecution they experienced in Yemen.

Once in Africa, they were then persecuted by different Christian groups and thus went underground, creating a disconnection from the rest of the Jewish mainstream for over a thousand years.

The Lemba today have yet to be recognized by the mainstream Jewish world. Many of them are unfortunately also very spiritually colonized, but so are many mainstream Jews. The Lembas have also preserved certain traditions, customs, and secrets that the rest of the mainstream Jewish community has lost, such as which locust is Kosher. 🦗

Ultimately, each diasporic experience has been able to preserve portions of the light we collectively all once were, and what’s important is that we use our time now in this generation to bring those sparks and rays of light back together.

There is no doubt that Yehuda preserved the scepter of Torah, but with that comes a responsibility to give back and make available what others lost in the process of galut.

The Lemba will be featured in Season 1 of @wewereneverlost, a project that will reunite the dispersed of Israel, as we are the last generation that will have been born not knowing who we all are. 🌍 taken in Limpopo, South Africa by @wewereneverlost

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2 years ago

Empowerment speech at the 76th annual Lemba Cultural Association Conference in Limpopo, South Africa 🐘✡️🌍

The Lembas are descendants of Jewish Yemmenite traders who migrated to the eastern coast & southern parts of Africa during the different periods of persecution they faced back in the Middle East.

Once in Africa, many went underground and hid their Jewish identity due to persecution and attempted exterminations by certain Christian groups.

Today the Lema are around 250,000 strong, mostly located in Zimbabwe and South Africa.

This community will be covered in the upcoming @wewereneverlost documentary, which has been 3 years in the making.

Our team presented the community with a beautiful Hannukiyah from Jerusalem, as a sign of encouragement for the community to never forget the light and collective they are part of and to stay strong in overcomimg the hellenization diaspora has imposed.

Our generation WILL BE the one to unite again, after thousands of years. 🫂 taken in Limpopo, South Africa by @wewereneverlost

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2 years ago

This war has paused many things, but nothing can stop the importance of uniting the Israelite family. 🌍

In the modern age, the world has always known the Jewish People as a population consisting of only 15 million. However, this number only counts the descendant of Jews who were expelled after the destruction of Jerusalem by the Roman Empire, and only makes up for 2 1/2 Tribes out of 12.

Well, what about the other 9 1/2 Tribes of Israel still out there that have yet to come Home? What about the emerging Jewish communities that have grown in the millions worldwide, and yet the question on what to do with them remains unanswered, if even asked at all.

B"H for letting me get back to a life full of meaningful pursuits for the betterment of my generation and those to come.

@kavanafilms and I have resumed our @wewereneverlost project in full force. The lives of our brothers & sisters have not, and will not, pause for us as their cries remain unheard until we wake up to our role in reunifying our family.

📷 Abayudaya Jewish Community taken in Mbale, Uganda by @wewereneverlost

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3 years ago

Due to this war too many lives have been lost and even more lives paused and prevented from completing their life's mission. The @wewereneverlost team should have been filming in Africa this month, but instead I as well as many others find ourselves pulled out of our civilian life and left with no other choice but to fight enemies who are convinced they should kill Jews.

May Hamas be removed from power soon, and may their venomous ideology be cured from those holding hate in their hearts, in order for all affected from this war to return to their lives and value the time we have on Earth.

This image is from a few months ago in Jerusalem where many from the Beta Israel community were protesting in front of the Israeli Parliament (Knesset), urging the government to allow the rest of the Jews in Ethiopia to return Home. Many Jews have been left behind throughout the four corners of the world, while most of us are not even aware. @kavanafilms has continued post-production despite the war, but we can't wait to return in full force to our mission in bringing the stories of millions of Israelites back to the consciousness of the recognized mainstream Jewish community and rest of humanity.

Value the time you have on Earth, appreciate all the freedoms you have, and do everything you can to fix the problems you see. taken in Jerusalem, Israel by @wewereneverlost

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3 years ago

We are not the first to reconnect with the “נדחי ישראל” (Nidchei Israel) - “Dispered of Israel”, but hopefully our generation will be the last, as all of Am Israel will gather from the "four corners of the Earth".

Rav Birnbaum (in the first photo) is one of the Chief Judges that sits on Israel's Rabbinate and has been researching and connecting with Israelite communities for decades.

Rav Ari Greenspan in the white shirt has also traveled and built relations with dozens of these communities, even giving weekly Torah clases to many African Jewish leaders.

Rav Natanel in light blue colorful shirt is the Rabbi of Kenya and works daily with many African Jewish communities.

Rav Tovia Singer in the dark blue shirt served as the Rabbi of Indonesia and is an expert in counter-missionary work.

The @wewereneverlost project seeks to bring to light and reconnect all members of the Nation of Israel. In order to achieve our goals, we must learn from and consult those who came before us.

These photos were taken as the current draft of Season 1's first episode was privately screened to these 4 Rabbis for constructive feedback as we continue the post-production process.

Coming soon 🎥 taken in Efrat, Gush Etzion by @wewereneverlost

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3 years ago