Why do the black Israelis live in Dimona,is it safe for them?

Question

Is there a reason they live there? Jobs or discrimination? There is nothing implied with this question.i'm just curious as to why a minority population lives there? It is unsafe for anyone,there are the rumors of leakage at the reactor and it is also a military target. I grew up close to six military targets during the cold war,so I realize people do live around them. I ask everyone that answers to be respectful of others and stay on topic,this is not about nukes.

Answer 1

The Jews that were airlifted out of Ethiopia back in the 1980s came from a subsistence economy to an industrialized economy, and many were not prepared to find jobs, so they moved into cheaper areas of Israel.

Answer 2

Well, all I can say is that Plutonium is the most toxic substance on earth. The Dimona reactor is obsolete and iodine anti-radiation techniques are ineffective against plutonium radiations.

Answer 3

Of course it's not safe for them, if Israel so much as drops a bomb on one of Iran's reactors or its military training camps, Iran won't even need to use it's own nukes, all we've got to do is blow up the ones Israel already has there.

Answer 4

I imagine that they are among the poorest population of Israel. I also imagine that the land and homes around Dimona would be the most reasonable, so they do what they have to do in order to live. No I don't think it would be very safe. I'm surprised really that any country would have people live close to a nuclear reactor. Peace!

Answer 5

The  black people who live in Dimona call themselves Black Hebrew Israelites .They where founded & are led by  Ben Ammi Ben-Israel .He claimed to have recieved a vision from the angel Gabriel instructing him to lead the children of Israel to the promised land.

They came from the USA in the 60s . They believe that they are descendants of the Twelve tribes of Judah but they reject the Talmud. There are roughly   2,500 of them there ,  in a population of about 30,000. They also can be found in Arad , Mitzpe Ramon & the Tiberias .

   They are not citizens but have temporary leave to remain. If they leave the country they are not allowed to re-enter .

   Dimona is no more  dangerous than  anywhere else in the region. It has high unemployment & poor housing conditions.

Answer 6

Those Blacks that you are referring to in Dimona are not Israelis and are not Jewish. They are Black Americans who belong to a racist cult called the "black Hebrews"  they believe that the true Hebrews are Blacks and that native Americans are a lost tribe.  

They believe Jews are devils and that White people should be enslaved and killed and that Blacks who are Muslims are traitors.

They consider the middleast to be apart of Africa and believe that all of Europe's great composers, artists and kings were Black. They practice polygamy, there leader has s*x with female followers, even the married ones and they are vegans.

They also believe in the New Testament and that Jesus is Black and god.  They are not viewed as converts, just another weird Christian cult similar to "Jews" for Jesus and Messianic "Jews"

Answer 7

probably because no israelis want to live around them.

they don't consider them to be real jews but rather converts (well i shouldn't say THEY don't but rather a good portion of Israeli "jews") do not consider the black Jews to be true.

maybe other reasons, it could be a cheap place to live or it could be the place the first ethiopian's settled. in general, even though they are jews they are minorities to israel and within israel, so minorities tend to like to live within other minorities.

i do not know if it's racism, i don't imagine it is.

Answer 8

Hi power_d,

The African Americans that live in Dimona are Christians.  They have nothing to do with the Ethiopian Jewish people.  They believe the Holy Land belongs to Jewish people, that Israel can only be entrusted to Jewish people, and they are very respectful about it.  They have been living here for three generations now, and they are happy here.

They often sing on TV as a choir and they sang for all the dignitaries during Israel's 60th year of independence.  They sing gospel in English and they also sing in Hebrew.  They dress more like Africans than like Americans.

Recently, I saw a documentary about them on TV.  They said that they are comfortable in Israel.  They live in a very close community and they spend much of their time as a huge family.  There is no specific reason why they live in Dimona other than how people of similar backgrounds tend to flock to the same areas.  That is not to say that they ALL live in Dimona, but most of them do.  Dimona is inhabited by many Israelis of all backgrounds, not just the African American Christians.

EDIT: Dimona, like most Israeli cities has a lower, upper and middle class.  I live in Ashkelon and it is the same here.  There are many people living in Dimona who work in the resort areas of Eilat.  

Sincerely,

Ms. Miche ; })