Who Is the “New Herzl” Dreaming of Establishing a “Second Israel” in Nigeria?

Despite the fact that the Jewish Rabbinate in Israel does not recognize them, a group in Nigeria insists they are Jews and are striving to establish their own Jewish state in Nigeria.

They claim they are not interested in immigrating to Israel but rather wish to assist in the creation of a “Second Israel” in the heart of Africa.

The story, according to a report by the Hebrew newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, begins with historical accounts. Some suggest that before the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, a man named Eri fled with his family and another group across North Africa to the Anambra Valley in present-day southern Nigeria, specifically to a region called Biafra. There, they established their temple and preserved Jewish customs for thousands of years, according to the newspaper’s claims.

In 1967, a group of officers from the Igbo tribe rebelled against the central government in Nigeria and declared Biafra’s independence. After the declaration, Nigeria invaded Biafra and imposed a siege on it from all sides. By the end of the war, Biafra’s independence was revoked, and it was reabsorbed into the Nigerian Republic.

In the year of independence—September 1967—Nnamdi Kanu (the “New Herzl”), who would later become the most associated figure with the dream of Biafran independence, was born.

In interviews, Kanu stated, “There are 70 million Biafrans in the world, 50 million of whom consider themselves Jews,” and he spoke of the Jewish customs they follow: circumcision, wearing the tallit during prayer, donning the kippah, reading the Torah, fasting, and observing Jewish holidays. The Igbo people of Biafra claim to be descendants of Gad, the son of Jacob, through his son Eri.

With the spread of British colonialism, Christian missionary missions emerged—as in other parts of Africa—seeking to strip the Igbo people of their religion. Rachel Novoso, the director of Nnamdi Kanu’s organization branch in Israel, says, “They succeeded in erasing the Igbo’s connection to Judaism, even making them feel ashamed of their religion. However, many of them still believe they are the true Jews and that they should establish their own state in Biafra and live there according to their faith. They have no desire to come to Israel, nor do they care about it.”

Novoso told the Hebrew newspaper, “Israelis are very cautious and are convinced that this is just another group of 70 million Africans trying to ‘ride the wave’ of Jewish genetic narrative to get to modern Israel and settle there. But that’s a mistake. They have no interest in coming here. On the contrary, they believe in their hearts that Biafra is their homeland, and for them, that is where their Jewish state should be.”

Israeli writer Shaul Meizlish, who serves as the head of “Friends of the Biafran People,” says he has spoken several times with Kanu, who repeatedly assured him that he does not want to bring his community to Israel. On the contrary, he even has an apartment in the city of Harish and could have immigrated when he was free. But he chose to stay there close to his people. “He is faithful to his religion, faithful to Judaism, faithful to his people, and his great dream is to create an entity where black Biafrans can live in a manner consistent with the descendants of the tribe of Gad,” Meizlish explains.

Meizlish claims that the Biafrans are currently facing persecution, with Boko Haram targeting them, sometimes to the extent of execution by machetes. Their lives as Jewish Biafrans have turned into a nightmare. Novoso also claims that there are ongoing attempts to Islamize the Biafran population, where those who refuse face the dreadful option of exile from their homeland into the unknown.

Novoso blames “imperial Britain,” which once had Nigeria as one of its colonies, saying, “Although they officially left in 1948, they have remained effectively until today—because of oil, of course.” She adds, “In the 1967 war, Britain supported the Nigerians, and the Biafrans lost their independence.”

According to her, the Soviet Union also sided with the Nigerians. In contrast, South Africa and Israel helped the Biafrans by sending weapons and ammunition. The Biafrans believe that Britain’s power enables the Nigerians to oppress them and refuse to grant independence to a Jewish state in Biafra.

When he was in his twenties, Nnamdi Kanu left Nigeria for London, where he studied media and established a radio station called “Radio Biafra.” Through his broadcasts, he reached the homes of tens of millions of people, and his calls for peaceful protest in the manner of Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi appeared in major global newspapers. But in Nigeria, he was less popular as a charismatic national leader and was accused of treason, with his organization, IPOB (Indigenous People of Biafra), labeled a terrorist group.

According to a BBC report, former Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari promised to “crush” the organization. In 2015, Kanu was put on trial and held for 19 months. He appeared in court wearing a kippah and tallit, once again declaring himself Jewish. After being released on bail of 300 million Naira (approximately $800,000), Nigerian forces raided his parents’ home and threatened to kill him. The protests around the house resulted in the deaths of 28 Biafrans, but Kanu was rescued and taken out of the country.

The Biafran leader began traveling the world, attempting to promote his vision, and during one of his trips, he visited Israel. He lectured at Tel Aviv University, met with Knesset members, and reiterated his demand for a referendum in Nigeria on Biafra’s independence.

About three years ago, on June 18, 2021, Kanu arrived in Kenya, where authorities arrested him and extradited him to Nigeria. Novoso says, “They hurried to extradite him because of his health condition. They feared the chaos that might ensue if he died in their custody and preferred to hand him over to Nigeria.”

Meanwhile, Kanu’s close associates are worried about his fate and fear that Nigerian authorities are planning to execute him. For now, Novoso sends him medication from Israel.

According to Meizlish, “Israel, as the protector of the Jewish people wherever they are, has a moral obligation to prevent the execution of Nnamdi Kanu and to allow a man who seeks only political independence for his Jewish people to receive a fair trial. We repeatedly clarify that we have no desire to immigrate to Israel—this is not our state. Politicians and Knesset members should not worry. What we ask for is Israel’s intervention on the international level to help a Jewish leader who, along with his people, suffers from brutal oppression by local authorities, with the approval of empires like Britain.”

Meizlish expects an important religious step as well: “I believe the first and necessary step is to request the Rabbinate to recognize the Jewishness of the Igbo people. For tens of thousands of them, they have all the relevant documents, they have dozens of synagogues, they bravely march with Israeli flags, and the prices they pay are unimaginable. We have ties with Nigeria, and we are obligated by Jewish, moral, and basic human principles to care for them.”