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“I was born here, raised here, was educated here and I don’t know any other place in the world,” said Yelital Herkles, 22, whose parents are without status as well. “This is my home, why should I have to leave my home?” she said.
According to the Interior Ministry’s Population and Immigration Authority, the community, often referred to as “Black Hebrews,” comprises some 2,000 people who live primarily in Dimona, though there are small communities in Yeruham, Mitzpeh Ramon, Arad, Tel Aviv and Tiberias. The community claims they are far more numerous. The community started to come together in the 1960s in Chicago, subscribing to a theology promulgated by Ben Carter, a Black Baptist who changed his name to Ben Ammi Ben-Israel.