Posted: December 14, 2012 The Jewish Igbo may not be recognized
by Israel's rabbinate, but that doesn't stop them from being
devoted to their faith. William Miles, who wrote about them in
the book Jews of Nigeria: An Afro-Judaic Odyssey, talks with
Michel Martin about celebrating Hanukkah in Abuja. A handmade
menorah in Abuja. William Miles A Nigerian boy receives a
dreidel for Hanukkah. William Miles "Being welcomed by and
embraced by Igbos, who take Judaism so seriously ... it raises
the question of what it means to be a Jew," says William Miles.
Three years ago, Miles, a self-proclaimed semi-practicing Jew,
decided to celebrate Hanukkah in Africa's most populous country.
He wrote about his experience in a new book called Jews of
Nigeria: An Afro-Judaic Odyssey. He tells NPR's Tell Me More
host Michel Martin that he found "a very Jewish community, but
also a very African community." The Igbo are an ethnic group in
the southeast of the country. Miles explains that a long oral
history connects them to one of