REMY ILONA'S THOUGHTS ON THE SIMILARITIES AND 'DISSIMILARITIES BETWEEN THE IGBOS AND THE JEWS

Greetings Dan and Everybody else,

It should be easy to know and understand why "Jews" (I guess you mean
those in Israel and in the West) are organized, and Igbos are not. The
Jews are united because they still hold on to, and practice their own
way of life. This gives them unity. Gives them the a sense of oneness.
The Igbos have a ay of life called Omenana). Instructively you'd have
seen Omenana in the Bible if you had read my latest book which the
following link leads to-

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008N2VHBI

Perhaps the presence of the whole corpus of Omenana in the Bible (the
Jews greatest text) will serve as convincing evidence to you that the
Igbos are Jews too. Back to why the Igbos are not organized, one, and
can sell, not only their brothers, but their mothers-the Igbos are
converts to another way of life, which does not teach the Igbos that
the Igbos are one people, and that they should be their brother Igbos
keepers. Indoctrination is important. I know Judaism well. From
infancy the Jew is taught that he's a Jew, and that every Jew is his
brother. From infancy no Igbo is taught anything similar.

Scholarly Jews and Igbos who have cared to compare the Igbos and the
Jews aver that DNA testing would be a mere formality; to confirm what
has been proved, beyond doubts-that both people(s) are one people
indeed. A Jewish scholar is presently trying to raise funds for the
testing of at least 10,000 Igbos. Igbos who feel its necessary to
contribute should let me know, and I'll inform the scholar.

We'd all like to not just die in Ozubulu, but to live in it, but the
place (Igboland) has been turned to a kidnappers den, and sadly
kidnapping might never end. And we can continue to go on and on. The
Igbos kidnap one another because they no longer see one another as
brothers. Tragic! Maybe we can reverse the Igbo fate by beginning to
study. And beginning from trying to find out who we are.

Remy.



On 12/14/12, Dan Okenu wrote:
> Is that why IGBOS are found everywhere in the world.....and are being
> persecuted in Nigeria?
>
> But the Jews are organized, closely united and fiercely patriotic and help
> themselves - an injustice against one Jew is an injustice against all
> Jews.....and they fight it with the last pint of their blood........but
> IGBOS can sell their brother for what ever it's worth.
>
> I need some genomic/maternal DNA analysis please
>
> Ethiopian Jews were airlifted to Israell............Please I want to live,
> die and buried in the City of Ozubulu, People's Republic of Biafra (sorry
> City of Zebulon, Israel...the sixth son of Jacob and Leah)
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DISCUSSIONS ABOUT IGBO ORIGINS BETWEEN BARRISTER REMY ILONA & PROFESSOR CATHERINE ACHOLONU AT IGBOVILLE GROUP

Catherine Acholonu:- I have immense respect for Chief Ilona more than
for any other person on the pro-Igbo Jew side of this divide because I
can see he really believes in wht he says. But the fact remains tht
every evidence he has come up with to argue his case can be usedboth
ways. The similarities between I gbos and Jews can mean tht Jews are
from Igbo land. The only reason Jews are not running around claiming
Igbo origin is because we are not USA. Yet, to think tht Jews have
been running all over Igboland spending money to convince us tht we
are their children should set us all asking "What do they want to take
again after the British had ransacked our land and stolen all our
cultural and spiritual TREASURES?" This ppl want our spirit to bend to
their service so tht they can command us through Kabbalah and command
the OFO whch only Igbos alone possess in the whole world, and thereby
rule the world, since we have been induced by the British lying
Christians to discard this instrument. If this is not the case why did
the visiting Israelites to Erilands collect sand from the Umuezeora
village of Eri's most inner settlement in Igboland. Wht are they doing
with the sand they collected from Obu Eri's environs? Why are they
trying to convince Nri ppl and Agulerians tht they are the children of
a son of Jacob born to Jacob's wife's maid servant. Israelites are
very knowledgeable ppl. They know the Truth. They know we are the true
Sons of God and the first sons for tht matter. And they know they come
from us, and that as such the OFO Chukwu rests in our hands to wield.
But they want to be the ones wielding it, so they can rule the world.
Jews are our blood brothers, no doubt about it. Infact the more I
study them, the more I see tht they are Aro Igbos. But our ppl are
just too naïve to think tht anyone would spend the way these ppl are
spending on this fad unless there is a great treasure in it for them
and a Greek gift for us. No gift is free. And certainly no big
monetary gifts are free. Not in today's capitalist world. Someone
always pays. Igbo men, know this: If u give up your divine right to
the Jews/Hebrews or whoever, the women will take your place, and
believe u me, it shall not be another Aba Women slaughter, for indeed
the entire gamut of our galactic council of deities are just waiting
to teach everyone the lessons of the New Age.
3 hours ago • Like • 3









Remy Ilona-I’m glad that our sister Professor Catherine Acholonu has joined this
debate, and has helped us by stating in very clear terms that ndi Igbo
and Jews are ‘blood brothers’. This helps to solve a problem. In the
submission that sparked off the debate I saw where the author stated
or quoted sources that expressed and implied that Igbo culture and
Judaism are not similar.  But blood brothers have similar, if not
identical cultures. And many of us have found, and proved beyond
reasonable doubt that the Igbos and the branch of the Ibri called the
Jews are genetically related.  So we can consign the submission to
where it deserves to belong; the rubbish heap. The malevolent attempt
to degrade the magnificent film, and the theory that the Igbos are
related to Israel got the reward it deserves; ignominy. Ignominy big
time! And presently the film and books talking about Igbo Israelism
are climbing the charts, because people want to know………

Our sister made some points that are less than accurate. The Hebrews
called the Jews possess the ofo, just as those called the Igbos
possess it too. Any one that  reads my latest book; “The Igbos And
Israel-An Inter-cultural Study of the Oldest And Largest Jewish
Diaspora” will get enough information about the ofo and its place in
Jewish culture therein.

Secondly, no Jew runs around Igboland, spending money, to convince
Igbos that they are related to each other. If , and as we are related,
as can be inferred from Acholonu’s admission that we are related
genetically, the need for that does not arise. The Jews that come to
Nigeria, and see some Igbos, see those Igbos that have realized the
importance of renewing their links with their brethren, and have
reached out to their brethren. The Jews that visited the places that
Acholonu mentioned in Anambra came at the invitation of some Igbos who
wanted them to confirm if Eri the ancestor of a group of Igbos
actually inhabited there. Judaism, as Omenana, is a non proselytizing
culture/religion. Jews actually block non Jews from joining them, and
I can’t imagine ndi Igbo permitting non Igbos to attend and
participate in nzuko umu nna of any Igbo community.

Acholonu holds that the Igbos were the first human beings to inhabit
the earth, as we can infer from the title of her book, ‘They Lived
Before Adam’. Likely she holds that view because some findings
indicate that (some) of the oldest fossils of the homo sapiens have
been found in Africa-at a point (East Africa to be exact) thousands of
miles away from Igboland. She has not proved that what she insists
that she discovered is the absolute fact. Objective analysis and
assessment of available data yields rather that everybody in the world
descended from man.

Acholonu holds that the Jews descended from the Igbos. I think that
she holds this view because she has not really extended her research
to Jewish history and culture. When you say the ‘Jews’ you are just
talking about the branches of Israel that lived in Western and the
Middle Eastern lands. An Ethiopian Jew was not known as the Ethiopian
Jew until recent times. He was known as the Falasha and as the Beta
Israel. The Jews of Somalia are known as the Yibir(mis) pronunciation
of Ibri or Hebrew), just as the Jews of Nigeria have been, and are
known as the Ebo/Ibo/Igbo-(mis) pronunciations of Ibri or Hebrew).

If we must be frank, Hebrew culture, which both the Jews and the Igbos
share, as can be inferred from Acholonu’s admission that ‘both groups
are blood brothers’ did not begin to evolve in Igboland. The epicenter
of Hebrew, if you like call it Igbo, if you like call it Jewish, if
you like call it Yibir, culture, is eretz Yisrael (the land of
Israel). We have enough evidence that the Igbos trekked from there to
Igboland thousands of years ago. Igbo language proves it. The Igbo
spoken 700 years ago is unmistakably Hebraic, and, and, and once
again, its in Israel, not, not, not Igboland where archaeology has
shown that Hebrew was in use more than 3000  years ago. Interested
persons can confirm this themselves. Some very old and obscure
dialects of Igbo still yield a lot of Hebrew.

Ndi Igbo certainly did not spawn the human race. Ndi Igbo are part of
the human race, from the family of Israel. It might salve our vanity
to think that we lived before Adam, but actually we didn’t. Adam which
means earth or and in some ways ‘man’ in Hebrew spawned the human
race, including the Igbos.

More soon.

Link to Remy Ilona's new book-

http://www.amazon.com/The-Igbos-Israel-Inter-cultural-ebook/dp/B008N2VHBI

Remy Ilona’s position on Monotheism in Igbo Culture

If we are not completely satisfied that asusu Igbo does not give us incontrovertible evidence that ndi Igbo hadn’t other gods, we can try to find out if the Igbos actually have other gods beside Chi-ukwu (Chukwu) Who is also addressed as Chi-neke with other  tools.

We can try to look for the ‘gods’ themselves in Igboland. I tried to find them, and till date they have remained elusive. The things that many Igbo believe that they are also the gods of the Igbos never stood for deities to our fathers when they practiced pure Omenana. John Munonye referred to the ofo as a god in his masterpiece “The Only Son”. He referred to one of the Igbo symbols of authority (much like the popes mitre) as a god because that was what he heard the missionaries who (mis)educated the Igbos calling it. Most Igbos of this generation and the ones before them, completely disconnected from Omenana, who read the book believed that the ofo was/is actually a god.

In my parts the ikenga stood for a staff of strength . I never heard that it was/is regarded as a god by any Igbo people.

Some Igbo writers have repeatedly written about the ‘earth goddess’. I have heard also that some Igbos have a goddess called ana.  If you consider the Igbo religion carefully you’ll understand why and how the Igbos can see (if not create) a god called the earth goddess. In authentic Omenana when the Igbos refer to the relationship between the Igbo person and ana, the ana that they mean is certainly and categorically not the ground or the earth, but the land/country/society/community. When Sir Warrior said ala Owerri he didn’t mean the earth or ground of Owerri, but Owerri as a community. When we say the Land of Israel we mean the country, society of Israel.

We know what happens to people who violate certain norms. For example when we were governed by the rules of Omenana, if an Igboman inadvertently slew a kinsman he had to flee from the clan, because he had transgressed the rules of the land/clan, and not because he had offended the earth/ground. Its not beyond clever charlatans to misinterpret and exploit this fear of offending the land/clan, and create a god called the earth goddess out of this mistaken understanding of our culture.

Another tool that we can, and should rely on is Jewish Studies. Decades ago G.T .Basden advised his fellow missionaries that came to work among the Igbos to familiarize themselves with Judaism. We can’t say that many Igbos have tried to use this tool, because factors ranging from lack of awareness, afro-centrism, anti-semitism,  racism, have combined to make most Igbos to be unaware that Jewish Studies remain the only reliable primer for Igbo Studies.

However as there is growing unanimity in the positions of the two groups which hold divergent opinions on the origins of the Igbos with Professor Catherine Acholonu’s unequivocal declaration in this Igboville that she believes that the Jews are blood relatives of the Igbos, we can be optimistic that we can begin to plumb into the very rich trove of Jewish Studies to know more about the Igbos.

What do the Jews think of the notion that other gods, besides YHWH (mistranslated in English as Jehovah) and acknowledged by Jews, Christians and Moslems as the Supreme Being, exist? Israel saw it as extreme foolishness for one to believe that things created by the Creator or things formed by the hands of men can be viewed as gods. But Israel was aware even in very ancient times that among the other nations that there was the belief that gods other than the God of Israel; the God that much of humanity has come to accept as the One True God, exist. 

Retaining a vital part of the Igbo peoples's essence

My thinking is in line with your thinking. There is a swathe of Anambra State close to O. Nsugbe's clan. There are still many adherents of Omenana there. I was there early last year. The place reminded me of the Igboland of the seventies. While there I had a feeling that I was in pre -monarchy ancient Israel. Extreme material poverty as we know it today! But absolutely no crime! The feeling was eery. I planned to go back there with a video camera, but before I could do so I fell ill. Frankly I worry that our brethren that are mad with ignorance would sooner or later destroy such places in their quest to wipe out all relics of the Igbos pre-Christian life. Such places need to be protected. I hope that we will be ready in time to do so. We need empowerment to get to those with executive powers; i.e, those in government, as it is they who could provide the resources that would be necessary to protect such places, and the way of life that's still obtainable there. Hopefully we'll have the book The Igbos and Israel soon, so that we can use it to explain to our brethren that such places are places where rabbinical, Israelite, and biblical studies students could go to, to learn. From experience I know that Igbos respect their history and culture when they recognize the similarities between them, and Israel's.

Igbo Judaists should visit such places too. Rabbinic Judaism could and should help to ensure that the practices of the ndi ogo Mmuo (worshippers of God) remain Israelite and pure. They have tried so much by retaining the basic elements of Hebrewisms, by relying on their memories, and oral traditions, but we need to get them Torah soon, so that they won't stray or become syncretistic. And very importantly, as people living in the rural areas their alliance with the Igbo Judaists will help in entrenching rabbinic Judaism in the heart of the Igbo society.

How Ndi Igbo came from Israel.

Actually people should look at the whole of Africa when Ethiopia was mentioned in early times. There were no steel barriers confining the Israelites that moved into Ethiopia to Ethiopia. Naturally they continued downwards-and the biggest concentration of those that continued downwards settled in the south of the area that became Southern Nigeria.

There are no maps, books detailing the movements-similar to what I read about the Jews of Russia-that nobody really knows when or how they got there-but as they practiced Judaism it was clear that they were/are of Israelite stock.

This is not to say that I think that the Igbos are made up only of those that the Assyrians dispersed, i.e, the Israelites of the Northern Kingdom. My theory, supported by many sources is that Hebrews had started trickling into the African continent well before the great dispersions. [The nail that yielded the enzyme that gave us the blue in our tallits in ancient times were obtainable only in the waters of West Africa]. And that a very great majority of those that moved 'down' settled in the Niger area because of abundant water, fertile land, etc. And that when the dispersions occurred, a huge number of the dispersed also joined those that had settled in the Niger area. This would include some exiles from Samaria, and Judah. My theory is that these streams-from the entire nation of Israel built up the nation that became known as the Hebrews--------Ibri------------Ibo--------------Igbo. Retain the tribal name to provide room for everybody. An Igbo instinctively prefers to be identified as a Hebrew or an Israelite, more than as a Jew, because in my thinking, only some Igbos descended from Judah.

And can I prove all these? I can. We have the Leviim, and the Aaronides, and the acronym of their chief clan is derived from the prophesy about Levi by Jacob in Genesis.

If anybody's claim to Israelitishness is strong its that of the Igbos, because everywhere there are tell-tale signs, symbols, etc, telling us about who the Igbos are. And it must be mentioned that today, not many people, including Igbos know about all these-because these are things that have not received attention-popular or scholarly, for a long time. And in the Igbo case colonialism damaged us almost irreparably. It made Igbos to begin to chase after things that didn't concern them, while neglecting even themselves.

Now I ask myself why did I even think that the Igbos needed DNA tests, when the phrase Omenana; the Igbo religion can be found in the Torah. When every Igbo practice is parallelized by a Jewish one. When even the Igbo experience is parallelized by the Israelite experience. And I conclude that what the Igbos need is Jewish information to counter the toxic effects of European colonialism.

Ndeewo.

TITHE

PROJECT: IBU IHU NA IKE IHU

The Igbos of Nigeria who number up to thirty five millions have a customary practice called ibu ihu. This practice requires every Igbo to set aside a percentage of his annual income, and to send it to his family where all the funds/commodities that have been collected will be shared by all the members of the family.

In former times when the Igbos were less influenced by other cultures ibu ihu was generally practiced. Then the Igbos paid this due with food. This contribution helped to ensure that the Igbos did not have much food hunger, destitution and a high crime rate, because the practice was an effective way of distributing wealth. Indirectly the wealthy gave to the poorer, who received without loosing face because they contributed as well.

Presently ibu ihu is almost extinct. Now due to this and many other factors the Igbo people are poorer and their society is becoming dysfunctional. Poverty and some other factors have led to an upsurge in crimes like narcotics peddling, violent crimes, and the other social vices. Also many Igbos are struggling to emigrate.

PROJECT IBU IHU NA IKE IHU is about a revival of this practice which would empower many Igbos, strengthen family ties, and reduce social tensions. If the project gains ground the Igbo people will be the better for it because many more Igbos, will become empowered, and thus poverty will be alleviated, and crime will be reduced.

Igbo-Israel should lead by enacting this practice as it prepares to celebrate rosh hashana, and observe the yom kippur with the rest of am Yisrael!