Dr. Hakham Yehonatan Elazar-DeMota ס״ט was born in Miami. He comes from a long line of Sephardic families from Spain, Portugal and North Africa, which established themselves in the Caribbean before migrating to the United States of America. He began his rabbinic education under Hakham Yosef Benarroch ע״ה ,ס״ט, at the Sephardic Education Center of North Miami Beach (yore yore). After that, he studied the laws of shehitah with Hakham Abraham Bitton ס״ט, and was certified by Hakham Israel Levi Tytell. Thereafter, he continued his studies under Hakham Mordekhay Levi de Lopes ס״ט (yadin yadin). Moreover, H. Elazar-DeMota was certified in Israel as a mohel by Hakham Yoel Nissim Dayan. Apart from rabbinic studies, H. Elazar-DeMota has a Master’s degree in Anthropology and Religious Studies from Florida International University and a PhD in International Law from the University of Amsterdam. H. Elazar-DeMota is the author of numerous books and articles on Western Sephardic Jewry. He established his Beth Midrash in 2009 in the Capital, then in La Romana in order to strengthen the Sephardic Jewish identity therein.
Dr. Laila Hasan has committed her professional career as a secondary educator for 15 years. In addition, she has directed the Mathematics Educator Leadership Institute programs for eight years, which supported teacher leadership in Los Angeles County schools.Recently, Hasan served as Faculty Advisor in the UCLA Teacher Education Program. She started her career teaching math and science in the middle schools. It did not take long before Hasan’s desire to share her work with other teachers led to her to the post of Associate Director for the UCLA Mathematics Project. Hasan has been a pioneer in the development and implementation of effective research-based parent involvement programs in Los Angeles urban schools. As a secondary teacher, Laila created family-based math literacy workshops to engage parents and students in the curriculum. These initial experiences with families provided the foundation for her to become the Director of the UCLA Parent Curriculum Project for more than nine years. Hasan’s recent research interest focus involves looking at the cross-section of family, teacher and student engagement in the experiential learning of mathematics in public spaces. She is currently working with the Algebra Project located at Crenshaw High School, Franklin High School and Academia Avance schools in Los Angeles. In addition to teaching in the MAT program, Hasan is involved in two projects funded by corporate foundations that support the USC Family of Schools and is managed in conjunction with the Rossier Office of Professional Development Programs. The first is a Hybrid Algebra Laboratory (funded by the Boeing Foundation). This is an online resource center for Algebra One teachers from Manuel Arts, Foshay and 32nd Street School. In a peer-to-peer learning approach, the teachers are guided by Hasan to learn theory and how to apply it to their students. Hasan is also part of the STEM Lab funded by the Toyota Foundation. Eight of the Family of Schools have teachers involved in an online learning experience that provides them resources and guidance to improve science and math learning through a series of lessons put into action with feedback, coaching and instruction.
Nz’r Remy Ilona - PhD candidate, researcher, historian, scholar of religion, presently at UC Riverside, California. Previously, Remy was at Florida International University, Miami, Florida. And was an attorney and Law lecturer in Nigeria. Remy is also at the present time Chairman and Secretary-General of Omenana Defenders (OD), and a staunch activist in both the Igbo Jewish community, and general Igbo community. He is widely regarded and respected as Nigeria’s top Hebraist, Bible scholar, and cultural theorist. His work on the unique parallels between Omenana, Hebrew (Israelite), Jewish, Samaritan, Karaite cultures, and exegesis on the Bible, have sent scholars interested in the above-mentioned areas back to the drawing board. His works and Israeli anthropologist’s Dr. Daniel Lis were pivotal and critical in Obadayah Alliance’s Sephardic Jewish religious court’s ruling that Igbos are lineal descendants of the Israelites. In addition to Ilona’s public engagements and incisive discussions on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, he is also a very prolific essayist and writer, having authored and published 20 books among which are Igbo Religion and Culture, Hebrew Igbo Republics: Culture, Religion and DNA, Igbos and Abraham’s DNA, An African American History-From Israel through Africa to the Americas, and The Igbos and Israel: An Inter-cultural Study of the Oldest and Largest Jewish Diaspora .
Ahmadiel Ben Yehuda is the Minister of Information and National Spokesman of the African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., he majored in political science and worked briefly on Capitol Hill before actively pursuing his Hebraic identity and spiritual calling. He soon relocated to Israel in 1978 and has since dedicated his life to the spiritual, but practical, upliftment of all who desire to live according to Truth. As one of the most visible and vocal personages of the AHIJ, Minister Ben Yehuda’s ongoing responsibilities include hosting hundreds of guests and visitors to the community annually. He is widely traveled and has presented at conferences across the US, Europe, the Caribbean and Africa. As a member of the International Society for the Study of African Judaism (ISSAJ), he has argued the case for Israel’s authentic African roots. To that end, he published in African Jewish Journeys: Studies in African Judaism where he challenged the very paradigm of anthropological studies of Africans who identify with Israel: assuming that the ancient Israelites were white, to approach any African communities would seek to ask where and how they adopted, assimilated or were converted to their belief system – anything but that they could actually be who they claim to be! He is soon to publish two works: Hidden Roots: Racism as a Catalyst to War and an Obstacle to Peace and Has Africa Divorced God?: Culture, Consciousness and Spirituality in the Pan African Movement. Ben Yehuda has written for several publications (including Haaretz, the Jerusalem Post, HINT Magazine and 972.org) and is consulted regularly concerning African Hebrew Israelites and the African presence in Israel.
Rabbi Tish Bio coming soon.
Rabbi Mordechai Ben Avraham bio coming soon.