The Abayudaya

Meet the Jewish community of Uganda

The Abayudaya, “People of Judah” in Luganda, are Uganda’s vibrant Jewish community. For more than a century they have kept faith with Torah and tradition, in a voice that is unmistakably their own.

Donate now Visit the schools

Adults and children gather beneath a large outdoor metal menorah at dusk.

Resilience amidst adversity

A century of faith, tested and renewed

The Abayudaya were not born into the Jewish world. They found Judaism in the Hebrew Bible, kept it alive through persecution, and rebuilt it with their own hands. Each generation has had to pass it on against the odds.

1919A chief chooses Torah. Semei Kakungulu, a Ugandan chief and military leader based near Mbale, is a devout reader of the Bible. He comes to follow the commandments of the Hebrew Bible and declares himself a Jew. His followers become the Abayudaya, the People of Judah.
1920sBuilding a Jewish life. With no rabbi to guide them, they learn from the text itself. In 1922 Kakungulu publishes a 90-page book of rules and prayers, and a visiting Jew known as Yosef stays and deepens their knowledge of Jewish practice. Kakungulu dies in 1928; his followers keep the faith.
1971Outlawed. Idi Amin seizes power and bans Jewish practice. Synagogues are closed, Hebrew prayer books forbidden, even Jewish burial services banned. Under that pressure many Abayudaya give up their faith.
1970sFaith in hiding. A few hundred refuse to let go and keep praying in secret, at great personal risk. One father is arrested for studying Torah in a sukkah hidden behind his house. His son would become the community’s first rabbi.
1980sRebuilt by hand. Amin falls in 1979 and freedom of worship returns. In the early 1980s young Abayudaya organize a kibbutz-style movement, reclaim their land and build the Moses Synagogue on Nabugoye Hill with their own hands.
2002Welcomed. Visiting rabbis convene a rabbinical court in Uganda, and hundreds of Abayudaya formally join the worldwide Jewish people.
2008A rabbi of their own. Gershom Sizomu, one of the young builders of the 1980s revival and the son of that arrested father, is ordained after five years of rabbinic study in Los Angeles: the first Abayudaya rabbi.
TodayThe next generation. About 2,000 Abayudaya live in villages around Mbale. Their music has earned a Grammy nomination, and their two schools pass Hebrew, Torah and Jewish life on to the children who will carry the community forward.

Today the task that fell to every generation before them rests on two schools, and those schools can’t stay open on their own. Help write the next chapter.

Support the next generation Visit the schools

Six people stand together outdoors in front of school buildings. One of them holds a Torah scroll. — Standing together with a Torah scroll.

A school building painted with the months of the Hebrew calendar, from Tishri to Elul, each with a small illustration, beside banana trees. — The months of the Hebrew calendar, painted on a school building.

Inside a synagogue: wooden benches face an ark decorated with Stars of David, under a high beamed roof. — Inside an Abayudaya synagogue.

The words of Hatikvah, painted in the shape of a Star of David on a school wall at Hadassah, as a child runs past. — Hatikvah, painted in the shape of a Star of David on a wall at Hadassah.

Hadassah pupils in blue uniforms, one wearing a kippah, gather at a computer with a teacher. — Pupils gather at a computer at Hadassah.

A Hadassah pupil in a blue uniform walks across the grassy campus towards children playing by the red-roofed classrooms. — Crossing the campus at Hadassah.

A unique blend of traditions

Jewish in faith, Ugandan in voice

The Abayudaya combine traditional Jewish practice with the culture of their homeland, creating a distinct and deeply meaningful way of life.

Children light Hanukkah candles on a table while a crowd of adults looks on.

Cultural harmony
Traditional Jewish ritual combined with distinctive Ugandan cultural elements.
Inclusive worship
Passover, Yom Kippur and Hanukkah are celebrated with services in Hebrew, English and Luganda.
Musical heritage
Traditional Ugandan melodies are woven into liturgical songs, enriching the community’s spiritual expression.

The Abayudaya are the minority but because we want peace in our community, we put all these projects to enable them and to enable other people connect with us

Seth JonadavHeadteacher · Semei Kakungulu High School

Watch this moment0:37

Customs of the Abayudaya

A fusion of Jewish and Ugandan heritage

A remarkable blend of traditional Jewish practice and vibrant Ugandan culture shows the power of faith to adapt, flourish and inspire.

Shabbat

Fridays are for preparation: cooking special meals and cleaning homes to welcome Shabbat as a sacred time for rest, reflection and prayer.

Synagogue services

Worship blends Hebrew, Luganda and English, enriched by local Ugandan melodies that reflect a multicultural heritage.

Torah study

Dedication to Torah learning reflects deep spiritual devotion and a lifelong commitment to Jewish education.

Keeping kosher

Jewish dietary laws are kept, with strict separation of meat and dairy and ritual cleanliness. Regional ingredients go into kosher meals, joining religious practice with Ugandan cooking.

Life-cycle events

Circumcision is performed with deep spiritual reverence. Bar and Bat Mitzvahs are celebrated joyously. Weddings bring the chuppah and the breaking of the glass together with lively Ugandan music and dance.

Music and expression

Drums, xylophones and lyres enrich Hebrew prayers, a vivid expression of the community’s creativity, resilience and dual identity.

Community celebrations

Passover, Rosh Hashanah and Hanukkah strengthen community bonds, and traditions pass to the young through storytelling and communal meals of locally inspired kosher dishes.

At Hadassah, a student wearing a kippah and a tallit reads from a book at a cloth-covered table.

These customs reflect a passionate commitment to a vibrant Jewish identity that embraces Ugandan roots. Your support helps safeguard these traditions and ensure their continuity.

Education

A foundation for the future

Education is central to the Abayudaya’s values, woven into their faith, traditions and hopes. They see learning as both a spiritual duty and a practical necessity.

Religious education: Students learn Hebrew, Torah and Jewish ritual, carrying Jewish identity from one generation to the next.
Community schools: Hadassah Primary School and Semei Kakungulu High School combine secular subjects such as mathematics, science and literature with Jewish studies.
Inclusivity and harmony: The schools welcome students of all faiths, promoting interfaith dialogue, tolerance and mutual respect.
Bar and Bat Mitzvah: These ceremonies celebrate education and spiritual maturity, reflecting the community’s dedication to lifelong learning.
Cultural integration: Programs weave in traditional Ugandan culture, celebrating local heritage and Jewish tradition side by side.
Development projects: Agricultural and clean water projects give young people and adults practical, essential life skills.

Hadassah pupils in blue shirts and green pinafores drink from colorful plastic cups. — Cups in hand at Hadassah Primary School.

Three young children sit on a veranda step, with green and blue plastic chairs behind them. — Young friends on a veranda step.

Immediate challenges

The schools that carry this heritage are at risk.

An educational crisis: Hadassah Primary School and Semei Kakungulu High School urgently need sustainable funding to remain open.
Culture at risk: These schools are crucial for sustaining the community’s Jewish traditions and education.

Keep the schools open See the schools

Community life