Theology and Migration between Tradition, Modernity and Post-Modernity
Second meeting, 25 January 2012
Summary of presentations by Prof. Galia Sabar and Shlomit Kanari
'Making a lot of money is good…it is a sign that God loves you':
Juggling with theology within African labor migrant churches in Israel
Prof. Galia Sabar, Tel Aviv University
Prof. Galia Sabar first offered a brief overview of African labor migrants’ situation in
Israel:
African migrants began arriving in the 1990s as part of an influx of foreign laborers who
were invited to replace Palestinian workers in agriculture and construction as part of
the government’s response to the first intifada. Once the borders were open, others,
including Africans, came on pilgrim or tourist visas; upon overstaying their visas, they
became illegal. When mass deportation began in 2000, there were between 15,000 and
20,000 African labor migrants in Israel; today, there are approximately 5,000.
Most migrants (of this first wave of migrants) came from Nigeria and Ghana; men and
women came in equal numbers, many as families; over 85 percent were Christian. Most
who came knew that as non-Jews, there were few means of gaining citizenship.
Galia’s discussion then touched on questions she had asked while engaging with this
community over the course of many years:
Why had African migrants chosen Israel as their destination?
Galia found three main reasons: easy entry, the holiness of the holy land, and the
perception of Israel as a place where one could work, live well and save money. While
Galia felt it unlikely that more than a very few migrants chose Israel because of its
Biblical significance, she suggested that over the years they rationalized to themselves
and others their decision to stay using this reason.
Why did African labor migrants form their own churches—over 50 local African
initiated/independent churches—rather than joining the existing Christian churches in
the Holy Land?
Initially, many joined mainstream churches in Jaffa or Jerusalem, but many left due to
reasons ranging from social discomfort to a sense of spiritual frustration. A common
complaint was that the sermons did not address or relate to the daily reality of their
lives.
What kind of African churches are found in Israel?
There are local branches of international churches that function in Africa and elsewhere
(such as the Church of Pentecost); churches that originated in Africa but now have
branches in the diaspora (such as Resurrection and Living Bread Ministries
International); and churches founded by African migrant laborers themselves (such as
"Come and See Church"). Theologically, the churches range in affiliation from AfricanEthiopian, Prophet Healing churches (also called Spiritual churches) to New Pentecostal
churches (sometimes called Charismatic churches), but the distinctions are not always
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Theology and Migration between Tradition, Modernity and Post-Modernity
Second meeting, 25 January 2012
Summary of presentations by Prof. Galia Sabar and Shlomit Kanari
clear. A very small number of churches brought pastors from Africa; the majority have
in-house, locally trained African pastors.
What is the theology and what are the practices of these African migrant churches?
First, it should be stressed that most termed their churches “Pentecostal,” thus turning
“Pentecostalism” into an umbrella term that came to signify a very flexible, hybrid, and
ever-changing theology and praxis. In spite of this, there is an emphasis on the
following: (1) belief in baptism through the Holy Spirit; (2) a focus on experience and
practice of theology (rather than on written theology); (3) healing and deliverance,
particularly through use of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The Gospel of Prosperity, which
sees wealth and material success as signs of God’s love, is both preached and believed
(see below).
How have churches responded to specific political issues in Israel relating to labor
migration?
There are two major discourses: (1) directed externally towards the Israeli public, using
Biblical analogies and themes to explain African migrants’ situation, e.g. God’s command
to Abraham to go to Egypt to save his people from famine; (2) directed internally
towards African labor migrants and to their family in the home country, a discourse
based mostly on the Gospel of Prosperity.
The Gospel of Prosperity (or the “health and wealth” gospel) is a controversial theology
claiming that financial blessing is the will of God for Christians. Often with emphasis on
the Book of Malachi, the doctrine views the Bible as a contract between God and
humans: if humans have faith in God, he will deliver his promises of security and
prosperity. Faith, positive speech, and donations to Christian ministries will increase
one’s material wealth. Sickness and poverty are curses to be broken by faith.
There is a dispute amongst researchers as to the origins of this gospel; nevertheless, it is
agreed that it originated in the 20th century in the US within Afro-American churches
and rapidly expanded both geographically and ethnically. Its booming from the 1970s
onward is mainly due to televangelism. Its popularity among labor migrants seems to
be because it gives their economic migration a theological justification and frames their
decision in missionary terms. That they are in Israel working means that they are good
Christians and that God loves them. Making money becomes a religious duty.
One must think of this gospel within the globalized, industrialized, Western modern
world that emphasizes the individual. The gospel relates to the specific needs of the
individual African who wanted to migrate to Israel but at the same time keeps him
within a community of believers that cherishes the communal work of God.
For more information:
Galia Sabar (2010), "Israel and the `Holy Land': The Religio-Political Discourse of Rights
among African Migrant Labourers and African Asylum Seekers, 1990-2008," African
Diaspora 3(1): 42-75.
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Theology and Migration between Tradition, Modernity and Post-Modernity
Second meeting, 25 January 2012
Summary of presentations by Prof. Galia Sabar and Shlomit Kanari
Galia Sabar (2004) “African Christianity in the Jewish State: Adaptation,
Accommodation and Legitimisation of Migrant Workers’ Churches: 1990-2003,” Journal
of Religion in Africa, 34(4): 407-437.
‫ ההוצאה לאור‬:‫ תל אביב‬.‫ מאפריקה לישראל ובחזרה‬- ‫ מהגרי עבודה אפריקאים‬,"‫) "לא באנו להישאר‬8002( ‫צבר גליה‬
.‫של אוניברסיטת תל אביב‬
Religious musical discourse within African labor migrant churches in Israel
Shlomit Kanari, PhD candidate, Hebrew University
Shlomit’s research concerns the role and meaning of African migrant music in migrant
churches. Using examples and ideas found during her field research, which was
conducted in two African migrant churches in Israel—one founded by Ghanians and the
other by Congolese, though attended by migrants from many nations—Shlomit
discussed the following regarding music, migration, and theology:
Theology & Music
African Pentecostal churches are influenced by oral traditions, particularly in their
notion of speaking in tongues. They have almost no formal, written theology; instead,
performance and experience constitute a kind of theology. This music and these
performances seem to have originated in the rituals and music of African slaves in the
west. When these rituals and music traveled back to Africa, they came to represent a
separation from traditional religious practice—they became a sign of modernity.
For migrants in particular, music serves as a bridge between individuals from different
places of origin; music helps them cope with the complexities of their community by
turning difficulties into part of their religious agenda. For some, music is an important
tool in realizing the Gospel of Prosperity.
Shlomit offered the following examples of the use of music and its instruments to create
an African migrant Christian theology:
Instruments
- Only Western instruments were used, made from “modern” materials such as
plastic, because traditional instruments represented Satan.
- Migrants, in fact, adopted a harder line on this practice than their counterparts in
the homelands. Through this issue of modern instruments, they seemed to
formulate their religious superiority over those who had stayed at home.
Language and Music
- All those interviewed claimed that the most important factor in the singing was
the text.
- Yet in one singing session that Shlomit taped and watched with some of her
interviewees, at least six languages were used. None of the members of the
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Theology and Migration between Tradition, Modernity and Post-Modernity
Second meeting, 25 January 2012
Summary of presentations by Prof. Galia Sabar and Shlomit Kanari
church spoke all six languages, problematizing the claim that the words were
most important.
One proposed explanation for the paradox:
The pastor seeks to create diverse networks and an international church not based
on one nationality or ethnicity.
- He uses music as part of this agenda, as there is accessibility through music;
music has the power to deliver emotional messages, which are transmitted
through the context as well as through the words and sounds.
- Using many languages in the context of the church is considered a form of
“speaking in tongues.”
- “Speaking in tongues”: the Holy Spirit takes over the individual and speaks
through him or her in a language the speaker does not understand. One
interviewee said that the experience was similar to singing music.
- This understanding changes the linguistic diversity of the congregation from a
potential disadvantage into a theological advantage.
Divine Gifts and the Gospel of Prosperity
- Every individual has his or her own special talent that must be activated and
used.
- Singers, for example, were motivated to develop a musical career, even though
they understood they would not make their breakthrough in Israel; thus, they
deliberately used the images of the Holy Land with the intention of selling CDs
outside of Israel.
Local versus global communities: Difficulties in defining
- What in fact is local? The community of origin, the community they currently live
in and create, or the imaginary global community of believers to which they
consider themselves no less a part of?
- Shlomit suggests that music—and this particular type of music, in this context,
linked to Pentecostal movements—allows the African migrants to break through
physical, territorial borders and, in their consciousness, create a broader
local/global community.
For further reading:
Galia Sabar and Shlomit Kanari (2006), "Between the Local and the Global - African
Musicians in Israel," in Musiké (Netherlands) vol. 1, no. 2: 77-100.
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