Andrew Esensten, at The Blogs

Andrew Esensten

Apr 11, 2025, 2:00 PM

This African Hebrew Israelite busker spreads joy across Tel Aviv

Yokai Ben Israel Edwards performs at the Jaffa Flea Market in 2022. (Andrew Esensten)

The performer who makes a living singing on the street and at weddings and bar mitzvahs had an unfortunate run-in with the police

Sep 9, 2024, 11:02 PM

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Remembering Abshalom Ben Shlomo, Hebrew Israelite jazz man

Abshalom Ben Shlomo played saxophone with the Sun Ra Arkestra before moving to Israel in 1971. (Courtesy Abshalom Ben Shlomo)

The masterful musician, who passed away at home in Dimona over the summer, introduced 'free play' to the local music scene

Jul 1, 2022, 3:14 PM

Tel Aviv bookseller turns customers into characters in first book

There are more than 60,000 titles for sale at Halper’s Books, a labyrinthine store on Allenby Street in Tel Aviv. Most of the inventory is used, but a couple of weeks ago, a brand new book appeared on proprietor...

Aug 28, 2020, 11:11 PM

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For this photographer, African Hebrew Israelites are kings and queens

An upcoming exhibition in Holon will showcase the regal beauty of this Dimona-based community

Nov 19, 2019, 9:29 AM

No, Hebrew Israelites are not a threat

Hebrew Israelites reading from the Torah at Congregation Beth Elohim in Brooklyn, NY, August 17, 2019. (Courtesy of blackjews.org)

Hebrew Israelites have been in the news a lot this year. In January, a group called House of Israel provoked a confrontation between Catholic high school students from Kentucky and Native American activists at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C....

Aug 22, 2019, 4:52 PM

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‘We made 100!’ Celebrating a century of Judaism in Uganda

Abayudaya youth at the centennial celebration, June 30, 2019. (Andrew Esensten/Be’chol Lashon)

The success of the Abayudaya community is a very Jewish story -- they tried to kill us, we survived, let’s celebrate!

About Me

Andrew Esensten is a freelance journalist based in Northern California. A former staff writer at Haaretz English Edition, he holds a BA from Harvard University in African American Studies and an MA from Tel Aviv University in Middle East and North African History. He is currently working on a book about the African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem, more commonly known as the Black Hebrews of Dimona.