By Jeff Lieberman THE IGBO: JEWS OF NIGERIA? Several years ago, the Internet was introduced into the more rural parts of southeast Nigeria. As it has done for so many people around the world, it opened the eyes of a few young Igbo people and began answering some difficult questions of identity.
RE-EMERGING: The Jews of Nigeria – Trailer from Jeff Lieberman on Vimeo.
For Shmuel (who was then called Sam), the nagging question he wanted answered was whether there was any truth to the long-told lore that the Igbo people were once Jews. He began by comparing Hebrew traditions to Igbo traditions, and what he found astounded him. The similarities were so convincing that it sent him off on a journey in the quest to find other Igbo who might be practicing Judaism.
“RE-EMERGING: The Jews of Nigeria” is a journey into the heart of Igboland and into the lives and culture of the Igbo people. The film introduces the world to the many synagogues that dot the land, and a handful of passionate, committed, and diverse characters – each striving to fulfill their historical legacy with few resources and unbeknownst to most of the world. Individual stories are woven together with key facets of history, tracing the Igbo from Biblical times up to the brutal 1960s Biafran War, which killed over 1 million Igbo. A wide range of American academics help detail this history, including shedding new light on the Igbo origins of thousands of slaves captured during the Atlantic Slave Trade and brought to American shores. The film delves into this history and travels to the southeast coast of Georgia, where locals still speak of the Igbo spirit alive and well at a riverbed called Ibo Landing.
The individuals featured in the film also demonstrate that incredible Igbo spirit. Shmuel is a young man whose story exemplifies the journey toward finding Judaism. Today, he is a leader in his community who teaches and chants Torah, and has big dreams of one day becoming a rabbi. But like almost every Igbo, he grew up surrounded by Christian colonialism, and the road to discovery has been fraught with misunderstanding, wrong turns into Messianic worship, family exile, violent prejudice from both Muslim and Christian neighbors, scorn from Jews he has contacted in the Western world, and frustration of a lack of funds to further educate himself through Internet access. Yet, it’s also been an amazing discovery of community, and furthered with the love of an American rabbi who has been working with both him and the larger community to see their dreams become a reality.
I share these stories with you, as I know their quest for community, identity and ancestry are universal. I learned about these communities sitting in a synagogue in Los Angeles. A year later, I was in Nigeria, meeting the most welcoming people I had ever met. I promised to share these stories with the world, and for the past few years, I have sewn the individual stories, history, pictures and academic expertise into a feature film that truly makes me proud. I hope you will help me, and thus help these communities, by bringing these stories to life!
Jeff L. Lieberman is a Journalist, Producer and Documentary Filmmaker. His TV Specials, News Stories and Documentaries have appeared on CBS, HBO, CNN, FOX, Starz Encore, Fox Movie Channel, The Discovery Channel, E! Entertainment, and on the websites of Yahoo!, The New York Post, CBS Moneywatch, and The Huffington Post.
Jeff is currently a Writer-Producer with CBS National News and a Video Reporter with NYPost.com. He has covered events all over New York and Washington, DC including the Obama Inauguration, New York’s Fashion Week, the Times Square terrorism attack, and The September 11th Anniversary commemoration.
Through Jeff Lieberman Productions, Jeff has also produced documentary programming for Walt Disney Films, Macy’s, Marlo Thomas, Wine Enthusiast Magazine, and The Salt Institute. He also wrote, produced, directed, shot and edited the pilots for the reality shows, “Beauty Queens” and “Mario The Magician” currently being shopped to TV networks.
Previous to this, Jeff was the Senior Producer at Sam Hurwitz Productions in Los Angeles, where he produced Behind-The-Scenes DVD programming for major motion pictures, like Troy, I, Robot, The Incredibles, Ratatouille, Akeelah & The Bee, and Charlie & The Chocolate Factory. 
A graduate of Ryerson University’s School of Radio and Television in Toronto, and UCLA’s Professional Program in Producing, Jeff has had a camera in hand since he was 13, growing up in Vancouver, BC. “RE-EMERGING: The Jews of Nigeria”, is his first independent feature-length documentary film. He can’t wait to return to Africa.
