Prince Asiel Ben Israel
International Ambassador of the
African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem
“There is a very small percentage of
individuals who are conscious of the problems (confronting African
American). An even smaller percentage possesses the fortitude and
concern to do what is necessary to adequately address the problem.
This minute portion of the population must seize the power to define
and control our destiny.” - His Excellency Prince Asiel
Ben Israel
Biographical Sketch
Prince Asiel Ben Israel is one of the
few African American leaders who has seized the power to define and
control our destiny and direct our people toward the path of
positive change. For 30 years he has served as International
Ambassador Extraordinaire of the
African Hebrew Israelites of
Jerusalem.
He has maintained the vision, integrity and determination necessary
to build a community that would prove to the world that African
Americans can not only govern themselves; but can and have created
an alternative lifestyle free from the many ills that dominate the
lives of Black people in America.
After three
decades, Prince Asiel looks back with great pride and admiration on
a community of more than 2,500 African Americans in Israel, with
equal numbers in Africa, the Caribbean and the U.S. They have
succeeded in establishing an environment free from the drugs, crime
and immorality plaguing societies around the world. In August 1994,
the House Human Rights honored the community in a special program on
Capitol Hill entitled “The Miracle in the Desert.” Today the Hebrew
Israelite Community is known as “The Village of Peace.” The Hebrew
Israelites have proven to be the vanguard for a truly progressive
development into the 21st Century.
In the political
arena, Prince Asiel’s relentless dedication to the redevelopment and
rebuilding of Africa has endeared him to African heads of state and
American civic, economic and religious leaders. He has sponsored
many political and business delegations into Israel to foster and
further relations between African Americans and the Jewish Community
both in Israel and in America
As President and
CEO of Bold Spiritual Initiative (B.S.I.),
a volunteer resettlement program for African Americans to
reconnect to Africa in a very positive way, Prince Asiel was
instrumental in providing potable water for the first time for eight
villages in the Volta Region in Ghana. He also works very closely
with Support-a-Child International, Inc. in their efforts to
eliminate poverty and illiteracy among children.
As the presiding
President of Africa Israel Asia (A.I.A.),
an international trade organization of African Americans, Israelis,
and Africans, Prince Asiel works to bring technology and trade in an
efficient and humanistic structure that benefits people in the
diaspora as well as on the Continent of Africa.
Representing 300
small African-American businesses, in order to promote trade in
African and the Caribbean, Prince Asiel serves as the International
Spokesperson for Straight Talk
Economic Roundtable (S.T.E.R).
Having served as
Chairman of First Africa Corporation, Prince Asiel organized
numerous trade missions to Africa to establish export relationships
between African American entrepreneurs and indigenous African
private and governmental entities. Prince Asiel also served as board
member of the International United Black Fund, the principle African
American owned and operated charitable organization in the United
States. Prince Asiel was the coordinator of African Development
Programs Private Volunteer Organization (PVO) projects and Director
of International Fundraising Projects.
Applying his
experience of nearly thirty years of living and working in Africa,
Prince Asiel has acted as special consultant and confidant to a
number of political leaders and organizations including the World
Conference of Mayors.
Prince Asiel has
coordinated the convening of several international conferences and
forums including:
¨
Organized a
delegation of African-American Political leaders for the Fair
Election in the 1998 Presidential election in
Cameroon;
¨
Presenter in
the Emerging Global Political and Security Trends and
Sustaining Leadership for the Next Century in the 1995 State of
the World Forum “Toward a New Civilization” hosted by Milchail
Gorbache;
¨
The annual
Holy Jerusalem Summit Conferences, which unite national and
international leaders from Christian, Muslim and Hebrew communities
in a serious dialogue for the development strategies which will
ensure the survival and betterment of African Americans and
ultimately the world; and
¨
The National
Leader Council for African Americans, a solution-oriented think tank
devoted to addressing the critical issues facing the community to
name a few.
Among the many and diverse offices in
which he has served are:
§
Special
Economic Advisor to the World Conference of Mayors
§ Member
National Leadership Council of African Americans
§
Advisor to
the U.S. Congressional
Black Caucus
§
Member of
the African American Clergy Network of
Chicago
§
Member of
the Board of Directors of the International United Black Fund
§
Sponsor,
Holy Jerusalem Summit
Conference
The Ambassador has mastered
International Studies at the University of Ghana in West Africa and
at Makere University in Uganda. He has also obtained his doctorate
from the School of Interactive Theology in Dimona, Israel at the
School of the Prophets Institute.
Through his keen diplomacy, a
commitment to African development and a serious dedication to
fulfilling the vision and dreams inspired by our great forefathers;
Prince Asiel Ben Israel has earned the title of one of the most
important champions of freedom anywhere in the history of the world.
