In a relatively new movement, the Abayudaya of Uganda have converted to Judaism since 1917, influenced by the American William Saunders Crowdy, who said that African Americans were descended from the Jews. The Abayudaya trace their roots back a century. In 1917, a sect led by Semei Kakungulu, a Ugandan general, developed a religious belief that included a practice close to Judaism. Over time and following meetings with itinerant Jewish merchants, the sect’s knowledge of Judaism grew. After the arrival of a foreign Jew known as “Yosef” in 1920, whose ancestral roots are believed to have been European, they became what is known today as the Abayudaya.

Yosef imparted much of his knowledge about Torah, kashrut and the Jewish holidays, and is credited with being the first person to bring the Jewish calendar to the community, which follows it today religiously. This knowledge spread over time to other villages and communities that also practice Judaism, although they are not yet converted. Their population is estimated at approximately 2,500.

Uganda is also infamous for the Air France airliner hijacking by two members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – External Operations (PFLP-EO) and two members of the German Revolutionäre Zellen which landed at Entebbe Airport. In the subsequent Israeli rescue operation, codenamed Operation Thunderbolt, nearly all the hostages were freed. Three hostages died during the operation and 10 were wounded; seven hijackers, 45 Ugandan soldiers, and one Israeli soldier, Yoni Netanyahu, were killed. A fourth hostage, 75-year-old Dora Bloch, who had been taken to Mulago Hospital in Kampala prior to the rescue operation, was subsequently murdered in reprisal.