For more than 60 years, over 3,000 African Hebrew Israelites have been building a thriving village in Dimona, where plant-based living, cultural heritage, and intentional covenant come together in daily life.
On August 19, 1969, the first five families arrived in Israel's Negev Desert after two and a half years of purification in Liberia. They had left Chicago in 1967, following a prophetic vision received by Nasik HaShalom Ben Ammi Ben Israel (HaMashiahk), who saw that the time had come for the African Hebrew Israelites to return to the Promised Land.
Since settling in Dimona, the community has lived by a plant-based live-it spanning six decades. Not a diet. Not a trend. A covenant practice rooted in the understanding that the human body thrives on what the earth provides naturally. The evidence is in the faces of our elders, the energy of our children, and the vitality of every institution we have built.
Permanent residency was granted in 2003. Israeli citizenship was extended to community members beginning in 2009. Today the Village of Peace stands as one of the largest urban kibbutzim in Israel and a living demonstration that a people who choose Life, choose community, and choose to be deliberate about every dimension of existence can build something that endures.
Portraits, celebrations, family moments, and daily rhythms from the living community in Dimona. Every face, every gathering, a chapter in the ongoing story of Mastering the Art of Living.
Every institution, every activity, and every daily practice in the Village of Peace supports and enhances the ability of each member to live a healthy and productive life. These ten pillars are the foundation of everything we do.
Chemical-free farming guided by Shemita, the 7-year field sabbatical where land rests and regenerates. A covenant of stewardship, not extraction.
Natural fibres only. Modest, culturally informed attire celebrating African heritage. Every garment is an expression of covenant and dignity.
Community celebrations designed to harmonise with universal rhythms, multi-generational gathering where shared values are affirmed through music, food, and cultural joy.
Lifelong learning guided by universal principles. The goal is servant-leadership, people who use knowledge in service to family, community, and world.
Purposeful creative expression that builds rather than depletes the inner person. Songs of Deliverance, music that uplifts, strengthens, and nourishes.
The community shares its 60-year wisdom globally through the Speakers Bureau, Marketplace network, publications, and partnerships in preventable health and non-violent conflict resolution.
The plant-based live-it is a covenant practice rooted in the understanding that the body thrives on what the earth provides. Health is preventive, regenerative, and holistic.
Sixty years of accumulated wisdom documented and made available. Two foundational codes: Toraht Moshe and Toraht Ben Ammi, teaching materials for Life Seekers worldwide.
Community experts offer knowledge to the world: International Development, Non-Violent Conflict Resolution, Healthy Lifestyles, Preventive Health Care, and Bio-Organic Agriculture.
The Sacred Visitation programme invites Life Seekers into guided immersions covering health, music, nutrition, and the African heritage of the Holy Land in the Negev.
The Village of Peace does not wait for illness before engaging with health. For over 60 years we have practised preventive health through five simple medicines, freely available to every human being on earth. The results speak for themselves in the vitality of our multi-generational community.
Locally grown fruits and vegetables as spiritual and physical alignment with creation. Plant-based live-it as covenant, not preference.
Begin each day with water before food. Do not mix eating and drinking. Hydration as daily ritual.
Rest more to enhance and extend life. The body restores itself in stillness, rest is reverence, not laziness.
Mandatory for all adults three times weekly, plus monthly massage. Jogging, walking, sports, and dance as covenant practice.
In all aspects of life, body, home, community, and spirit, cleanliness is an expression of dignity and health.
“The human body is composed of the earth, sustained by the earth, and designed to thrive from nature's abundance. Food, Water, Rest, Exercise, and Cleanliness are not supplements to health, they are the foundation of it.”
Village of Peace, Community Teaching
The Village of Peace created an entirely new genre of music: Songs of Deliverance. Not entertainment in the passive sense, but Innerattainment, creative expression that works from the inside out, building the inner person rather than depleting it.
Music shapes thoughts and emotions. What enters a person becomes part of their worldview and relational capacity. In Dimona, music is a medicine, as intentional as food, as essential as rest.
In 1999, two community members represented Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest. In 2006, Eddie Butler brought the spirit of Songs of Deliverance to audiences across Europe. The music of the Village of Peace has always carried a message beyond sound.
“Mastering the Art of Living”
In February 1966, Nasik HaShalom Ben Ammi Ben Israel received a vision in Chicago that the time had come for the African Hebrew Israelites to return to the Promised Land. He gathered a community of seekers, and beginning in 1967, they spent two and a half years purifying in Liberia before the first families arrived in Israel in August 1969.
For nearly five decades, Nasik HaShalom guided the community in building institutions, deepening covenant practices, and offering the community's wisdom to the world. He received Israeli citizenship in a special ceremony in 2013. On December 27, 2014, he transitioned, having planted seeds that continue to grow. The Holy Council of Princes carries the vision forward.
1966
The Vision
1969
Arrival in Israel
60+
Years of Proof
Over six decades, the Village of Peace has earned its place through peaceful coexistence, cultural contribution, and the quiet power of a community that simply lives what it believes.
During the Yom Kippur War, the Soul Messengers performed for IDF soldiers, an early expression of the community's commitment to coexistence and contribution to Israeli society.
On April 22, 600 armed police surrounded a planned community march in Dimona. The community stood firm, singing, fasting, and refusing to be moved. The peaceful standoff resolved without violence. The community considers this the defining moment of their covenant commitment.
Israeli Interior Minister Aryeh Deri visits Dimona and publicly recognises the Village of Peace as a positive presence in Israeli society, a pivotal moment in the community's journey to permanent recognition.
Two community members represent Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest, a testament to the artistic excellence cultivated through decades of Innerattainment and Songs of Deliverance.
The State of Israel grants permanent residency to the community, full entitlements to health, education, and social services, after more than three decades of building together.
The MLK Jr./Southern Christian Leadership Conference Ben Ammi Institute for New Humanity opens in February, a formal partnership offering the community's wisdom on non-violent conflict resolution to the world.
The Georgia General Assembly passes an official resolution recognising the African Hebrew Israelites as one of the largest urban kibbutzim in Israel and a global model for community living.
The team that carries the vision forward, sharing the community's story, welcoming Life Seekers, and building the next chapter.
Aht. Ahturah E. Sar Khazriel
VOP Lead Coordinator / Educator
Sganeet WOV Ahmahlyah E. Nasik Elyahshuv
Public Relations Leader
Sgan Yahgdeer
Deputy Minister, Ministry of Information
Yahav Ben Sar Ahmadiel
Social Media & Heritage Research
Bakiel Ben Shomriel
Web Developer & Creative Designer
Life Seekers are welcome to visit, learn, and connect with a community that has been Mastering the Art of Living for more than six decades. The Sacred Visitation programme offers an immersive journey into health, culture, music, and the African heritage of the Holy Land.
