Dimona: Village Of Peace In Israel

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Dimona: Village Of Peace In Israel

19 Oct 2022

Disclaimer

The Village of Peace at Dimona, Israel, is a community of a few thousand people who are 100% vegan and consume zero processed foods. They also encourage raw foods, fasting and exercise. And they have super low disease rates!

The Village of Peace is populated by African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem (Wikipedia). This community was established by a small number of African Americans (many from Chicago, Illinois) who moved to Dimona, Israel in late 1960s. Today, the community has approximately 5,000 members. The history of the community is described in a documentary called The Village of Peace (64 mins, 2014) which may be seen online here.

YouTube channel: The Village of Peace - Dimona

Website: Village of Peace

Food Guidelines at Village of Peace

Overall, the community at the Village of Peace follows Whole Food Plant-Based guidelines with only one exception: they consume oils (which are discouraged in WFPB).

Food Guidelines is a 25-minute video from 2014 hosted by Zakhah Israel. A statistic in the video that caught my attention: "only 8 to 10 cases of cancer in the last 45 years!"

Diet of the World's Largest Vegan Community (1 min) is a quick overview of the guidelines.

Notes from the videos above:

WFPB with Oil: The food system could be called Whole Food Plant-Based (WFPB) with one exception: Oil is used regularly. WFPB guidelines advocate No Oil!
Weekly Schedule:
- 3 days of salt-free meals.
- 2 days of live foods / raw vegan meals. These meals may be 'solar cooked', not in high heat. In other words, no steaming or boiling or baking or broiling or … In countries or regions where we don't get as much sun, we could mimic 'solar cooking' by using low temperature dehydrators — this process is not exactly the same as 'solar cooking' but probably comes close to it.
- 2 days of 'no margarine days'.
- 1 day of fasting [This guideline is also found in various Nature Cure / Naturopathy systems in India]
- 0 days are oil-free. In other words, oils are consumed regularly but oils are cold-pressed; no refined oils; no deep frying.
Every Year:
- 4 weeks are raw vegan / live foods (every 3 months, when seasons change)
- 4 weeks are sugar-free
Supplements: Discussed in a section below.
Fasting: An important part of their lifestyle. They fast once a week.
Exercise: At least 3 times a week, 30 mins of resistance + cardio training. Sweating is important.

Excerpts from The Joy of Living Live (155 pages, 2019) by Zakhah Israel:

"The entire community is vegan - no consumption of animals (including, of course, no fish and no chicken) or their by-products (no dairy, no eggs), and no chemicals, artificial additives or preservatives. They eat only fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts, grains, legumes, and seeds. There is no smoking or alcohol consumption- except for naturally fermented fruit-based wines produced within the community. The Hebrew Israelite adults observe at least three no-salt days, one raw food day, and one day of fasting every single week. Four times a year, during the change of seasons, the community prepares to elevate their diet. They observe a "Sugarless Week" where the only sweeteners consumed are maple syrup and green stevia (a sweet herb); and a "Live Foods Week" where members of the community consume 80% to 100% raw foods and also cleanse their digestive systems. — Zakhah"

"They currently eat "The Sacred Diet" that consists of raw and steamed foods and whole food supplements. There are some, however, who have stepped out on the water to consume all or mostly raw foods." — Zakhah

"Include in your daily consumption a variety of what is in season of fruits and vegetables. Nuts, seeds, and grains should also be a part of the daily diet. At this stage of our development in the Hebrew Israelite Community, we do use soy products on the live program. Soybeans contain 35 to 40% more protein than meat, fish, eggs and cheese. We do no further cooking of the tofu. We use grains that can be soaked and eaten without further cooking, specifically bulgur and buckwheat. Include a variety of sea vegetables regularly, especially kelp and hijiki on a daily basis. DO NOT LEAVE OUT THE 7 DAILY RECOMMENDED SUPPLEMENTS: blackstrap molasses, fenugreek powder, kelp, wheat germ, brewer's yeast, parsley, and sesame seeds (see following page). Consume organic sprouts in your diet on a daily basis. Sprouts can be the base of the salad two to three times weekly." — Dr Karaliah

Are residents of Village of Peace healthy? Black Community In Israel Beats High Blood Pressure - Study Credits Clean Lifestyle (March 29, 1998) by Janet McConnaughey, The Associated Press summarizes a study:

Their families had the history of hypertension and coronary artery disease so common among black people. But 204 black people who moved to Israel and converted to low-fat, low-salt food, no smoking and regular exercise turned that around.

Only 6 percent had high blood pressure - a condition found in 30 percent of all black people in this country. And, while half of all black women and 32 percent of all black men in this country are obese, that was true of less than 5 percent in the African Hebrew Israelite community.

They live in Dimona, in the Negev region of southern Israel, about 25 miles from Beer Sheva.

Spokesman Ahmadiel Ben Yehuda, in New Orleans to speak to the African Heritage Studies Association, said the group is now about 3,000 strong.

It was founded by 332 black people who left this country in 1967 and went to Israel in the early 1970s.

Those founders were the focus of this study. The researchers said 223 agreed to participate, and 204 met the criteria: born in the United States and not pregnant.

They were from all over the country, and 34 percent of them said their families had a history of heart disease, indicating that they are, genetically, a good cross-section of black America, said David G. Schlundt of Vanderbilt, who presented the study.

But their lifestyles are far different from most Americans, black or white. In 1968, they struck red meat from their diet. In 1971, the year they came to Israel, they turned to a vegan diet, eliminating poultry, fish and animal products such as milk or cheese.

A year later, they began fasting on Saturday, their Sabbath. The group does not consider itself religious, believing that religion is man-made, but does believe that Israel, which they consider north Africa, is their ancestral home and that all of the Old Testament commandments and strictures apply to them, Ben Yehuda said.

Since 1973, the community has strongly encouraged exercise at least three days a week, and in 1980 it eliminated salt from the kitchen every other day, on top of a general rule that people shouldn't salt food once it came out of the kitchen.

The group's 30 years of healthy living has effectively prevented obesity and hypertension, and cholesterol levels also were low, the researchers said.

Seven Supplements

Food Guidelines (25-min, 2014) outlines 7 supplements that are consumed daily. These are whole supplements, not capsules or pills. How to Eat the 7 Daily Whole Food Supplements is an explanatory article. The list of 7 in this article is slightly different: the video mentions moringa but the article mentions parsley. Here is a summary of the guidelines:

Wheatgerm — 6 tbsp a day for adults — toasted variety recommended because it increases zinc levels.
Brewer's yeast: For B12. Consume at least 1 tbsp with meals.
[Online articles suggest that neither Brewer's yeast nor Nutritional yeast has B12 by itself. Manufacturers often fortify it with B12. So if we are consuming these yeasts for B12 intake, we should make sure they have been fortified.]
Kelp powder: For iodine. Consume 1 tbsp per day.
[Note: Dr Greger warns against excessive intake of kelp (1 tbsp would surely be excessive according to him) — see Too Much Iodine Can Be As Bad As Too Little (2-min video). Dr Greger recommends wakame, dulse and nori which have lower levels of iodine.]
Sesame seeds: Both regular and black sesame seeds should be consumed regularly. Black sesame seeds are said to be more nutrient packed. Recommendation: 1/2 cup per day.
[Note: Dr Greger recommends only 1/4 cup of nuts and seeds per day. So 1/2 cup would be too much. See his Daily Dozen app.]
Note: Sesame seeds are a good source of iron too.
Blackstrap molasses: 1 tbsp per day: mix in water and drink.
[Note: According to Dr Greger, blackstrap molasses is one of the top-2 healthiest sweeteners. See Healthiest Sweeteners (also available as YouTube video). Blackstrap molasses are a great source of iron too.]
Moringa: Immune enhancing, 46 anti-oxidants.
Fenugreek: Stir 1 to 2 tablespoons of ground fenugreek seeds in 1 cup of water and soak overnight. Sprouted seeds may be consumed.
[Note: Dr Greger has a video: The Benefits of Fenugreek Seeds (2 mins)]
Parsley: Consume 1/4 cup (3 sprigs) every day.

The recipe books showcase how to use the above supplements in regular meals.

Recipe Books

1) "The Sacred Diet" by Dr Karalah — not available on Amazon but available as ebook for $15 here.

2) The Joy of Living Live (155 pages, 2019) by Zakhah Israel. Also available here.

Note that Zakhah is a raw vegan / live foods advocate. However, the Village of Peace guidelines are not 100% raw vegan / live foods — cooked food is also consumed regularly.

3) Several other books (both cooked foods and raw foods) are available at here.

Videos

(4 mins) The Shocking Vegan Village

A quick, entertaining overview of dietary guidelines followed in Dimona.

(64 mins, 2014) The Village of Peace - African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem

A documentary tracing the cultural history of Dimona. Not focused on food or diet; the focus is overall history and lifestyle.

(5 mins, 2014) Sacred Diet - Dr Karaliah Interview

(6 mins, 2002) Why We Are Vegan and Why We Have Perfect Health

(2 mins, 2022) Food Is Medicine

(2 mins, 2020) Vegan Eating Benefits

Zakhah Israel

Zakhah Israel has a fascinating biography: see Meet Sister Zakhah (article) and How I Became Vegan (YouTube, 3 min). She grew up in Maryland, USA. At age 16, after watching her grandma die of cancer, she turned vegetarian. Her mom told Zakhah that she'd have to cook for herself because she (mom) didn't know what to feed her. Since Zakhah didn't know how to prepare a nutritious meal for herself either, she soon became malnourished. So for one year, she reverted to meat. Soon, she went to college and met other vegetarian and vegan students; she learnt how to prepare nourishing vegan dishes! She never looked back.

At age 19, Zakhah was introduced to raw vegan lifestyle at a retreat. She was inspired by the retreat teacher who was radiating with health! Later, in her 20s, she discovered the Village of Peace in Dimona, Israel.

Zakhah's FaceBook profile and website: Zakhah.com where she offers 21-Day Soul Vegan kickstarter programs. She also has a YouTube channel called Zakhah.

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