I have seen these guys on the street in philadelphia for many years. I usually ignore them, but I found myself near city hall today and decided to sit and eat a cheesesteak while I listened to their public sermon.
Because I am mobile, I will keep this very brief (and I will write more later). Their basic message seems to be that many of the non-white people of the world (all in the western hemisphere) are the 12 lost tribes of Israel, and that they are the people of (the biblical) God.
They also argue that Jesus was black, which has gained some traction in segments of culture in recent years (for me, this idea first appeared in the music of KRS-ONE). On top of that, they have a generally dis-favorable view of white people. At one point a few years ago, one of them referred to me as a white devil (this may remind you of the Nation of Islam).
Their sign lists two verses from the Old Testament:
Gen 49:1-28
Deut 33:1-29
I don’t know them off-hand, but I will look them up later for further comment. I will listen for a little while longer.
(BTW, when I tried to take the picture, one of them tried to block me with his clipboard. I had to explain to him the concept of public space and the first ammendment, of which they are now protected under.)
Skepticism, Properly Applied 
Very interesting,I’ll read more of your post later,hopefully.
I’ve come across them years ago while teaching radiologic technology at Temple U. Very strange group. They seemed to me to be of the sort to close themselves off at some point as the Branch Davidians did, but if they haven’t done so by now, I was most likely mistaken. Thanks for the post. I found it very interesting.
My sister was actually punched in the face. She was wearing a scarf around her head, coming off the subway and he muttered “Fuck white people and fuck muslims” and punched her dead between the eyes. This happened no more than 2 days ago. These guys are just thugs exploiting the constituition to be thugs. I don’t know why people don’t just get together and tell these assholes to fuckoff.
i saw a few of these guys walking down the street in downtown minneapolis and thought they were trying to be ninja’s or karate men. had no idea that they were a seperatists religious group (ninja’s and karate men would have been more acceptable, imo)
I looked up Genesis 49 and in the verse 19 it says one of Jacob’s sons is named Gad. Those Israelites say he has a tribe named after him. They say that tribe is the present day North American Indians. The verse says “Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last.” Is it talking about The U.S. defeating them?
I just looked up Deuteronomy 33. In verse 20 it says Gad has a crown on his head (And of Gad he said, Blessed be he that enlargeth Gad: he dwelleth as a lion, and teareth the arm with the crown of the head.). Is the “crown” it refers to the headdress they wear? Does anyone know? It seems that these Israelite guys may be on to something.