The New York Times – They are sidewalk ministers who use confrontation as their gospel. Hebrew Israelites practice a theology that says God’s chosen ones — black, Hispanic and Native American people — have strayed and need to be led back to righteousness.
So they post up on street corners in big cities, usually in black communities, wearing flashy garb — purple shirts or black robes, for instance. They shout, use blunt and sometimes offensive language, and gamely engage in arguments aimed at drawing listeners near.
The attention-grabbing tactics of five of their followers at the Lincoln Memorial on Friday resulted in spectacular consequences.
