New Israelites

New Israelites is the name of a religious sect founded by Joanna Southcott (q.v.), a fanatical woman, near the opening of this century in England. Joanna declared herself impregnated by the Holy Ghost with a child who should prove the Shiloh of the world, and, in order to prepare the way for the new dispensation, ordered the strictest observance of the Jewish law. Although, after waiting for a long time, she died in 1814 in her delusion, and the splendid cradle which had been prepared for the expected Messiah still remained empty, the New Israelites continued till 1831 to observe the Jewish Sabbath and the ceremonials of the law, in order to receive the hoped-for Messiah in a worthy manner. See Mathias, . . Southcott's Prophecies and Case Stated (Lond. 1832, 12mo).