June 6, 2008
Kol HaZman, May 30; Mishpaha, May 29; Israel HaYom, June 1; Yediot Bik'at Ono, May 23, 30; Yediot Tel Aviv, May 23, 2008
Yediot Bik'at Ono (May 23) reported on General Attorney Mazuz's instructions to the police to investigate Uzi Aharon (see last week's Review). It quoted substantial portions of Mazuz's letter, including a statement that Aharon's actions appear to constitute a violation of the law which prohibits "infringement of religious and moral sensitivities." It also included Aharon's response: "'I welcome the Attorney General's decision. I have full confidence in the legal authorities. We shall wait patiently for the results of the investigation which will determine whether I was involved in the burning or not.'"
Responses to the book burning continued to be published in the Israeli press. Natan Zahavi in Kol HaZman (May 30) asserted that "Operation book burning 2008 in a Jewish city in the State of Israel sent a shudder through many people. The lethargic Israeli police and those among its top echelon did not arrest the perpetrators, the Attorney General and the state defense lawyer muttered something unintelligible about the event, and the Minister of Justice is swimming in Eilat, preoccupied with the slow assassination of Dorit Beinish, the President of the Supreme Court, and has no time for such trivial issues as book burning ... In Or Yehuda, where racist attitudes were displayed towards Ethiopian immigrants not long ago, people have managed to preempt Heinrich Heine's prophecy [that where books are burnt, the burning of people will follow] and turn it on its head. They first burned people and then, twenty years later, books ... We're living in 2008 and apparently it doesn't matter to anyone that in a state of 'Survival,' 'A Star is Born' [the Israeli equivalent of American Idol], and the Eurovision song contest, the values of civilization, human life, human rights, and respect for life are terms which don't raise a hair on their heads."
A. Shushan, in the religious paper Mishpaha (May 29), gave a chilling example of what the relatively harmless tradition of Lag B'Omer can turn into at times. His son came home from the bonfire claiming that he had burned his teddy bear on the pyre. Yet what crimes had the soft toy committed, other, perhaps, than having outworn its usefulness? The fact that effigies such as Haman, Hitler, and Ahmadinejad are burned on Lag B'Omer is no guarantee that innocent teddy bears will at some time replace truly wicked figures; we must be very careful that the "holiday" does not turn into an auto de fé. Shushan continued with his "cautionary tale," however, not by denouncing the burning but justifying it: "This year in Or Yehuda they took the issue of 'purging the evil from amongst you' very seriously, even performing it early. A week before Lag B'Omer in an orchestrated and coordinated burning, abominable and corrupt books from the house of study of Christian missionaries were burned at the stake. There's no more worthy and fitting fate for the greatest perversion in history and for the disseminators of the atrocities of the missionaries who do not balk at any means of converting Jews. Only one problem remains. The burning was meant to persuade the convinced. All the people who stood around the bonfire and celebrated know very well how to identity copies of the New Testament and quietly throw them into the bin without reading them ... there are easier ways to express your frustrations that aren't associated in any way with faith in something or reading silly texts hundreds of years old." The trouble comes with those - with little spirituality and faith - who read in the press about an Orthodox Jew performing an act which reminds them of the burning of Jewish books and synagogues, "and ask themselves what we [Orthodox Jews] are really afraid of - that perhaps these books really do contain something." Moreover, burning books is counterproductive, since it merely gives the missionaries the opportunity to reprint their Scriptures in abundance - and to enjoy the publicity and sympathy of much of the Jewish population: "The soul hunters are backed from all sides, and the broadcasted burning only motivates them to renew the dissemination of their lies ... [which] will encourage more people to endeavor to examine the books in order to understand what is so appalling to the hated Orthodox." Even in denouncing the book burning, Shushan's point appears to be more to defend the Orthodox than to denounce the act itself: "The struggle against the mission is dirty and difficult. But we must be careful not to adopt easy solutions. Public burning is one of these. When it is performed by people dressed in Orthodox garb who have already accumulated many hours of hatred in the media and are the victims of an unsympathetic and hostile atmosphere, no good will result from it."
Yehoshua Sobol contributed a satirical piece on the subject to Israel HaYom (June 1), in which he presented himself as mystified by the mysterious way in which his television screen appeared to keep jumping out of time, showing scenes from Berlin in the 1930s when he thought he was watching a video of the events in Or Yehuda.
Bik'at Ono (May 23) published a lengthy article by Noam Gil, in which the latter expressed his hope that "we can shake free from hypocrisy and stop pretending to be innocent": "The writing is on the wall. Whoever relates publicly to Christianity, Messianic Judaism, and the missionizing of other religions as 'an existential danger' and uses such radical terminology in complete seriousness is in danger of performing the same acts." Calling the book burning a "fascist act," Gil identified it as the breaking of a record. According to his report, Aharon asserted that the incident got out of control when, he himself only having burned missionary literature, the yeshiva students involved threw copies of the New Testament onto the bonfire as well. Aharon's superior, Mayor David Yosef, was quoted as denouncing the "radical act": "'We're shocked by this act. The people of the Book remember other periods, dark and awful, in the history of mankind in which the burning of books served as a means to advance despicable purposes ... The municipality [of Or Yehuda] had nothing to do with this act. In our view, books represent all the things which we wish to bequeath to our children - culture, ideas, language, acceptance of the other, and tolerance. Books are the best part of us, and protecting them is protecting a cultured and enlightened way of life.'"
On a very different note, in its regular column on Tel Aviv gardens, Yediot Tel Aviv (May 23) looked at the American-German neighborhood which includes Beit Immanuel youth hostel. In its brief review of the locality's history, the column noted that the hostel is currently being run by Messianic Jews and proceeded to provide a definition: "'Messianic Jews': Jews who believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and Yeshua as the Messiah."
Ma'ariv, May 30, 2008
In response to Meir Shalev's opinion piece regarding the book burning (see last week's Review), Menahem Ben contributed one of his own, entitled "Pearls before swine." Ben's ire was raised precisely by Shalev's deprecation of the New Testament in comparison to the Tanakh: "I am not suspected of not being a lover of the Tanakh, which has no rival or parallel, but despite this I say: The New Testament is a wonderful spiritual and religious book. Not only are the four Gospels fascinating in their four opening accounts of the book but also selected parts of the letters and sermons (although not all) are outstanding in their high level of spirituality and religiosity - even if I completely reject the claim that Yeshu was the messiah and redeemer (truly not, because if he had been the redeemer, the redemption would have had to have come, and it hasn't, so don't talk to me about the messiah). It's true that the Hebrew of the Tanakh is naturally superior to that of the translated Hebrew of the New Testament (despite the fact that Prof. Franz Delitzsch's translation is superb), but the New Testament is still certainly one of the most beautiful continuations that have been written of the Tanakh, even if I prefer Isaiah to Yeshu (who said, among other things, 'don't cast your pearls before swine')." In addition to relating to Meir Shalev's column, Ben also gave suggestions for recommended reading for the upcoming Hebrew book week. His list included Helena Yegev-Mor's autobiography, The Parable of the Fig Tree, which, he stated, is of particular interest "against the backdrop of the terrible schemes against Messianic Jews in Israel." (For the book, see the May 5, 2008 Review.)
HaModia, May 29, 2008
Under the headline "Supreme Court grants Israeli citizenship to missionaries, in wake of State's approval," HaModia (May 29) carried the report of the Supreme Court's decision to grant Israeli citizenship to twelve Messianic Jews (see previous Reviews). According to the piece, in a "change of policy," the Interior Ministry has agreed to "'recognize' the Jewishness of missionaries from the group of 'Messianic Jews.'" Yad L'Achim's director called the decision a "dark day" and claimed that it was a "deliberate sabotage of the holy struggle against missionary activity in Eretz Israel."
Yediot HaTzafon, May 23; Haaretz, May 27, 29 (pp. 4, 7), 30; Kol Ha'Ir, May 30, 2008
Yediot HaTzafon (May 23) ran the story of the mayor of Akko's law suit against local council member Molli Cohen for slander, the latter claiming that the former was favoring Christian missionary groups over Jewish bodies (see last week's Review).
Numerous articles were devoted to the news that the Interior Ministry has ordered the deportation of a German postgraduate student on the grounds that she has been engaged in missionary work. Barbara Ludwig (32), who undertook her undergraduate studies in philosophy at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and is now working towards an MA in Religious Studies at the same institution, was recently arrested and incarcerated in Ma'asiyahu prison in Ramle on the charge of not having arranged her residency status (Haaretz, May 29, p. 4). "Despite attempts by the Hebrew University's legal department to demand her release so she could finish her studies, the Custody Tribunal at Ma'asiyahu ordered her to leave the country within 30 days." According to same report, the head of the Population Administration's central region, Elinor Golan (Meretz), "sent two letters to Ludwig's lawyer stating that Ludwig's repeated requests for residency status had been denied because she was 'doing missionary work.'" Ludwig herself "denied being a missionary, although she admits being in contact with Messianic Jews. 'They may have seen me at some meeting of the Messianic Jews,' she says. 'I go around with Jews, with Christians and with Messianics, and I read books about Christianity. So what? That's not a reason to deport me,' Ludwig said." Her lawyer, Michael Decker, stated that a hearing of her case in 2004 had been a "'humiliating religious interrogation'" which included the question whether she believed Jesus was the Messiah. According to Kol Ha'Ir (May 30), Ludwig's initial request for a student visa - submitted in 2003 before she had even begun her studies - was rejected after six months, and she was ordered to leave the country. During the subsequent five years, Ludwig submitted numerous appeals against the ruling, which were all denied. This March, however, she received a letter stating that her case was being reviewed and that a decision had not yet been taken. Having spent three days in Ma'asiyahu, Ludwig was released on bail on condition that she leave the country within thirty days. "On the day she was released, she received a letter from the Interior Ministry according to which she is a missionary who is attempting to legitimate her status in the country among other ways by undergoing conversion." According to the same report, her fellow students signed a petition arguing that it was especially important that German students be allowed to study in the country "'because of the difficult history between Germany and the Jewish people.'"
In parallel to the Israeli government's discussion with Russian authorities regarding the transfer of Russian-owned land back to its original owners (see previous Reviews), the PA is also due to give back land in Bethlehem, the Mount of Olives, and Jericho which belongs to the Provoslavic Church (Haaretz, May 27). According to a member of the Pensioner's Party who follows the Russian news, the Provoslavic Church has recently being undergoing a "renaissance" in Russia and exerts considerable influence over Russia's domestic and foreign policy alike.
Calcalist, June 2, 2008
According to an article in Calcalist (June 2) looking at the increase in tourism - finally - "Out of more than two millions tourists who arrived in Israel this year or will come during the remainder of 2008, around half are Christians. The regular itinerary of Christian groups is as follows: the first night in Tel Aviv, two nights in Tiberias (a visit to Nazareth and sites in the Galilee), and four nights in Jerusalem, including visits to Bethlehem, Masada, and Jericho. 75% of the Christians come through Israeli travel agencies; the remainder - about 250,000 - come through Palestinian agencies in East Jerusalem." The reawakened tourism has helped revive the Palestinian tourism business. A change may also be discerned in the place of origin of tourists coming through Palestinian agencies. While American and West European groups continue to visit, "a dramatic rise has occurred in the number of tourists from East Europe, especially from Russia and Poland. An increasing number of pilgrims are also coming from Greece and South Korea."
Jerusalem Post, June 1; HaModia, June 1, 2008
According to these two reports, "Negotiations between Israel and the Vatican have made 'significant progress,' after a decade of inconclusive talks, according to a joint communiqué issued last week." Although the "thorn in the side" of Israeli-Vatican relations has long been the matter of taxes to be paid by church premises in Israel, "a member of the Israeli delegation said Thursday that the most significant progress was made on church legal matters and not on the critical dispute over taxation of church properties in the Holy Land." The legal structure of the Catholic Church's authority in Israel has been "agreed upon but never confirmed by the Knesset." The next high-level meeting is scheduled to take place in Israel in December.
May 22, 2008
Jerusalem Post, May 6, 7, 9; Ma'ariv, May 7; HaDaf HaYarok, May 6; HaZofeh, May 7, 2008
Following the threats of the Chief rabbis and other leading figures in the Orthodox world to boycott the World Bible Quiz held annually on Independence Day, the event in actual fact went ahead as planned, with no disturbances noted by the press. Nor, would it appear, was the threatened alternative Quiz for "religious participants only" held. Most significant is the fact that official rabbinical rulings were flouted by the religious public.
On the day prior to the Quiz, the Jerusalem Post (May 7) printed an article on the subject on its front page, quoting some of the objections raised: "'Choosing her as a finalist in the International Bible Quiz for Jewish Youth is a transgression of Halacha and is a distortion of the goal and essence of the quiz,' wrote Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar and Yona Metzger in a letter to Education Minister Yuli Tamir. 'The Chief Rabbinate of Israel vigorously protests [the participation] of this representative ... Bible quiz participants have always been Jews who believed in the Torah handed down by Moses. The Chief Rabbinate calls to disqualify this girl from taking part in the quiz ... It is unacceptable that a member of a cult that has removed itself from the Jewish faith take part in a quiz dedicated to a book that has been holy to the Jews since their inception as a people,' the rabbis wrote." In contrast, the piece asserted that, "Messianic Jews believe that Jesus is the savior yet see themselves as Jews." This latter attitude won the day: "[Yuli] Tamir's representative, Lital Apter, said the minister had no intention of canceling the quiz or asking Levi not to take part. 'It is too bad that on the 60th anniversary we are dealing with these sorts of things. This should be a time of celebration, not of controversy. The point of the quiz is to check the participants' knowledge of the Bible, not to scrutinize their faith. The legal department in the Education Ministry verified that Levi is Jewish according to the criteria of the state. That's good enough for us,' Apter said." Other participants also refused to bow to the pressure: "[Tzurit] Berenson/Braunson [the eventual winner] said religious activists have been trying to discourage her and the other participants from taking part in the quiz, 'but we have all decided to go ahead with it.'"
On the same day, Ma'ariv (May 7) addressed the same subject in much the same words, opening with the question: "Scandal on Independence Day: Will the chief rabbis and members of the 'Yad L'Achim' organization succeed in leading to the cancellation of the Bible Quiz, one of the outstanding symbols of the day?"
Surprisingly, the lengthy piece in the religious paper HaZofeh (May 7) was not dissimilar in tone: "In a red dress and two plaits - at least metaphorically - a single girl is threatening to ruin the 60th anniversary celebrations of the State of Israel by her presence." In describing how Yad L'Achim discovered Bat-El Levi's "religious faith," the article noted that the organization "employs in its operations devices and ways that the even the Mossad [the Intelligence Agency] wouldn't be embarrassed to use. 'We have people inside, including non-Jews, working for us, and don't expect me to reveal all our secrets to you - but we have our methods.'" It appears from this article that Shalom Dov Lipshitz's assertion, quoted in last week's Review, that the event was "planned," came in response to the question: "What's the problem with Bat-El participating in the Quiz? Surely there's no argument over the extent of her biblical knowledge?" Significantly, the Chief Rabbi of Ramat Gan - identified with the national-religious camp - issued an explicit ruling calling on participants not to take part if Bat-El did. In the words of Dov Lipshitz, "'Because he believes in that man he has crossed the boundary between Jew and Gentile and has essentially become a Gentile. For example, we can lend money to him at interest because he is not our "brother." Likewise, he will not inherit from his Jewish relatives. You should understand that the blood ties have been cut between us; he's an apostate clear and simple.'"
In response to a question directly suggesting that Yad L'Achim's efforts to stop the competition had "failed," Dov Lipshitz disclaimed any responsibility: "'We are not a party in this [issue] at all, it's not connected to any failure on the part of the organization. For every Jew it's a terrible failure - but it's not linked to Yad L'Achim at all.'" Maintaining that "failure" was the wrong term in the first place, Lipshitz argued that it boiled down to "stupidity" - the "'stupidity of the government who allows such a thing ... If she had taken part in a math tests, well enough. But how can they allow her to participle in the Bible Quiz, which symbolizes the Jewish people? Does this mean that the whole Torah of Israel is nothing?'" Lipshitz's hope was that a segment of the audience - and of the participants themselves - would get up and leave in the middle of the Quiz in protest in order to "'demonstrate what they think of the event. That would be a great sanctification of God's name.'" He further responded to a question on whether it was fair to pit the "great Torah Sages" against a fifteen-year old girl and involve her in an ideological struggle by claiming that Bat-El is a pawn in the missionaries' hands, not Yad L'Achim's: "'She's really a tool in the hands of the mission, who will say that we were there, which means that we are Jews. They're exploiting her for evil purposes ... The girl is a pawn in their hands, not ours.'" According to the report, Yad L'Achim maintain that there are "between 15,000 and 20,000 people in the movement" - although it is not clear whether the reference is exclusively to Messianic Judaism or includes the "50 other sects" mentioned in the same breath. Lipshitz went on to say that, "'We call this a "financial crusade," which draws hundreds of Jews to Christianity every year.'"
In a sidebar, the article gave a brief background on Messianic Judaism: "Messianic Judaism is a group of independent congregations which define themselves as Jewish and contain elements from Christianity and particularly from evangelicalism. Messianic Jews do not have a standard prayer book and their Scriptures include both the Tanakh and the New Testament. In most cases, their prayers are personal and are said by the worshippers. One of the fundamental tenets of Messianic Judaism is evangelism - i.e., the dissemination of their faith. Messianic Jews see themselves as believers not as religious. [Editor's note: This distinction is relevant in Israel, where people are regularly defined as either "religious" or "secular." The term "religious," however, is intended to delineate "Orthodox." Thus "Messianic Jews" are not Orthodox but do "believe."] According to them, they do not have any pictures of Yeshu or Maria and don't go to church. From their perspective, prayers may be said at any time and in any place. In their view, every believer must develop a personal relationship with God. Their personal prayers are directed towards God ('Our Father in Heaven') and usually end with the words, 'In the name of Yeshua the Messiah, Amen.' From the believers' perspective, every Jew can continue to keep the Jewish tradition and is not called upon to accept upon himself Christian tradition - apart from the ceremony of baptism ... The number of Messianic Jews in the country is estimated to be around 10,000 people and they sometimes suffer from persecution, especially at the hands of the Orthodox. The peak [of this] was reached in March, when a fifteen-year-old Messianic Jew was serious wounded by an explosive device in his home in Ariel, after he had opened what looked like a Purim basket. The police are saying that the bombing occurred against a criminal background. The suspicion is that the real background is that the youth belongs to a Messianic Jewish family." The information given in the sidebar is credited to Wikipedia, and in actual fact is quoted verbatim (in abbreviated form) from the Hebrew edition.
In an brief piece entitled, "Once they conducted crusades, now they're sending young girls" (a quote from Rabbi Aviner), HaDaf HaYarok (May 6), the Kibbutz weekly, categorically stated that, "The Minister of Education, Yuli Tamir, will not be able to cooperate, in any way, with the proposed boycott that the Orthodox rabbis are attempting to impose on the Bible Quiz ... The Minister of Education and the Ministry of Education are unable to cooperate with this boycott. If this means that the Bible Quiz, held specifically on Israel's sixtieth Independence Day, will be cancelled, so be it."
In a report following the competition, the Jerusalem Post (May 9) noted that the winner's "bold move" in appealing to Olmert for the release of Jonathan Pollard "was somewhat overshadowed by the week-long buildup of tension over the contest, which Chief Rabbis Shlomo Amar and Yona Metzger have asked Education Minister Yuli Tamir to cancel, due to the inclusion of a messianic Jew, Bat-El Levi."
Strangely enough, the most negative reaction to the Quiz came from Chaim Wasserman in a letter to the Jerusalem Post (May 6). "Sir, - After the Great Schism in Jewish history, it became well established over the next 2,000 years that the line in the sand is drawn at Jews' belief in Jesus as the messiah or the son of God. Accordingly, the assertion by Calev Myers, the founder and chief counsel of the Jerusalem Institute of Justice, that religious Zionist rabbis' protest over a Messianic Jewish woman's participation in the annual Bible Quiz is a show of weakness, is naiveté, if not hubris. The early followers of Jesus in the First Century CE were banished from the Jewish community. Maimonides faced similar deviations from historical Judaism and so penned his 13 principles of the Faith. His code of Jewish law explains why followers of both Christianity and Islam are irreconcilable with Judaism. That this young lady can quote proficiently from the Bible carries little weight. So can many fundamentalist Christians, lovers of Israel and the Jewish people. Protestants and Catholic scholars of the Old Testament know how to quote the Jewish Bible in the original. Would they, on the basis of their keen knowledge, qualify to participate in this Bible contest? Every religion has the right to establish what its fundamental assertions of faith are. Normative Judaism determined long ago that Jewish followers of Jesus are - sadly - apostates."
Zman Holon, May 7; Yated Ne'eman, May 7; BeKehila, May 7; HaModia, May 9, pp. 6, 9, 2008
According to a report in HaModia (May 9, p. 6), Jews for Jesus' recent publicity campaign met with failure from an "unexpected source." MK Rabbi Ya'akov Cohen was informed about the campaign and immediately acted to intervene. He turned to the advertising company responsible for the posters on Egged public transport, which agreed to violate its contract and remove the ads, claiming that it was unaware of their contents. The article claimed that the posters were indeed removed, several days before the contract was due to end. In a related effort, Cohen also turned to the company responsible for public ads in the city. While this company also agreed to remove the posters, at the time of printing it still had not done so. Against this background, Cohen and Yad L'Achim are proposing another amendment to the missionary law, which would prohibit any advertising encouraging conversion. According to Zman Holon (May 7), Egged [the bus corporation] instructed the advertising company to remove the posters from its vehicles, including city buses lines in Rishon LeZion, Rehovot, Holon, and Bat Yam. The posters themselves carried the caption - modeled after the Breslaver logo playing on Rabbi Nachman's name (Na-Nach-Nachm-Nachman-Me'uman) - "Yeshu = Yeshua = Yeshuo't [salvations]." Egged's - and Dan's -response to Yad L'Achim's appeal was that, while they do not usually know the contents of the posters, "'In a case where there are elements of damage to the State of Israel, division of the people, damage to the religion of Israel, or one or another part of the population - the company is requested to receive approval and undergo a check from Egged. The present case is borderline, since the use of Christian elements may arouse associations with mission work. They didn't ask us and decided to go ahead with the campaign, and so we asked them to remove the posters immediately.'" The director of the advertising agency, on the other hand, claimed that it had received approval from the bus companies. "'I believe that there was no particularly vulgar message here,'" said the Dan spokesman, "'and therefore both Dan and Egged approved the posters.'"
In a parallel move, Lev L'Achim, a sister organization of Yad L'Achim, has petitioned the management of the International Convention Center to stop any cooperation with "missionary organizations" and not to allow the latter to hold any conferences at the center "even under the disguise of 'charity' organizations or 'peace conferences' and the like" (Yated Ne'eman, May 7). The petition was raised after the failure to prevent the Epicenter Conference held at the venue on the eve of Passover, "for which no legal grounds could be found for the cancellation of its contract."
Two reports, in BeKehila (May 7) and HaModia (May 9, p. 9), ran the same story of the "missionary" campaign at the new age festival held at Nitzanim near Ashkelon over Passover. With Yad L'Achim in possession of "prior knowledge" of the intended "reinforced presence" of the missionaries, they had originally hoped that the festival's organizers would stand by their promise that the latter would not be given official approval to set up booths. According to the reports, despite this, the "missionaries" set up improvised tents and even went to the lengths of wearing shirts with the logo "Yad L'Achim," underneath which was a picture of "that man's" hand and the caption, "Let him give you a hand." [The caption is a play on Yad L'Achim's name, the first part of which also signifies "hand."] Yad L'Achim complained to the police both about this and the fact that the "missionaries" were approaching minors. The police, however, refused to take action, claiming that, "'If a youth has been approached by missionaries, he should come and complain himself.'" When Yad L'Achim realized that they had "no choice," they brought a fifteen-year-old youth. "Even when the police saw him they made him wait half an hour and 'maybe calm down.'" In response to the objection that "'indifference ... doesn't correspond to the law of 12 months' imprisonment for preaching to a minor [in fact, the sentence is six months],'" the police officer allegedly asserted, "'I don't know of any such law. Let every man live by his own faith.'" The article identified the "missionaries" as leading figures from such congregations as Shemen Sasson in Jerusalem, Kehilat Carmel, and "an American congregation which calls itself 'Messianic Jews' which operates in the south of the country."
Haaretz, May 9, 2008
The issue of the land owned by the Greek Orthodox Church in Jerusalem and leased to the JNF and Israel Lands Administration has arisen once again, this time as a result of Israel's long-delayed approval of Theophilos III as Patriarch (for both issues, see previous Reviews). "Last week the transaction being arranged with the JNF was presented to a committee established by the Holy Synod, a kind of board of directors of the patriarch. And then the storm erupted. The synod's members discovered that the patriarchate had agreed to turn over these hundreds of dunams in the center of Jerusalem for a payment of a mere $9 million from the State of Israel." Politics appear to be behind much of the controversy. One of the reasons for Israel's delay in approval of Theophilos' appointment seems to have been his refusal to sign a guarantee that he would "be ready to sell assets to the State of Israel in general, and to Jews in particular. Theophilos refused to sign such a guarantee, although behind the scenes he explained to anyone who wanted to listen in Israel just what his policy was: He would not agree to sell assets to the State of Israel or to Jews beyond the Green Line, but he was ready to do business if it concerned properties within Israel proper ... That was one of the reasons why last December the government finally recognized Theophilos as the legal patriarch." Objectors argue that the Church has no need of PA approval for the sale of lands within the Green Line: "'It's true that the PA is opposed to the sale of church assets beyond the Green Line, and mainly in Jerusalem, to Israel or Israeli groups,' says Khouri [a Greek Orthodox lawyer]. 'But as far as I know, the PA has no opposition to transactions made by the Greek Church within the Green Line, and the same is true of the Jordanians.'" From a financial perspective, the sum of $9 million is an insult when the property is worth, on estimate, almost a half billion dollars. What is the urgency in the matter, opponents ask, when the lease is not up for another forty-two years? According to the report, "Sources close to the bishops opposed to the transaction say they are even willing to 'give a gift' to the State of Israel and to bequeath it the land on which the Knesset stands, free of charge. But they are not willing to give away the rest of the 520 dunams for a song. The sources say they see the deal as presented to them as being, in effect, the payment exacted from Theophilos for recognition by the Israeli government. 'It looks like governmental bribery,' says attorney Khouri." Theophilos' supporters claim that, to the $9 million must be added "additional sums that the state is committed to transferring to the patriarchate over the years. 'Everything will be done in a transparent manner, and everyone will see that this is a good deal,' promises a colleague of the patriarch. Opponents of the transaction are not sure that things will be so easy."
Yediot Haifa, May 7; Zman Haifa, May 7, 2008
According to these two reports, two sets of meetings between Haifa public officials and French bureaucrats have culminated in agreements that the city will serve as the base for French tourists visiting the north of the country and (Catholic) pilgrims visiting the country. The agreements regarding package tours were reached at an Israeli tourist fair held in Marseilles recently. As part of a deal with the Catholic community, it was also agreed that part of the French pilgrims' itinerary would include "tours in which Jewish life in Haifa would be presented, such as tolerance and cooperation between the various communities and religions resident in the city."
Ma'ariv, May 9, 2008
In a review of Kfar Kana (Cana), the author of a piece in Ma'ariv (May 9) gave the background to the village's significance: "Imagine for a moment that you're at the heart of a wedding celebration in a small village in the Galilee. A poor family. They have no money for wine. The celebrations are going on, the hearts being made joyful with water (because there's no wine, of course) and a mother and her young son arrive. As a compassionate Jewish mother, she says to her son, 'Look, they have no wine ...' The young son says to the hosts: 'Fill the jars with water.' The architriklini (a Greek term for the master of festivities) tastes the drink, and behold, see it's a miracle, the water has turned into wine. This is the first of young Yeshua's miracles, performed at Cana. Admit it, you also would have been astonished at such a miracle. A second event took place in the same village: Yeshu promises a father who's worried that his son is about to die that he'll live - and he does. These two miracles attracted a group of disciples around Yeshu, who followed him and spoke at length of the wonders he performed." According to the report, Christian tradition also associates Bartholomew's daughter with Cana, memorialized by the Church of St. Nathaniel (Bartholomew).
Jerusalem Post, May 6, 11, 2008
These two articles both relate to the recent United Methodist Church's decision "to abandon efforts to divest from companies that allegedly contribute to Israel's occupation of the West Bank. Five divestment resolutions were shot down at the United Methodist Church General Conference in Texas last week, after a protracted campaign by Jews to halt the effort." According to Ethan Felson, the executive director of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, despite this achievement, "'This [the divestment campaign] is an ongoing thing, and in many ways this is a proxy for a much larger conversation that has political and theological dimensions. In some ways it is a reaction to Evangelical support for Israel, and in some ways it is calling attention to the theological issues related to the promise of the land. There is a constituency within this church informed significantly by Palestinian liberation theologians and more fringe elements that see every tragedy in the region as the fault of just one party, the Jewish state.'" Even more disturbing than the divestment resolutions, Michael Lando suggested (May 6), was "a background document, which dismissed concerns about anti-Semitism and the Holocaust. Among the statement in the report are a reference to the founding of the State of Israel as 'the original sin' and a passage defining Israeli actions as acts of 'terror.' The Methodist report claims the Holocaust has been the cause for 'hysteria' and 'paranoic sense' [sic] among Israelis. Thanks to an alliance of grassroots church activists who have nurtured ties to the Jewish community the convention also passed resolutions promoting Holocaust awareness and working to combat anti-Semitism, as well as a resolution opposing the proselytization of Jews." The second report (May 9) highlighted the Jewish activities and responses to the defeat of the resolutions - including those of B'nai Brith International, the Reform Religious Action Center, the Jewish Council on Public Affairs, the American Jewish Committee, the Anti-Defamation League, and Jewish Voice for Peace. "The groups described the actions, taken at the church's quadrennial convention in Fort Worth, Texas, as contributing to interfaith understanding and the quest for peace in the Middle East."
Ma'ariv, May 12, 2008
While doodling on an art pad in the company of a friend with links to the Vatican, the latter remarked that the architect Nir Ben Natan's drawing resembled a cathedral - and offered to pass on the "plans" to his Catholic associates. From there, things evolved until Ben Natan was invited to Rome to meet with the Vatican official responsible for church buildings, Over the course of his job, Bishop Mandera has come to the realization that it is important to "modernize" in order to attract people back to the church. Part of such appeal is the architectural style. He was impressed by Ben Natan's sketch and "'interested by the fact that a Jewish Israeli had suggestions for a cathedral. He gave his own analysis of the plans. He said that it was a spiritual building in which the transparent glass roof enabled a dialogue between man and God.'" Asked how it was that a Jewish architect made sketches for cathedrals, Ben Natan replied: "'For me, it's not a big thing. Over the course of history, especially in Europe, there have been periods during which all architectural work focused on the building of churches and other sacred places. We're not talking here of being "a light to the nations." Cathedrals are always signposts of architectural development, and as such they are always a source of inspiration, wittingly or unwittingly.'" Ben Natan attributes the fact that his drawing most closely resembles a cathedral to his affinity to a linear style. Thus while the building could serve as a sacred site for any religion, it is most suitable for a Christian church. While the cathedral ultimately may not be built in Rome, the plans are attracting interest from other European countries.
May 19, 2008
Jerusalem Post, May 1; Ma'ariv, April 29, May 1, 4; BeSheva, May 1; Shavu'on, May 1; Israel HaYom, May 4; BeKehila, April 1, 2008
The local Messianic community is privileged to have the honor of being represented in this year's World Bible Quiz by Bat-El Levi, the daughter of Ruti and Yitzchak Levi, who live in the settlement of Adam. According to the report in the Jerusalem Post (May 1), Bat-El, an eleventh-grade student in a state school in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Pisgat Ze'ev, "won this year's national bible quiz for state schools and will be one of four finalists from Israel competing for the International Bible Quiz Championship on Independence Day." This event made the news because an anonymous caller revealed Bat-El's identity to Yad L'Achim. The organization immediately took action to stop her participation, contacting Orthodox and National Religious rabbis with a call to forbid their students to take part in the Quiz if Bat-El is allowed to participate (Jerusalem Post, May 1; Ma'ariv, April 29, May 1; Shavu'on, May 1; Israel HaYom, May 4; BeKehila, May 1; BeSheva, May 1). Those rabbis who responded to the call have further suggested holding an alternative Bible Quiz open only to religious students. Yad L'Achim are also planning to hold a mass demonstration outside the theater to "protest against the scandal" (BeKehila, May 1; Ma'ariv, May 1).
According to all these reports, the reasons for the religious protests were that that "'the missionaries will draw great encouragement from the fact that one of the members of the Messianic-Christian community has won the national Quiz and has a chance of being the World Bible Quiz winner'" and that the Bible Quiz is designed for "Jewish youth" and "'members of the "Messianic Jewish" sect are not recognized as Jews.'" (With regard to the first "accusation," it was noted that in the national finals Bat-El "also beat some of the participants from religious schools" [Ma'ariv, April 29].) As the reporter for BeSheva noted, the religious community and Yad L'Achim are presenting the event as one planned in advance: "'This is their new and abominable form of deceiving innocent Jews and to make it clear to them that you can be Jewish - and even a prominent Jew - at the same time as believing in that man and following his ways, God have mercy. As if this wasn't enough, the missionaries are even likely to use the 'Bible Queen' for mass operations amongst the youth, activity which is liable to bring about disaster.'" Yad L'Achim's director stated: "'They've taken a missionary girl from the Messianic Jews and she's likely to win the Bible Quiz or come second. By getting publicity in this way as the 'Bible Queen' they will enter [Jewish/Israeli] consciousness as if they are Jews. It's simply an exploitation to entice Jews to Christianity.'" Or in the words of Rabbi Aviner, "'It's not just a Christian girl, it's a missionary girl. Once they held crusades in order to bring Jews closer to Christianity; now they're operating in different ways.'"
While MK Meir Porush is pushing the Ministry of Education - which is partially responsible for the event - to disqualify Bat-El from the competition on the grounds that the Bible Quiz will become "'a lever for conversion," the Ministry of Education examined the religious claim that only Jews are allowed to compete and arrived at the legal conclusion that "'the student [Bat-El] is Jewish and cannot be disqualified from the Quiz'" (Ma'ariv, May 1). The BeSheva reporter (May 1) also noted that at least three other leading contenders were unaware of the controversy. One of them is a student at a yeshiva in Beersheva, whose head was quoted as stating: "'Our yeshiva network respects the legal decision of the Ministry of Education to hold the Bible Quiz as scheduled. There is no more symbolic day in our State than Independence Day, on which to emphasize the commitment and legitimacy that the citizens give to its laws.'" Bat-El's father was quoted in Ma'ariv (April 29) as saying that, "'If anyone tries to stop my daughter participating I believe that God will repay them. I'm a godfearing person who believes in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and in all the prophets.'" Calev Myers, "founder and chief counsel of the Jerusalem Institute of Justice, an advocacy group that represents members of the Messianic community, said that the rabbis' call to boycott the quiz was a show of weakness. 'If the participation of a Messianic Jewish lady is enough to shake up those rabbis' world, it shows the weakness of that world,' said Myers. 'Why should they have a problem with a young woman who knows how to quote from the Bible?'" (Jerusalem Post, May 1).
In a very "anti-missionary" tone, Menahem Ben contributed an opinion piece to Ma'ariv (May 4) on the subject. He linked it first and foremost to the fact that the Quiz is held very close to Holocaust Day, "which marks the darkest and most awful racism and hatred of all." Precisely on that day, "the ugliest information reached us of well-known hatred precisely of the Orthodox Jewish kind: radical groups, with Yad L'Achim at their head ... are pressuring their friends to boycott the World Bible Quiz for Jewish Youth if the girl Bat-El Levi, who belongs to a Messianic Jewish family, is allowed to participate." He then associated this act with the explosive device sent to the Ortiz family in Ariel (see previous Reviews), further recalling the problems the congregation in Beersheva is experiencing with Orthodox elements. In this respect, he stated quite categorically that, "Even if 'Yad L'Achim' itself isn't directly involved in the matter, there's no doubt that it is largely responsible for the attack and the various pogramniks are nurtured by its inspiration." Ben also considered that the Ministry of Education should have taken stronger action. In his opinion, it should also have denounced the very attempt of the Orthodox "to stain, to boycott, to shame an Israeli girl ... who studies in an Israeli state school ... who won all the former rounds with distinction." He further noted that while in recent years the Quiz has become restricted to "Jewish youth," at its inception it was designed for all "Bible lovers from every race and religion - as befits our world Book of Books, which is admired by billions all over the world." He also pointed out a possible source of threat behind the Orthodox objection to Bat-El's participation: "It's worth remembering, by the way, that the Orthodox yeshivas - in contrast to the national-religious ones - completely neglect study of the Bible in favor of the Talmud, and that the level of Bible proficiency amongst these yeshiva students is extremely low. To study the Bible in its plain sense - God forbid! It contains too many sins and offenses to which the delicate students shouldn't be exposed. But to learn to hate and cause others to hate and to boycott by way of appealing in the name of the Bible and the Bible Quiz - that they can do."
As with the reports on the attack on the Ortiz family last month, Ma'ariv (April 29) also contained a sidebar giving "background: Messianics." This was largely a quote from a member of the Messianic movement, related to the Levi family: "'As Messianic believers we see ourselves as part of the Jewish people. We are Jews both according to birth - we were born within the Jewish community - and according to our faith. We accept all of Scripture, observe all the Jewish feasts, only in addition we also believe in the New Testament and consider Yeshua the son of David to be the Messiah of Israel." The author added his own comments, to the effect that, "It should be noted that members of the community take care to call the Christian Messiah by his full name, Yeshua, and explain that this is his real name and that the name Yeshu was given to him by his Jewish opponents according to the acronym 'May his name and memory be blotted out.' He [the relative] also explained that many Messianic Jews define themselves as great Zionists, serve in the army and aspire to receive recognition as a legitimate stream of Judaism. According to him, they are careful to keep Shabbat - apart from using a car to get to the service - circumcise their children, fast on the Day of Atonement, and keep kashrut and the purity laws according to their own understanding. Most of them do not celebrate the Christian holidays, except for Christmas. They claim that over the years they have been persecuted by the rabbinic establishment - persecution which reached its peak a month ago with the wounding of a youth from the congregation in Ariel ..."
Haaretz, May 2, pp. 12, 40; Kol HaZman, May 2; Israel HaYom, May 4, 2008
In a discussion concerning the dates of various national and religious Jewish holidays, Michael Handelzatz in Haaretz (May 2, 12) recalled how the Jewish calendar differs from the Christian one: "About 3,760 years after the creation of the world according to the Christian calendar (plus or minus three years) a Jewish baby by the name of Yeshua was born in Bethlehem. When he was in his thirties, after the Passover Seder (which since then has come to be known as the 'Last Supper'), he was arrested, tried, and crucified. Three days after he was buried he rose from the dead and ascended into heaven. Since then, Christians have marked resurrection day as the day known as Easter. Because the origin of the date of Easter is linked to the date of Passover but Christians count their years from the birth of their Lord (the same Yeshua) and their months according to the earth's movement around the sun, a need was created to calculate in advance when Easter would fall ..."
The same paper (p. 40) devoted a lengthy article to Simcha Jacobovici, the director of the documentary The Lost Tomb of Jesus. During the course of the interview, the interviewer asked Jacobovici, the son of Holocaust survivors, "How does a religious Jew wearing a yarmulke and tzitziot [fringes] make a film about Yeshu?" The answer Jacobovici gave was this: "'I've been asked that question many times, but in my eyes there's no contradiction. In contrast to Jews who say, "He's theirs [the Christians']," I know that he's ours.'" The article contains some further facts concerning the film's production and reception. It cost four million dollars to produce and was three years in the making. While in Chile there were public demonstrations against its screening and it was banned in Italy, the British bought the film for $400,000 but never screened it.
In the column "What you wanted to know: Sacred Cow" in Kol Zikhron (May 2), a reader asked about the Ohel Ya'akov synagogue in the city, wanting to verify whether it had been built by Christians and thus served first as a church. In fact, the synagogue was built by Templars, "but only because they were considered the best builders in the area ... Before they turned it over to the residents, the Templars held a service in it." In order not to offend the Turks, it was claimed, moreover, that it was intended for use as a cowshed. Later, Rabbi Kook forbade its use, not because of its Christian origins but because it did not include separate sections for men and women.
The relations between the leaders of Shas (the Sephardi religious party) and one its members, Nitzan Chen, have had their ups and downs. According to a report in Israel HaYom (May 4), while at present Chen isn't in their favor, Shas leaders are pleased to have him around "since as a traditionalist they can expect him to deal with the Christian [TV] channels and pornographic broadcasts."
Yediot HaEmek, April 25, 2008
As part of a trip through the Jordan Park, the itinerary includes a visit to Bethesda, where "three of the most important apostles of the Christian church were born: Peter, his brother Andrew, and Philip. According to Christian tradition, Yeshu visited the city and worked miracles there, such as restoring the sight of a blind man and the miracle of the fish and loaves."
Ma'ariv, May 1, 2008
The controversy over Pope Pius XII's role during the Holocaust has ignited once again with the revealing of the private papers of Chaim Berles, a close friend of Angelo Roncalli, the papal nuncio in Istanbul during the war years and later Pius's successor. The unusual friendship between Jew and Catholic was close and deep, and the correspondence and conversations between the two, much of which Berles recorded in his diary, indicate the efforts Roncalli made to convince his superior - Pius XII - to act on behalf of European Jewry. According to the report in Ma'ariv (May 1), Roncalli "committed himself to helping without hesitation. He displayed a sympathetic attitude towards his guest, sent letters, messages, telegrams - directly to Rome and by indirect means through the assistance of his colleagues, Vatican ambassadors in other countries. He did not cease calling on the pope to exert his influence, to exploit the weight of his spiritual office, to intervene, to make his voice heard clearly and sharply in order to halt the destruction machine and put an end to the perpetual suffering. When he did not receive an answer, or when responses to his appeals were delayed for months or were composed of short, laconic replies, his despair penetrated also into his intimate conversations with Berles. He consistently reported to Pope Pius XII and to the Vatican Secretary of State every scrap of information regarding the killing, the slaughter, the abuse, and the expulsion of the Jews from their homes, accompanied by detailed suggestions concerning what could and should be done. But the Holy See continued his silence. Very rarely did he make any reference, in non-committal and general language, to those suffering in the war. The Jews were not mentioned." According to Prof. Dina Porat, head of the Project for the Study of Anti-Semitism at Tel Aviv University and the only person to have been given access so far to Berles's papers, "'The private documents reveal the depth of the friendship woven between Berles and Roncalli ... very rare in its intensity, secrets, and ideas which they shared with one another ... Also very rare is the fact that Roncalli criticized his pope, in delicate language but very clearly.'" One of the examples of Pius XII's attitude towards the "Jewish problem" is illustrated in brutally expressive terms in Berles's papers. "About a year before Roncalli saw the 'Auschwitz Protocol,' Berles approached him with an idea: to grant transit papers under the aegis of the Vatican to children in occupied Europe and thus to save them from the horrors of the war and to send them to relatives in Palestine/Eretz Israel. Roncalli responded immediately. The Vatican ambassador in Egypt, his confidant the Irish priest Arthur Hughes, brought a detailed brief and delivered it personally in Rome. The response was delayed for more than a month: 'The Vatican cannot assist in the transfer of Jews to Palestine because this might lead to the restriction of access by Christians to the holy places ...'"
Haaretz, May 2, 2008
Under the title "Learning to live with one another," Miriam Feinberg Vamosh reviewed Raymond Cohen's recently published book, Saving the Holy Sepulchre (Oxford University Press). With the revealing subtitle How Rival Christians Came Together to Rescue their Holiest Shrine, Cohen examines the almost miraculous way in which the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem has been kept and restored. "Chronicling complexities that make a Gordian knot look like a slip tie, Raymond Cohen, a professor of international relations at the Hebrew University, traces a process that began with insistence on preeminence and reached a point of making do with negotiated condominium, to reconstruct the crumbling complex, culminating in the dedication in 1997 of the new dome over the tomb. Cohen vividly describes the complex that has risen over the course of 16 centuries, a building project he describes as an 'unplanned collaboration between Byzantine and Frankish [Crusader] architects living in different centuries.' Even the most recent example of ecumenical collaboration, the restoration of the rotunda dome, has the simplicity and understated symbolism it does, according to Cohen, less for reasons of artistic choice and more because it was the only décor on which all denominations could agree. Yet the dome, renewed inside and out, is a symbol of the success of the collaborative efforts the book describes." Part of Cohen's purpose is to point out the ways in which political processes, including Israeli policies, have affected the church's history. Thus, for example, Israel refused to hand over the keys of the Deir el-Sultan monastery adjacent to the church - traditionally held by the Ethiopians - to the Copts in 1979 because they feared "risking the right of El Al planes to fly through Ethiopian airspace, and ... hampering Ethiopian Jewish immigration." The pope also had much to do - indirectly - with the church's narrative. According to Vamosh, "the announcement by Pope Paul VI, in 1966, of his impending visit to the Holy Land, brought Jerusalem to center stage once again. Reconstruction and reconciliation became necessarily more closely linked than ever before." The dome itself was only completed when an American Catholic philanthropist donated the necessary sum to the Pontifical Mission, a compromise accepted by the Greeks and Armenians, with the "threat" of a "second historical visit of a pope to Jerusalem around the corner in 2000." As the reviewer notes in conclusion, "Like its title, the book also ends on a harmonious note ... Perhaps this is its lesson: achievements not because of, but in spite of, all-too human tendencies to squabble even over the sacred."
November 30, 2007
Attitudes to Christianity
Al HaMakom, November 15, 2007
In a letter printed in Al HaMakom (November 15), Yossi Peles responded to an article in the paper from October 18. The author, Yitzhak Even Esh, wrote in his piece that "I am telling you to take the Christian books you have in the house and burn them, so that no trace should be left [of them] - because the two things don't go together, Judaism and its opposite." Peles took issue with the content and attitude of Even Esh's statement alike. He reminded the paper's readers first of all of the burning of Talmuds in the Middle Ages: "How can you explain your coming to terms - which is a form of agreement by silence [by printing the article without any comment] - with burning the books of members of another religion? Can you decently do to others what is abhorrent to you?" Nor is it true that the New Testament is the "opposite of Judaism": "It's another interpretation, different from yours (and even from mine) of Judaism. Most of the texts in that books are the fruit of Jewish writers and even if I too, like you, reject with both hands the faith that they present, I still understand their value and spiritual and historical importance."
The paper's editor printed on the same page a direct response to Peles's letter, citing a halakhic authority: "A Gentile who writes a Torah scroll with the names [of God] therein, on the one hand the scroll has no sanctity because the names were not written for the sanctification of HaShem [God], and on the other, it is forbidden to treat it with contempt and so it must be put in a genizah [a place for storing holy books which are no longer in a fit state for use]. An idolater who writes a Torah scroll for idol worship, that scroll must be burned. There is no prohibition again such burning because the names written in it have no sanctity because they were not written for the consecration of HaShem according to the faith of Israel, and in order not to give credit to idolatry, the Sages ordained that their books should be burned (Babylonian Talmud Gittin 45b; Maimonides on that place, 6, 8). Likewise, Bibles printed by missionaries which include the New Testament, which is the foundation of the Christian idolatry, must be burned or got rid of by other means, so that they may not be given credit."
Anti-missionary Activity
Mishpaha, November 15; HaModia, November 16; HaZofeh, November 23, 2007
In the midst of the kassam rockets which have been bombarding the town of Sderot for the past several years, Mishpaha (November 15) reported this week that the town has also recently been barraged by missionary activity. "The missionaries weren't satisfied with distributing literature in bustling locations but went from door to door in numerous neighborhoods giving out copies of the 'New Testament' printed in a special edition for the citizens of Sderot, with a thick cover and gold-edged pages, and informing people that the books would serve as an 'amulet' to keep the citizens safe against the kassams ... Their purpose was to frighten the citizens and disseminate amongst them dubious missionary literature and to make them false promises conditional on their walking in the way of that man." When Yad L'Achim was informed of the situation, the organization immediately sent workers to the city "to counter-balance the soul hunters." A similar report in HaModia (November 16) added that the Yad L'Achim workers identified the leaflets as being written by the "infamous missionary Ya'akov Damkani." In their effort to warn Sderot's residents, they "clarified to them the true identity behind the amiable and friendly appearance of the missionaries." Yad L'Achim's director stated in regard to the events: "The recent missionary activity in Sderot proves how vicious the missionaries can be, even in the face of the citizens of a town who are suffering daily from the growing fear of the unceasing flood of kassams. They perceive them as prey for their sinister hunt and scheme to convert them. It is known that members of Yad L'Achim are about to lay their hands on the precise address from which the missionaries are coming in order to be able to stop their activity by legal means." The piece in HaZofeh (November 23), which ran the same story, printed it with the headline "Missionaries promised to residents: 'The New Testament' will protect you against the kassams."
Christians in Israel
BeSheva, November 15; Ma'ariv, November 16; Hadash BeBeit Shemesh, November 9; Yediot Ahronot, November 20, 2007
In the continuing saga of the Greek Orthodox Patriarch, Hadash BeBeit Shemesh (November 9) reported on the indictment of two businessmen in the patriarchal real estate scandal - some of the property in question being in Beit Shemesh.
BeSheva (November 15) gave a brief history of the struggle between Ireneos and Theophilos, indicating that three days after the Knesset Ministerial Committee recommended that the Israeli government recognize Theophilos as Patriarch, the Greek Orthodox church petitioned the court in Jerusalem to issue a search warrant for all the personal effects located in the "room in which Ireneos has been hiding since his deposition ... including all valuables, medals, crosses, icons, ancient prayer garments, various rings, and other objects." The petition was made following a perceived increase in traffic to and from the Patriarch's room, with people entering and leaving with suitcases!
According to an article in Ma'ariv (November 16), as part of his efforts to strengthen Ukrainian national identity and independence from Russian influence, the Ukrainian President, Viktor Yushchenko, has decided to open a national Ukrainian church in Israel. To the church, to be built on land in Jerusalem and run by Ukrainian priests and monks, is due to be attached a hostel for Ukrainian pilgrims. The move has angered the Russian Church in Israel and threatens to create a crisis in Israeli-Russian relations if Israel recognizes the church. Since the Ukrainian church has never had an independent presence in Israel, the opening of such a church is dependent upon the approval of the Greek Orthodox Church.
In the wake of negotiations to return the Russian Compound in Jerusalem to Russian control, a report in Yediot Ahronot (November 20) indicated that an agreement has been reached whereby the Russian-Israeli millionaire Arkadi Gaydamak will cover the costs of transferring the Israeli offices located on the premises to their new location. The agreement is due to be signed during 2008 and will consist of the funding of a new building to house the Jerusalem District Court.
Christian Tourism
Haaretz, November 20, 2007
A brief report in Haaretz (November 20) indicated that part of the Blair Plan to be proposed at the Paris Summit due to take place in two months with the purpose of raising funds for development plans includes "the promotion of tourism in Bethlehem through the establishment of new installations and the easing of access for Christian pilgrims."
The Pope and the Vatican
Haaretz, November 18, 19; Ma'ariv, November 12; Jerusalem Post, November 18, 22, 2007
Haaretz (November 19) ran the New York Times Weekly Review story printed in the Jerusalem Post last week regarding King Abdullah's audience with the pope (see previous Review).
A senior Vatican official recently lashed out at Israel for failing to fulfill obligations to which it committed itself in an agreement signed in 1993 (Jerusalem Post, Haaretz, November 18). In an interview posted on Friday November 12th on Terrasanta.net, "an online publication about the Holy Land," Archbishop Pietro Sambi charged that "The Holy See decided to establish diplomatic relations (in 1993) with Israel as an act of faith, leaving to latter [sic] the serious promises to regulate concrete aspects of the life of the Catholic community and the Church." These include the status of expropriated church property, services performed for Israel's Jewish and Arab populations by various Catholic groups, and tax exemptions for the church, together with the granting of permits for Arab Christian clergy traveling to and around the West Bank. Sambi blamed the situation - in which he saw Vatican-Israeli relations prior to the agreement as being better than they are now - on Israel's "'absence of political will.' 'Everyone can see what kind of trust you can give to Israel's promises,' Sambi said." A Vatican spokesman was also quoted as saying that Sambi's views "'reflect his thinking and his personal experience' during the diplomat's former position [as papal envoy] in Israel." The Israeli reaction, as expressed by a Foreign Ministry official, stressed that "'Israel is interested in good relations with the Vatican and Israeli and Vatican officials are working to overcome gaps that exist.'" The article also mentioned the tensions which had erupted earlier this year "when the Holy See's ambassador to Israel initially decided to boycott a Holocaust memorial service because of allegations that during World War II Pope Pius XII was silent about the mass killings of Jews" (Jerusalem Post, November 18).
The same paper reported on November 22 that the "Vatican has distanced itself from comments made by its former ambassador to Israel." According to the article, "While the archbishop's comments are not likely to harm Catholic-Israeli relations in the long-term - an official with the Chief Rabbinate's office told the Jerusalem Post relations have never been better - they underscore the tension within the Catholic Church over its Israel policy. Pope Benedict XVI is an avowed advocate of closer political relations with Israel and theological dialogue with Judaism. However, his views are not held by all within the Roman Catholic Church's hierarchy."
The Post also ran an article quoting from an interview held with the current Vatican ambassador to Israel, Monsignor Antonio Franco. At the center of the discussion was Vatican "frustration over the decade-old failure to reach an agreement with Israel on tax exemptions, amid mounting criticism among senior Vatican officials on the state of relations between the Jewish state and the Holy See." According to the piece, "The total amount of unpaid property tax [deriving from the fact that the church's claim that the property is only used for worship and not for any commercial purposes] amounts to roughly NIS 300 million, with the Latin Patriarchate the biggest offender." Negotiations on the issue between the two sides are due to resume on December 12, with the Vatican said to be willing to "pay only a symbolic fee for the city services they receive." "A secondary issue between the two sides has to do with the legal structure of church authority in the Holy Land, which has been agreed upon but never confirmed by the Knesset." A response to the threatening crisis was given by Rabbi David Rosen, who helped broker the original agreement: "'The Vatican is showing remarkable patience and understanding regarding commitments made by the State of Israel in the Fundamental Agreement, which were to be resolved within two years but which have still not been resolved' ... He added that this patience on the part of the Vatican was a testimony of their commitment to good relations with the Jewish people and the State of Israel."
NOV 15, 2007
Anti-missionary Activity
Zman Haifa, October 26; Merkaz Ha'Inyanim, October 29; HaModia, November 8, 2007
The story of the "missionary center" to be established in the Galilee by "evangelists" was run by Merkaz Ha'Inyanim (October 29), a paper providing information for the Ultra-Orthodox public (see previous Reviews).
A piece in HaModia (November 8) reported that Shmuel Halpert, chairman of the religious lobby in the Knesset, recently requested that the current Minister of Tourism honor the agreement his predecessor had made that no "missionary center" would be built in Tiberias (see previous Reviews).
Zman Haifa (October 26) carried a story of Jehovah's Witnesses' activity in the city. According to the report, members of the sect are "approaching children and youth and with smooth talk are telling them Bible stories. They are distributing tracts with the titles 'Troubles will soon pass away' and 'How God takes care of us' ... In them it is written that 'Jehovah's Witnesses are a group of true brethren who embrace the world.'" The "missionaries" attempt to convince the children that only if they follow the way of the Jehovah's Witnesses will they find happiness. A United Torah Judaism member on the local municipal council claimed, "We are talking about an extremist missionary sect with clear anti-Semitic characteristics" - by which he apparently meant the attempt to "destroy every remnant and memory of the Jewish people" through their conversion to Christianity.
Anglican Church
Jerusalem Post, November 2, 4; Haaretz, November 2, 5 (Hebrew and English editions), 2007
Rowan William's one-day visit to Israel last week differed from his previous three in his office as Archbishop of Canterbury (Haaretz, November 5). Whereas previously he had visited Palestinian Christians, this visit was devoted to "a meeting with Israel's chief rabbis and with a special team from the Chief Rabbinate that deals with interfaith dialogue." Despite the fact one of his aims was "to improve relations, even partially, between him and the Church he heads, and the State of Israel and its supporters in the West ... because the Anglican Church, the third largest in the Christian world ... is considered today to be the church most hostile in its attitude toward Israel," most of his remarks as reported in Haaretz dealt rather with Iran and Muslim-Christian dialogue. "'The only way of eliminating [the nuclear] possibility,' the archbishop says, 'would be a preemptive strike, which is against international law.' This he says, would make any possibility of relations with Iran impossible." It is thus apparent that his agenda is indeed dialogue - the religious equivalent to negotiations. His limited success in the latter in Britain he describes as "small things, but I think the alternative - of doing nothing - is worse."
Muslim dialogue is also important to the Archbishop with relation to the situation of Christians in the Palestinian Authority. Recognizing that "Christians have become a minority in areas that once were Christian," Williams countered by blaming Israel: "'I would like to know how much it matters to the Israeli government to have Christian communities in the Holy Land. Are they an embarrassment or are they part of a solution? That is the question ... A better option [than the fence]? I wish I knew. I can only point out the cost, which I think is something that affects Israel in the long term. It encourages the departure of young Palestinians from their environment.'" Even though his remarks on this visit were more muted, Williams found it difficult to lay even part of the responsibility for the situation on the PA itself: "When asked if the PA was responsible [for anti-Christian sentiment amongst the Palestinian communities], the archbishop replied: 'I don't think it's the Palestinian Authority. I think it's the drifting demography in the Palestinian regions.'" According to the report, unlike the Pope, the Archbishop of Canterbury's ability to impose his opinions upon the Anglican Church is limited: "His remarks about Israel are greatly influenced by Palestinian Anglicans who are extremely careful not to accuse their Muslim neighbors of persecution and prefer to level their criticism at Israeli policies." Regarding the Anglican Church's position on divestment from Israeli and international companies which sell equipment to the IDF, Williams repeated what appears to be the "official statement": "I have no commitment to a program of disinvestments. We have an ethical investment policy and certain kinds of investment ... needed to be reviewed in that light. We went through a process that is a routine matter of reviewing our investment policy according to agreed ethical criteria" (Haaretz).
Under the title "Time to renew Anglican Zionism," the Jerusalem Post (November 2) noted that Williams's "sharp criticism of the security barrier," "whether a consequence of misinformation or of bias against Israel or both, was a distortion of the facts. The unfortunate phenomenon of Arab Christian emigration from the Holy Land to the US, Europe and other advanced countries has been going on for decades and is the result of a multitude of factors - educational, social, cultural, and political." The article noted that Williams's statements came "almost 90 years to the day after a fellow Anglican, Britain's foreign secretary Arthur James Balfour, set the groundwork for the creation of the Jewish state." The call for the "renewal of Anglican Zionism" came against this background, the unnamed author remarking that "Sadly, Anglican support for Israel has wavered since then." S/he then suggests that "Perhaps present Anglican censure of Israeli policies has its source in the [Anglican?] Church's expectations that the Jews, God's chosen people, live up to higher moral standards ... Perhaps it is the Christian tendency to come to the aid of the underdog ... But Williams's attitude does not reflect the best interests of his flock in this area, who benefit from the security Israel is seeking to attain and are vulnerable to the same ruthless violence that targets the Jewish state. Israel, with the security barrier, has taken essential steps to safeguard precisely the 'asylum,' the 'safe home' for the Jewish people 'in their native land,' that Balfour envisaged. And, hopefully with the support of intellectually honest allies, 'the full flowering of their genius will burst forth and propagate.'"
Another article in the same paper (November 4) looked at same issue, asking "Does the Anglican Church have an Israel problem?" Starting from the recent American Episcopal "Israel-Apartheid" conference in Boston, sponsored by the Episcopal Divinity School responsible for training many of the Church's future leaders, Rafael Medoff went back in history in order to demonstrate that the current climate is in direct opposition to Anglican and Episcopal positions prior and during the Holocaust. One of Rowan Williams's predecessors, William Temple, appointed to the office in 1942, "did not hesitate to take unpopular positions, such as urging the Allies to grant asylum to all Jewish refugees" - a stance which had a direct influence on Roosevelt's policies in the U.S. While most American Episcopal leaders failed to speak out publicly, the General Theological Seminary in New York and the Berkeley Divinity School in Connecticut were both "co-sponsors of an important 'Inter-Seminary Conference' ... held in New York City in early 1943 to discuss the Nazi mass murders." The Bergson Group, which lobbied for U.S. action to rescue Jews, also included a number of Episcopal leaders. Medoff concluded his historical review by stating that: "Today, as during the Holocaust, there are those within the Episcopal Church whose positions on issues of Jewish concern have raised troubling questions. But it is clear that there are other voices, as well."
According to a brief report in Haaretz (November 2), the Archbishop also called for the release of kidnapped soldiers Eldad Regev, Ehud Goldwasser, and Gilad Shalit in a joint statement issued with the chief rabbis.
Christians in Israel
Haaretz, November 5, 6, pp. 3, 11 (Hebrew and English editions), p. 28, November 8; Israel HaYom, November 6; HaShavua BiYerushalayim, November 1; Ma'ariv, November 6; Yediot Ahronot, November 6; Makor Rishon, November 2, 6; Jerusalem Post, November 6; Business Post, November 6, 2007
The latest developments in the scandal surrounding the Greek Orthodox Patriarch have seen the indictment of two of those involved, Yaakov Rabinowitz and David Morgenstern, for "forgery and fraud," in what the Jerusalem District court "described as 'one of the most sophisticated cases of real estate fraud in the state of Israel.'" The two men were convicted of forging the Patriarch's signature (at the time, Diodorus) and thereby stealing $20 million from the Jewish National Fund by illegally renewing the latter's lease on prime real estate property in Jerusalem and Beit Shemesh (Haaretz, The Marker, Yediot Ahronot, Jerusalem Business Post, Makor Rishon, and Israel HaYom, November 6). According to Haaretz (November 6), the court wrote in its decision, "The suspects cynically took advantage of the strong desire of the state authorities and the JNF to make long-term arrangements for the leasing of property in Jerusalem. The concern of the authorities, which had started to take shape, was that the renewal of the lease would not take place because of the political pressure on the patriarch from various sources in the Palestinian Authority."
Caroline Glick related to precisely this issue in an opinion piece in the Jerusalem Post (November 6) titled "Israel's anti-Zionist leaders." Her take on Theophilos' appointment was that his election "was the consequence of an anti-Jewish campaign of terror by Hamas and Fatah and the Jordanian government against the church and its leaders." As earlier reports have indicated, the Patriarch's position has recently become conditional upon the candidate's agreement not to sell any land to Jews - one of the primary reasons for the dismissal of Theophilos' predecessor (Ireneos). According to Glick, "After Ireneos was ejected from office, Theophilos immediately distinguished himself from his fellow clerics with his enthusiasm for barring Israel and Jews from using church lands. He secured Palestinian and Jordanian backing ahead of the elections by pledging to operate in accordance with Jordanian rather than Israeli law. Jordanian law prohibits all land sales to Jews." Last week's Knesset decision to finally approve Theophilos' appointment is therefore anything but a "simple matter," but embodies the anti-Zionist stance increasingly being adopted by Israel's own leaders: "By accepting Theophilos as Patriarch, Israel is siding with its enemies against itself. It is signaling to Israel's antagonists that terror and extortion continue to pay. Just as terror is viewed as the force which compelled Israel to vacate Gaza and south Lebanon, so in the case of the Greek Orthodox Patriarch, Israel's enemies would be justified in believing that their decision to terrorize the church leadership and force it to embrace anti-Semitism and the jihadist aim of ethnic cleansing of Jews from the Holy Land was the right decision."
The Greek Orthodox church is also posing a traffic problem in the country. The high-technology tunnel road recently constructed between Nazareth and Nazareth Elit (Upper Nazareth) at a cost of 400 million dollars will remain closed until the dispute between the Israel National Roads Company (INRC) and the Greek Orthodox Church has been resolved. At issue is a junction which has apparently not been built according to the specification agreed upon by the latter, who provided a portion of the land on which the road has been constructed. At present, the Greek Orthodox church has issued an interim order forbidding the INRC from continuing work on the paving of the multi-lane highway - which, in replacing the old road which had gained the name the "wall of death" because of its dangerous condition, was hoped would significantly lower the current number of accidents and fatalities. The disputed length was due to include an elevated bridge and a roundabout facilitating access to a residential neighborhood where the church had plans to erect a commercial center. The church is claiming that instead of investing 60 million shekels to build the roundabout and junction, the INRC has erected an intersection with traffic lights at the mere cost of five million shekels. Although the INRC is arguing that this is a temporary measure, the "church is unwilling to compromise, fearing that the temporary will become permanent."
In a further church-related affair, HaShavua BiYerushalayim (November 1) reported that it had received information that four months ago Prime Minister Olmert signed an initial agreement with the Russian government according to which the Russian Compound and Sergei's Court in the center of Jerusalem, which belong to the latter, would be returned to it within a year. Figures involved in the negotiations allegedly informed the paper that the Russian Church is planning to construct a hotel for Russian pilgrims on the sites, closing it off to outsiders. The area currently houses the police headquarters, a museum commemorating Jewish underground fighters, the Ministry of Agriculture, and a hospital building. It has been leased to the Israeli government since it was bought by the Czar's family in the middle of the eighteenth century. According to reports from the Prime Minister's office, which confirmed the information received by the paper, the Israeli government will be compensated for the return of the property to the tune of 100 million dollars - a sum with which the government intends to build a new site to house the District Court. The Jerusalem municipality is calling the affair scandalous, it being unknown for a country to transfer strategic property in the heart of its capital to a foreign power. The proper course of action, in its eyes, would be to buy the property outright.
The "Nazareth cross" has recently received substantial backing from an internet company called "A-2-Z" (Haaretz, The Marker, November 8); (for the cross, see previous Reviews). Under the aegis of its international campaign for the project, a huge cross made of tiles will be erected in Nazareth. The tiles, to which a dedication may be added, will be sold to "believers through the internet" on eBay. A-2-Z is said to be planning an "analysis of Christian believers' activity on the internet" in order to identify the target population most likely to purchase the tiles.
Although not strictly within the purview of the Media Review, we have included here two articles on the situation of believers in Gaza. The first, in Haaretz (November 5), relates to the Christian exodus from the strip: "Since Hamas' domination of the Gaza Strip, the pressure on the tiny Christian community - 3,000 persons living in the middle of 1.5 million Muslims - has increased." The pressure recently took a turn toward violence when the manager of the only Christian bookshop in the city, Bible Society worker Rami Ayyad, was murdered a month ago. "It looked like another dwelling of mourners in Gaza. Rows of plastic chairs for the mourning family and their comforters. Colorful plastic wreaths leaning against the wall of the building, and a picture of a young man, pale - shaved in fact - and bespectacled, smiling hesitantly from the posters covering the walls. But the usual sight of the Al Aksa mosque wasn't visible in the pictures and the floral wreaths were accompanied by verses from the New Testament rather than from the Quran. The victim was a member of the Christian community in Gaza." The bookshop, run under the auspices of the Palestinian Bible Society, also functioned as an internet café where residents could receive computer lessons. Immediately following Hamas' overwhelming victory in the 2006 elections, a note was attached to the shop door demanding its instant closure. On October 6, Ayyad left the shop and didn't return home. His body was found the next day in one of the streets of the city; he had been shot in the head and stabbed in the chest, leaving a wife in the eighth month of her third pregnancy and two small children. Although up until now, despite its size, the Christian community has largely lived in harmony with its Muslim neighbors, the climate now seems to be changing: "Many Christians are planning to emigrate at the first opportunity."
This is also the headline of an article in Makor Rishon (November 2): "The Christians in Gaza want to leave." Here, too, the blame is laid at the feet of Hamas. Quoting the British Guardian, the paper claimed that "Hamas' victory is troubling not only to Israel and Bush but also to the Christian community in Gaza, who are saying that they will leave the city because they no longer see their future there following the victory of the fundamentalist Muslim organization." According to the report, Rami Ayyad was kidnapped by anonymous persons and then killed. "This murder exposed the fact that the Gaza Strip is not only 'Hamastan' politically and security-wise, but first and foremost religiously - an extremist fundamentalist Muslim entity. The most serious manifestation of this trend of Islamization in Gaza is the attacks on Christians. The Muslims hate Christians no less than they hate Jews."
The Pope and the Vatican
Jerusalem Post, November 7; Haaretz, November 7; Makor Rishon, November 7, 2007
All three of these articles dealt with the "first ever meeting between a pontiff and a reigning Saudi monarch" - King Abdullah's audience with Benedict XVI last Tuesday. Given Abdullah's position as "the protector of Islam's holiest sites," the Pope fulfilled expectations by raising the question of the "positive presence and work of Christians" in the kingdom and pressing the issue of the ban on open Christian worship and the building of churches (Jerusalem Post, November 7). The meeting came at the request of Abdullah, who is currently touring Europe, the Pope apparently responding as part of his effort to "reach out to all countries that still don't have diplomatic relations with the Holy See, which include Saudi Arabia and China." According to the reports, "The talks were 'warm' and allowed a wide discussion on the need for interreligious and intercultural dialogue among Christians, Muslims and Jews 'for the promotion of peace, justice and spiritual and moral values, especially in support of the family,' the Vatican said in a statement."
Christian Media
Haaretz, November 1, 2007
The continuing saga of Daystar's removal from HOT's cable package has reached the Supreme Court, which heard the former's complaint against the latter this week. The charge claims that while HOT gave the reason for the removal of the Christian broadcasting channel from its cable package as "religious pressure," Daystar has good reason to believe that the true reason lay with the coercion exerted on the cable company by the Orthodox Minister of Communication. In this context, the removal of the station constitutes, in Daystar's opinion, a violation of the freedom of expression: "We would not wish to imagine the possibility that in America Jewish broadcasting channels would be stopped on the grounds that their very existence impinges on the religious sensitivities of some of its citizens."
Christians in the Holocaust
HaModia, November 11, 2007
According to this report, an ancient Torah scroll, rescued from a synagogue in Cologne on Kristallnacht by a Lutheran pastor, has been restored - both physically and geographically. Gustav Meinertz saved the scroll and hid it in his own home. When the war ended, he returned it to survivors who came back to live in the city. The funds for its restoration were provided by the Archbishop of Cologne. It now resides in the new location of the synagogue, on Roosnstrasse.
October 23, 2007
Christian Zionism
Makor Rishon, October 12; HaShavua B'Yerushalayim, October 11; Hadashot Netanya, October 12; Haaretz, October 12, 15; Jerusalem Post, October 18, 2007
Haaretz (October 12) carried an article about the Christian Zionist Sukkot festivities in Jerusalem (see previous Reviews). Relating to Uri Lupolianski's decision not to participate, ICEJ Director Michael Hedding noted: "'We deeply regret that the mayor couldn't come down to see us here at Jerusalem's biggest annual tourist event. Of course, we all know why he didn't come,' he added, hinting at the Chief Rabbinate's ban" on all Jewish participation. "'The people who banned the event are motivated by ignorance and are working out of isolation. But the state is behind us, and religious figures too. We had prominent rabbis come here. Dudu Fisher even came to sing.' Other guests included the families of Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, the two Israeli soldiers Hezbollah kidnapped last year." According to the report, "Palestinian Christians stayed away because to many of them, the pro-Zionist Evangelicals are ignoring their own brothers and sisters in Christ ... At the Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center Sabeel in East Jerusalem, such shows of support for Israel by fellow Christians are seen as a form of estrangement from the Palestinian community. 'This is the result of a right-wing highjacking of the evangelistic movement,' Sabeel spokesman Jonathan Kuttab told Haaretz this week."
In a separate report on the same page, the observance of the fifth annual Prayer for the Peace of Jerusalem was noted - a ceremony conducted in Jerusalem and broadcast live in 192 countries. "'From small tribal villages in Africa, to the mega-churches of America, Christians around the world were united in prayer on Sunday to demonstrate their allegiance with the biblical command to pray for the peace of Jerusalem,' Robert Stearns, founder of the initiative, said."
Following the Christian Sukkot festivities, Jewish tempers were running hot. Mina Fenton, responsible for foreign relations in the Jerusalem municipal council and a fervent anti-missionary activist, wrote a letter to Makor Rishon (October 12) denouncing the paper's printing of a photo of "a large group of Christian pilgrims carrying a huge banner inscribed with the Tetragrammaton in large Hebrew letters." Her protest centered around the fact that this constitutes an expression of contempt for Judaism and its faith and that Christians believe that the Tetragrammaton is a "designation for 'that man' who is 'God-man and Messiah.'" She also objected to another banner, this one expressing "that man's reign over Jerusalem." Fenton's opinion was that the photo clearly indicated the marchers' true purpose: "The strengthening of their faith and the hastening of their vision, the exaltation of 'that man' precisely in the streets of Jerusalem, his reign over the city and the whole world, the preaching of the gospel from Jerusalem during the march, when thousands of Israeli Jews are cheering them." Fenton claimed that many missionary organizations participated in the march, including the "Messianic Jewish movements which believe in 'that man.'"
Fenton's efforts were further directed toward the dismissal of the director of the municipal authority's Sports Division, the person responsible for the organization of the Sukkot march (HaShavua B'Yerushalayim, October 11). Her claim is that the participation of a much larger number than actually registered constituted a violation of the law. Her true objection lies elsewhere, of course: In her eyes, "the march has turned in recent years into a tool of Christian pilgrims for their Christian-religious purposes which scorn and trample upon the sacred objects of the Jewish people and its faith." The fact that such missionary activity has been allowed to flourish is despicable - and someone must pay.
Attitudes were very different in Netanya, where the city's hotels were filled with Christian pilgrims over Sukkot (Hadashot Netanya, October 12). Special events were organized for the predominantly Swedish and German tourists, who enjoyed a folklore evening in one of the hotels and another in Beit Yochanan with the participation of a Swedish choir.
The Jerusalem Post (October 18) reported on the 6,000-strong twenty-sixth evangelical "Night to Honor Israel" in San Antonio, Texas, organized by John Hagee this week. While some Jewish circles have grave reservations regarding Christian Zionists, this evening was apparently marked by complete unanimity: "If there was one thing missing from the evening, it was nuance. Everyone spoke in superlatives, from Hagee to Jewish talk-show host and keynote speaker Dennis Prager to the Israeli government representatives," while a "common thread" also ran throughout the night: "'Jews look around the world today,' the pastor [Hagee] said, 'searching for allies. You look at the United Nations, that new Tower of Babel. You look to Europe, where the specter of Hitler walks anew. You look to the universities, with their professors backed by Arab money. A new Holocaust seems around the corner. You feel alone. But on behalf of 50 million Evangelicals,' he finished, to shouts of 'Amen' and wild applause, 'I tell you: Israel is not alone!'"
On a different note, Haaretz (October 15) devoted a lengthy article to the German kosher beer "Simcha," whose market success appears to growing in leaps and bounds (see previous Reviews). Objections to its sale are being raised, however, due to claims that while the beer itself might technically be kosher, "'those who are selling it are definitely not. They have contacts with Messianic organizations in Germany and Israel,' says Haim Guski, who writes of the missionary roots of 'Simcha' in his blog Sprachkasse, which documents Jewish life in Germany." It appears that one of the partners in the company producing the beer is Wilfried Guther, owner of a store selling Christian literature, who "identifies himself as a Christian Zionist and as the leader of the organization 'Friends of Israel in Saxony' ... a German Christian evangelical pro-Israel organization." Guther himself argues that the beer has no connection with any missionary activity: "He hopes that the beer will 'demonstrate to Germany the positive side of Israelis' and believes that the dialog between the two states will be conducted more successfully over a mug of beer rather than a glass of water. 'Beer is good for conversation,' he explains." Originally from East Germany, after the fall of the Berlin wall Guther visited Israel before he did West Germany. He plans to donate a percentage of the revenues from Simcha's sales to charities in Israel.
Christian Tourism
Yediot Ahronot, October 15; Yediot Yerushalayim, October 12, 2007
Even if beer is better than water for conversation, holy water is still one of the central attractions for Christian pilgrims. Unfortunately, the water in Mary's well in Ein Karem is currently being contaminated with sewage from local houses not yet connected to the city's system. According to a report in Yediot Yerushalayim (October 12), "Mary's well is considered to be one of the most important tourist sites. According to Christian tradition, Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, met Mary, Yeshu's mother, right next to the well - and thence its name. Christians regard the water from the well as holy and pilgrims from all over the world who come to the place fill bottles from it." Despite the sewage problem, pilgrims are apparently still continuing to visit the site.
Similar bottles of holy water are causing unanticipated problems for the Vatican's new airline: security regulations prohibit the taking of bottles of water on flights (Yediot Ahronot, October 15). Vatican officials are currently consulting with security experts in an attempt to resolve the issue. "Without the holy water from the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan, the pilgrims won't be completely happy," a Vatican official was quoted as stating.
Christians in Israel
Tzomet HaSharon, October 12; Ma'ariv, October 12, 2007
In a rather ironic turn of events, foreign workers in Israel seeking a place in which to worship have been offered the use of the local synagogue (Tzomet HaSharon, October 12). Following the destruction of the building in Kfar Shmaryahu where they were accustomed to worshipping, the workers met to pray in one of its public buildings. Their request to continue to do so was turned down by the local council: "The council does not possess any places of worship. There's a synagogue which serves all the streams of Judaism and is run by the religious council."
According to a report in Ma'ariv (October 12), the church of Mivdad Netofa in the Galilee was originally presided over by Father Ya'akov, who bought the site for the Catholic Church in the 1950s. The Dutch priest survived the Nazi invasion of his homeland and "arrived in Israel with the church's blessing. As a lover of Israel, he chose to purchase the land on the top of the hill as a hermit's residence. The good-willed Father adopted the members of all the faiths around him." Upon his death, and in accordance with his wishes that his legacy should be continued, the site has been occupied by three monks and seven nuns from the Silesian Order in Beit Jamal near Beit Shemesh and the church in Bethlehem.
The Pope and the Vatican
Israel HaYom, October 14, 2007
According to this brief report, the Vatican is set to publicize "disturbing testimonies concerning the period of the crusades ... which are expected to expose a period of sins, adulteries, lies, and intrigues during the pilgrimage to the Holy Land at the end of the middle ages."
Film
Ma'ariv, October 14, 2007
Meir Shnitzer reviewed Raphael Nadjari's film "Psalms" (Israel, 2007) in Ma'ariv (October 14). The film focuses on an Orthodox Jewish family in Jerusalem whose father figure, Eli, suddenly disappears, and his son Menachem's efforts to trace him. Jerusalem and a lost father serve as two of the central motifs and, as Shnitzer states, one needs to "reacquaint oneself with the biblical sources which constitute its basis" in order to understand the movie. Shnitzer implies that the film intends to juxtapose the "father of Christianity" with the father of an Orthodox Jewish family. He suggests a parallelism between Eli's family and Yeshua on the grounds of Jesus' last words on the cross in Hebrew/Aramaic - "my God, my God (Eli, Eli)" - by associating this utterance with the family's mourning, reciting such psalms as "I cry aloud with my voice to the LORD; I make supplication with my voice to the LORD" (Ps. 142:1) and Menachem's feeling of abandonment: "Daddy Eli, why have you forsaken me?" According to the review, the crucifixion represents Jesus' loneliness - reflected in Eli's family's "orphanhood" when he disappears. Shnitzer asserts that the film's central scene is an outstanding example of the "complexity of the interfaith dialog" the film embodies: "The son, Menachem, stands in the heart of Jerusalem distributing books of the Psalms to passersby and attempting to persuade them to pray by means of a financial enticement which he waves in front of their faces. An action in complete contradistinction to that which Yeshua performed when he came to Jerusalem on the eve of his crucifixion and overturned the tables of the moneychangers in the Temple courts because they were replacing prayer with financial business." Although the review is somewhat obscure, it is clear that Shnitzer himself is very knowledgeable about Christianity and the New Testament.
October 10, 2007
Missionary and Anti-Missionary Activity
Makor Rishon, September 23; HaShavua B'Yerushalayim, September 20; Al HaMakom, September 23 pp. 10, 12; HaZofeh, September 26; Jerusalem Post, September 24, 2007
Al HaMakom (September 23, p. 10) and HaZofeh (September 26) both carried the story of the anonymous Messianic Jew who allegedly renounced his faith (see previous Reviews).
A review article by Rabbi Shlomo Aviner entitled "The Christian enemy - the eternal enemy," which was published in Makor Rishon (September 23), surveys the history of Christian missionizing. Starting from Augustine and John Chrysostom, Aviner moved on to Vatican II which, he argued, may have exempted the Jews from the collective guilt of Jesus' death, but then "transferred it to the Jewish leaders, i.e., the Sanhedrin, i.e., the pharisians [sic], which as we all know represents the insult par excellence for Christians." Aviner continued to list the "sins" of the Catholic Church: "Behind this gesture [of the Nostre Aetate] lies the pro-Arab Catholic policy hidden under the guise of neutrality, its support of terror organizations under the guise of justice [tzedek] and humanitarianism, and the rest of its duplicitous ways of undermining the stability of the State of Israel." The Protestants fare no better. While they may not openly shed Jewish blood, their affection - as expressed in the form of Christian Zionism - is like a bear hug which "swallows its prey." The Protestant goal is the annihilation of the Jewish people through a "general anesthetic, i.e., apostasy." According to Aviner, there are eight thousand full-time missionaries in Israel, with another "several tens of thousands" part-time workers. The rabbi focuses much of his attention on the International Christian Embassy, an "umbrella organization" which includes "many other organizations, especially the Messianic Jews who, according to reliable figures, number around 15,000 in the country, some of them apostates (information about all of these may be found on Yad L'Achim's web site)." He concludes: "We thought that we had got rid of them [the missionaries]. We thought that they were our friends [the Christian Zionists]. We were wrong. The Jews are our friends, not the Messianic Jews - but true and innocent Jews."
Two further articles, in Al HaMakom (September 23, p. 12) and HaShavua B'Yerushalayim (September 20), covered the Chief Rabbinate's ban on all Jewish participation in the Christian Sukkot celebrations (see previous Review). The first reported that "the estimate for the extent of the [Messianic Jewish] movement today stands at 15,000 Jews who have converted and are members of 'Messianic Jewish' congregations [kehilot] (according to the book Facts & Myths [original in English]). The essence of their activity is the distortion of the Jewish significance and basis of the Torah, the Bible, and the festivals, and their being made over in a Christian image." HaShavua B'Yerushalayim raised the familiar issue of why the International Convention Center should be allowed to stubbornly insist on hosting the "missionary" events, which were due to include "well-known missionaries, Messianic Jews, Maoz, Tikkun, Dugit, Ebenezer, and Mishkan" - all of which organizations "deliberately make use of Jewish names which cause many to fall into their trap." (Al HaMakom also includes "Jehovah's Witnesses" in this list.) According to this report, despite the rabbinic ban on Jewish participation, the well-known singer and cantor Dudu Fisher accepted an invitation to attend, asserting that "he was participating in the event with the approval of his rabbi and even gave the rabbi's name to those who asked him for it." The paper claimed that when it turned to the rabbi itself, he denied having given permission to anyone to participate and became very angry when he learned that his name was being mentioned in such a context. [Editor's note: It would appear that these articles gained access to a list of Messianic ministries in Israel which includes a printing house, a coffee shop, and a care home for the elderly. Mishkan is a theological journal published by the Pasche Institute of Jewish Studies in cooperation with Caspari Center, and we can unequivocally state that neither Mishkan nor Caspari Center had any role in the Sukkot celebrations organized by the International Christian Embassy. Facts and Myths About the Messianic Congregations in Israel was published by the UCCI, in conjunction with Caspari Center, in 1999. It gives a figure of around 5,000 for the total number in the Messianic congregations in Israel at that time. There is no agreement on the number of Messianic believers today; 15,000 is most likely an unrealistically high number.]
The Jerusalem Post of September 24 printed two letters in relation to Christian Zionism. The first, from Haim Lerner in Ganei Tikva, related to the Zion Oil & Gas company's drilling, claiming that "the relatively paltry sum of $650,000 does not counter the countless generations of suffering and death of our ancestors in the name of Christianity." The second, from Josef Gilboa, reflects a positive Jewish attitude towards Christian Zionism along with an anti-Orthodox stance: "After encouraging a potentially disastrous shmita boycott of Jewish agriculture, the Rabbinate is now attacking the last large constituency in the world that unconditionally supports the Zionist idea, the Evangelicals. It's time to ask the haredi leaders and their allies just what side they are on ... The rabbis fear that ignorant Jews may be tempted by these missionaries; but they should first consider how their policies have made Judaism so unpalatable to so many Jews, who then seek spiritual comfort in foreign cultures."
Christian Zionism
Haaretz, October 2; Yediot Ahronot, October 1; Makor Rishon, October 1; Israel HaYom, September 30; Jerusalem Post, September 23; Ma'ariv, September 30, 2007
Five of these pieces welcomed the phenomenon of Christian Zionism, whose origins in nineteenth-century Britain Elyakim Ha'etzni reviewed in his article in Yediot Ahronot (October 1), which he concluded by blessing the pilgrims: "May you enter our sukka in peace, dear friends. May God grant that people like you may increase greatly." One article (Makor Rishon, October 1) reported on the "rival" celebrations held by the ICZC in Tel Aviv, under Jan Wilhem Van der Hoeven's directorship. The 500 participants were due to march around the government offices in Tel Aviv "as a sign of identification with the IDF and security forces," and then gather for a "convention of support" in Dizengoff Center.
The sixth piece (Haaretz, October 2) reported on developments concerning the establishment of a Christian "spiritual center" in the Galilee (see previous Reviews). Originally initiated by evangelicals, with the support of the former Minister of Tourism, Avraham Hirshson, the project has gradually lost momentum. It is now apparently being revived through the support of new investors who wish to turn the center into a generally Christian - rather than specifically evangelical - site, attuned to "experience" rather than "spirituality." The new center, due to be built on 12 dunams of land at the north end of the Sea of Galilee, will include "a interactive information center, a center for direct television broadcasting from the Sea of Galilee, a travel-guide center for routes of 'the Land of Yeshu,' and more." The center will be surrounded by a park which will contain "trails, water points, seating areas, and prayer corners for sites from the New Testament." The article also contained a brief definition of "evangelicals" for its readers: "Evangelists [the Hebrew term for evangelicals] are a designation for a group of Protestant churches, mostly American. These Christian streams emphasize the idea of 'new birth,' believe in the struggle against Satan, and hold radical right-wing views. Their strong belief in the Bible leads them to fervent support of the State of Israel on the basis of their belief that they must hasten the battle of Gog and Magog. Evangelical preachers have a great influence on top executives in Bush's administration."
Christians in Israel
Yediot Ahronot, September 24, 2007
This piece reported on the unfortunate death of a five-year-old girl in Zichron Ya'akov, whose parents belong to a German Christian group apparently called "Beth-El." The group was begun by Emma Berger in 1963, who came to the country convinced that Armageddon would occur in 2000 and that Israel was the safest place to be at that time. It now numbers around 700, mostly in Zichron Ya'akov and Binyamina, and operates a factory named "Noah's Ark" which manufactures filter systems against chemical, biological, and atomic weapons. The event made the news because the parents do not believe in the use of medical treatment. Most regrettably, while they do allow such treatment to be administered in emergencies, their daughter had already died by the time the ambulance and paramedics arrived.
Christian Sites
Yediot Ahronot, September 24, 2007
In a piece on Banias, in the north of the country, Yediot Ahronot (September 24) noted that "Christian pilgrims are very moved here when they laud one of the most significant events in Christianity which occurred at Banias. Here Peter said to Yeshu: 'You are the Messiah, Son of the living God,' and at that time [Yeshua] bestowed upon him the keys of the kingdom of heaven."
Interfaith Activity
Jerusalem Post, September 21; Kol-Bo, September 26, 2007
The Jerusalem Post (September 21) printed an article on the appearance of a unique "'multi-faith' Jewish renewal gathering" in Jerusalem. "Nava Tehilla" is a Jewish synagogue open to people of all faiths: "Co-founder Michael Kagan stresses that Nava Tehilla is not an 'interfaith' minyan. 'We're not taking a bit of Christianity and Muslim prayer, adding a Buddhist meditation and doing some Jewish stuff. We do a completely Jewish Friday night service and invite people from all faiths to share in the prayer.'" According to the piece, "Nava Tehilla draws its eclectic congregation from a funky mix of New Age-inspired Jews - both Anglos and veteran Israelis, secular and religious - who come from as far away as Tel Aviv and Beersheba; several Western-leaning Muslim Sufi sheikhs; and a Catholic order of nuns known as the Beatitudes who live near Latrun in the center of the country and regularly attend Jewish services around Jerusalem."
According to a report in Kol-Bo (September 26), the prestigious Reali school in Haifa is due to open a new institute in the coming school year - "an international center for education, tolerance, and peace, which will unite under one framework activities which are already taking place around the school." The board created to advise and supervise the new center will include Archbishop Dr. Elias Chacour, Prof. Feisel Azeiza from the Jewish-Arab Center at Haifa University, Prof. Baruch Nevo of Haifa University and the Institute for Demography in Jerusalem, and Dahlia Dorner, a retired Supreme Court judge and herself a graduate of the school.
Anti-Semitism
Ma'ariv, September 30, 2007
A disturbing article in Ma'ariv (September 30) reported on the experiences of a Jewish soldier in the American army, who discovered that it is gradually becoming a fundamental Christian stronghold. When he told his fellow soldiers that he was Jewish he became known as that "****ing Jew" and was accused of killing Christ. He also found that watching Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ was obligatory, together with the playing of computer games which portray an American soldier in Iraq whose duty is to destroy any non-Christian - Muslim or Jew. Weinstein, who has become the object of hate and death threats on account of his organization, "Military Freedom of Religion," claims that "these games blur the distinction between Muslim fanatics and Christian fanatics." According to him, "The American army is totally infected by radical Christians who receive support from their leaders and from people in positions of power."
August 29, 2007
Jerusalem Post, August 17; Arei Modi'in, August 17, 2007
An article in the Jerusalem Post (August 17) reported that long-time residents of the local Messianic community, Ron and Carol Cantrell, have recently been denied permanent residency and asked to leave the country within two weeks. Ron Cantrell worked for Bridges for Peace for eighteen years, and had received a clergy visa through that organization. When he left Bridges and the couple set up their own ministry, "Shalom Shalom Jerusalem," however, they were reduced to a tourist visa, valid for three months and renewable only by going out of the country and reentering. Two of their children have married Israelis. The article concluded with the statement, "The issue underscored the delicate balancing act evangelical supporters of Israel face, between proselytizing, which is banned in Israel, and their fundamental belief that the return of the Jews to the Holy Land was foretold in the Scriptures and heralds the return of the Messiah."
Under the subheading "Dugi Israeli aggravates the farmers' rebellion; Moshe Spector and Yoram Carmon welcome the businesses; the vet of the local council gives good criticism from the pets' corner at Nairobi Plants; and the Messianic Jews don't understand what the residents of Buchman want from them," Arei Modi'in (August 17) ran a sequel to its earlier report on the flooding of the Orthodox neighborhood with "Christian" tracts. "The rabbi of the Messianic congregation Kalisher Menahem [Meno] said this week, in response to the publication last week in Arei Modi'in of complaints by the residents of the Buchman quarter against comic strip leaflets about Yeshua the Messiah that were placed in their mail boxes, that 'the pamphlet "Behold, He is coming" is not printed or distributed by our congregation. Its owner put the number of our congregation on it apparently so that readers could turn to us with any questions about its content. Distributing literature in mail boxes is not illegal, and many people in Israel believe that Yeshua is indeed the Jewish Messiah, as the biblical prophecies indicate.'"
HaTzvi, August 9, 16; Zman Haifa, August 17; Al HaMakom, August 16; Yom L'Yom, August 16; HaMahane HeHaredi, August 16; BeKehila, August 16; Mishpaha, August 16; HaModia, August 17, 2007
HaTzvi printed five letters protesting Yakim Figueras' response to the article on Eddie Beckford (see previous Reviews). The first set (August 9) included one from neighbors, who complained about the use of a private residence for congregational purposes, citing the noise of the singing and the lack of parking space, as well as Christian history, as the reason for objecting to the presence of the Messianic community. The second letter from this date noted that because the police weren't taking due action, the Jewish religious authorities were doing so by exposing the disguises under which the missionaries are undertaking their activities. The third letter claimed that Yakim's argument that they were the only people suffering in Arad was true - because "the main element in 'Messianic' faith is the commandment to baptize Jews to Christianity." Those people who "get up early on Shabbat morning, march on foot in the heat in summer and in the wind in winter, to the other end of the city in order to protest in legal ways (which is why the police do not take action against them) to save Jews from spiritual destruction" are only to be praised. The final letter takes Yakim himself to task for personal involvement in the violence he claims to abhor. It cites charges filed against Yakim for "an attempt at running someone over" (271/05), against Yakim's wife, Debbie, "for assault" (229456/07), against "Eddie Beckford and his wife Lura, against Simeon Plinner [?], Ehud Amana, Rebecca Frey, Belinda Graham, and others." The writer adds that further information concerning all these charges were attached to the letter. The letter concludes: "Yakim, in the face of such systematic violence, words and denunciations aren't enough, you must take some action!!! Take responsibility over yourself and over the members of your missionary cult and stop the violence, immediately! Lest it's too late!!!"
The first letter of the second set (August 16) was written by a family who had vacationed in Arad and been greatly disturbed by the fact that they had been given a tract at the entrance to a public concert, which they took before they realized it was missionary literature. How can this be the ideal city of which Ben Gurion dreamed? The second stated that despite the fact that Figueras' article had been "full of lies," the authors wished to relate to only one "serious charge" - that "we had, as it were, been distributing seditious literature against their parents' faith to their children. The pages we distributed contained only quotations from the New Testament which Mr. Figueras is concealing from the eyes of the Jews who have fallen into his clutches. Seditious literature is defined as: 'The dissemination of material from sources which oppose the teaching of the addressee.' In contrast, we made sure that we only cited from the New Testament, a book they espouse." The verses cited included, according to the report, John 8:44 ("You are sons of the devil"), 1 Thessalonians 2:15 ("they [the Jews in Judaea] are not pleasing to God and are hostile to all men"), and Jesus' words in Luke 19:27 ("But these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here, and slay them in my presence") - all quoted without the context in which they were made, especially damning in the last case, which is, of course, a parable.
Yom L'Yom (August 17) carried the story of Eddie Beckford first printed in HaTzvi, while Al HaMakom (August 16) reprinted the report on the Tel Aviv soup kitchen.
Another believer was also involved with anti-missionaries last week, according to an article published in several papers (HaModia, August 17; HaMahane HeHaredi, August 16; BeKehila, August 16; Mishpaha, August 16). The report alleged that Shimon Nahum of "Mevaseret Malkhut" [Herald of the Kingdom] phoned Yad L'Achim's offices last week and asked to speak with Binyamin Kluger. Kluger - as the articles detail - was once a believer who, since his conversion, has spearheaded Yad L'Achim's anti-missionary activities in Jerusalem. The story asserts that Nahum asked Kluger to stop interfering in the lives of the members of his congregation. When Kluger inquired as to the nature of the supposed interference, Nahum "began to become nasty and said angrily that 'there are members of the congregation who want to convert under the Rabbinate and you are interfering and stopping them from doing so.'" The reports allege that there are many such gentiles in Israel who join the struggle to turn Jews to Christianity. Kluger informed Nahum that such activity was not only a deception of the Rabbinate but also a violation of their Messianic faith. "After the missionary unloaded his anger, Rabbi Kluger explained to him the gravity of this deception ... At this point, the missionary began to threaten and assert the reason for the phone call. 'You'd better be careful ... We will take care of you step by step.' When the fact that such threats and others wouldn't work and that violent action wouldn't stop Yad L'Achim from fighting the attempts at spiritual destruction, the missionary continued with serious threats and added that 'After we take care of you, we'll take care of your children and they will die one by one'" (HaMahane HeHaredi, August 16). Yad L'Achim's director advised Kluger to file a complaint with the police.
An anti-missionary piece of a different sort - but indicative of some of the same attitudes - appeared in Zman Haifa (August 17). People in the city are up in arms against missionary activity - but this time conducted by an Orthodox rabbi who has been holding lectures in the municipal theater to bring Jews back into the religious fold. Numerous theater subscribers are apparently considering canceling their subscriptions, being unwilling to support a public place which allows itself to act as a forum for such activities. According to a city council member, Prof. Moshe Bakar, "We cannot prevent missionary activity that turns people back to religion and encourages them not to serve in the army. But the Haifa municipality, and all its public institutions, including the theater, must not give a hand to this missionary activity. If a missionary had come to convert people to Christianity, there would undoubtedly have been an outcry that the municipality was supporting this. To the same extent there is no place for the municipality to take part in this activity and allow his [the rabbi's] appearance in the theater." The theater itself is nonplussed by all the fuss; after all, it's purely a financial matter: "The theater rents out its halls to any one who pays on time and in cash."
Yediot Ahronot, August 19; Ma'ariv, August 23, 2007
The removal of Day Star from HOT's broadcasting channel is, according to Yediot Ahronot (August 19), "developing into an international scandal." The Christian station, upset at what it regards as religious discrimination - no other country has banned it from broadcasting simply because it is a religious station - is planning to screen a protest program on its broadcasts worldwide, which will put Israel in a very bad light. "The harm: damage to Israel's image in the eyes of hundreds of millions of Christians." Day Star is also proposing to appeal to the Knesset Economic Committee for a discussion of the issue. The station knows that the Knesset itself has "a very broad lobby of MKs who appreciate the work of Christian organizations. I assume that they will be able to express their dissatisfaction with what is happening. We must find a way to leave the station open," said one of its Israeli representatives. Despite the threatened action, however, the cable authorities are still claiming that it has no warrant to intervene. HOT is also refusing to make any comment.
A response of a rather different kind came in the form of a letter printed in Ma'ariv (August 23). The writer suggested that had it been a Jewish station that was being removed from European television, the ensuing scandal would have provoked a third world war. "But with us, here in Israel, anything goes. We've already been talking about the removal of Day Star for a month, and no one cares. How can a Jewish State allow such a thing to happen? Where are all the human rights organizations? Where are all the enlightened MKs? Where are the Christians? Is there not one righteous person in Sodom? Who will protect the rights of Christians in the State of the Jews?"
Ma'ariv, August 21; Jerusalem Post, August 21; Yediot Bika'at Ono, August 17; Ha'Ir - Tel Aviv, August 17, 2007
The plight of the mainly Christian Sudanese refugees has reached a new height with the recent change in policy on the part of the Israeli government (Jerusalem Post, August 21). Despite protests that the Jewish State, of all places and people, should recognize and help such refugees, the government appears to have become overwhelmed at the thought of the sheer numbers which might arrive. It has therefore decided it will not offer asylum to the Darfur refugees. As many as 50 a day are coming, and they are being aided by the International Christian Embassy. "'When you sit in a Western country, where there is freedom of religion, it is hard to understand what it means to be afraid of being killed because of your faith,' said Charmaine Hedding of the International Christian Embassy, who is leading the Sudanese refugee assistance program. In a delicate balancing act, Hedding conceded that Israel must decide what is best for itself as a country, but said Christians around the world could be enlisted to support and take in the Christian refugees, instead of sending them to Egypt, where, she noted, they face religious persecution." The Simon Wiesenthal Center's reaction was to the complete contrary: "'This is not a question of saving people from genocide, but about economic refugees who come here to improve the quality of their life,' said the organization's chief Nazi hunter, Ephraim Zuroff." According to the report, the Israeli government has agreed to allow 500 - mostly Muslim - refugees to stay in the country for humanitarian reasons.
Under the headline "Most of the Sudanese refugees in Israel: Christians who are not from Darfur," Ma'ariv (August 21) reported that the Christian refugees are being aided in crossing the border from Egypt to Israel by the council of churches, although it wasn't clear whether this was the WCC. In a related piece, it reported that Israel was being denounced in the international press for expelling the refugees and not taking an "ethical responsibility towards the victims of genocide." The question is being raised, particularly in Italy and Latin American countries, why the "Jewish State," which was "founded against the background of genocide, executed by the Nazis, isn't absorbing refugees." According to this article, the most vehement uproar came from the American press: "There was almost no paper or internet site which failed to report the Israeli decision, and every feature opened with the headline 'Israel expels Darfur refugees.'"
According to another report (Ha'Ir - Tel Aviv, August 17), the refugees in Tel Aviv are also being assisted by Christian churches in the city whose primary aid goes to foreign workers, prominently Philippinos. "'We all have one God,' said the pastor [of the Philippino church near the bus station], Germia, of Nigerian origin, after a prayer in which he asked that the refugees be encouraged by saying that 'when we come close to God we feel refreshed as if we've changed clothes. I promise you that if you pray you will see immediate results.'"
Philippinos were also in the news in their own right. In a piece on the disaster which he considers the new central bus station in Tel Aviv, Yakir Elkariv in Yediot Bika'at Ono (August 17) described how he came across a church in a shop near the bus station, filled with Philippinos. They were very wary of him and took a long time convincing that he was not from the immigration police - especially because the shop does belong to them.
Haaretz, August 22, 2007
Despite the recent events in Afghanistan, the Korean Christian tourists courted by the Minister of Tourism are still due to arrive. Although the conference planned for their visit has been cancelled for fear of conducting Christian religious events at this time, the pilgrims will come, and Korean Air has agreed to inaugurate three weekly flights from Seoul to Tel Aviv, starting from April 2008, designed to double the current number of tourists.
Index HaGalil, August 10; Haaretz, August 20; Yediot Tveria, August 10, 2007
All three papers carried the story of the findings of an archaeological excavation carried out on behalf of the Mekorot water company, which is seeking to run a new sewage pipe through Tiberias. Excavations are required by law in such cases, and the results this time around have been very impressive. A Byzantine church was discovered in the heart of the city, with colorful mosaics which included crosses. The presence of the latter indicates that the church predates 427, when the Church forbade crosses in floor mosaics since it considered the fact that they would be walked on dishonoring to the symbol. The dating also provides evidence that the Jewish city did not prevent Christians from erecting religious edifices during this period, as historians have argued up until now. Three dedicatory inscriptions were found in Greek, one of which read: "Save the soul of your servant, our Lord." Another mosaic contains the alpha and omega - "one of the designations of Yeshu." Other archaeological findings prove that Tiberias was already inhabited during the Bronze Age.
According to Haaretz (August 20), the first church in Tiberias was erected at the instigation of one Joseph, a Jewish believer who "diligently promoted the Christian faith in the middle of the fourth century in the lower Galilee." This Joseph drew the attention of Constantine, who gave him the title "komes" (count), and the authority to build churches. The incident is related by Epiphanius, who states that Joseph eventually constructed a small church in Tiberias before moving on to greater edifices in Beit Shean, Tzippori (Sefforis), and Capernaum. These findings are therefore probably not of Joseph's building, but archaeologists do suggest that they witness to the first Christian construction in the city.
August 14, 2007
HaTzvi, July 26, August 2; Jerusalem Post, August 9, 2007
Yakim Figueras, the pastor of the Arad congregation, wrote a letter to HaTzvi (August 2) distancing the Messianic community from all acts of violence. "I want to express unambiguously my disgust at any act of violence which may perhaps have been committed by Messianic Jews in Arad. We reject violence, we oppose it in all its forms, denounce it, and preach against it. Yeshua teaches us the contrary - to pray for those who persecute us and to seek their welfare." He went on to explain that the harassment the congregation has experienced - which he detailed - has provoked some of the community to acts from which they would normally refrain. He himself ignored several suggestions - including one from a police officer - to retaliate with force. The police themselves, and also the mayor, he stated, were claiming that they could do little to stop the provocations. He concluded by saying: "By the way, according to my understanding, the second case of violence noted in the article [published in the paper on July 26] relating to a 'missionary' was not carried out by any missionary whatsoever but by an elderly atheist, who regularly plays at the chess club mentioned. I write in my name and in the name of the Messianic congregation, Chasdei Yeshua, which meets in a house on Gilad St. We share the same faith as those who run the chess club and we are their brothers - but we have no connection to or part in what happened there."
The second article (Jerusalem Post, August 9) mentioned Messianic Jews in passing, being a report on "The Holy Land Experience," a Christian theme park in Orlando, Florida. The "living biblical museum," as its owners like to call it, aims at recreating the Jerusalem of biblical times, including a reenactment of Jesus' crucifixion. The site not only contains a scriptorium reportedly holding the largest collection of rare Bibles and artifacts outside the Vatican, but also shops selling souvenirs - "Bibles and other Christian items, including a genealogical map linking Adam to Jesus, handbags, necklaces and T-shirts. The shops also sell yarmulkes and menorahs, targeted at Messianic Jews, who believe in Jesus as the Messiah."
HaTzvi, July 26; HaTzofeh, August 10; HaModia, August 9, pp. 2, 8, 2007
As noted above, HaTzvi (July 26) ran a report on the alleged events in Arad covered in last week's Review. While the two articles were fundamentally identical, this one did not mention anyone by name.
Following the incursion of the "Obey the Lord Today" group onto a military base (see previous Reviews) - called 1a "severe security failure" - MK Meir Porush has brought a question to the Minister of Defense, asking whether it is legal for missionaries to enter military bases (HaTzofeh, August 10; HaModia, August 2, p. 2). "Is not the entrance of missionaries to any military base a violation of the law? Does their entrance by deceptive means not prove apparently that terrorists or other hostile forces can enter military bases and camps? Does the Minister of Defense intend to investigate the incident and take measures?" While the report in HaTzofeh indicated that Porush had warned that the missionaries were planning similar events on other bases, it also indicated that the paper had obtained information that such events had already taken place - "but the missionaries had not succeeded in entering the bases and held their performances outside, so that they did not require a permit."
A second feature in the same paper (August 9, p. 9) reported Yad L'Achim's discovery of a new "missionary center" in the heart of Tel Aviv, masquerading as a soup kitchen. Not only are the needy people who attend provided with fresh sandwiches, but when they leave they are given free literature describing the life of "that man." According to the piece, Yad L'Achim claims that the soup kitchen constitutes "a clear violation of Israeli law, which forbids any kind of missionary activity in exchange for benefits." The organization asserts that the soup kitchen is run by "Calvary Chapel Institute" in cooperation with the "Messianic Jews." About three hundred people receive hot meals in their homes weekly from the organization, which also offers a range of social services, including clothing and medical treatment. As per their usual mode of operation, Yad L'Achim contacted the owner of the building from whom the soup kitchen is renting the premises. Having been informed of the deception being practiced on him, the latter is now taking legal steps to try to cancel the three-year lease signed with the organization. A picture of the building appeared at the top of the article, with the caption: "May the public know and be warned."
Haaretz, August 3; Ma'ariv, August 7; Makor Rishon, August 7; Yediot Ahronot, August 7; Jerusalem Post, August 7; Metro Israel, August 6, 2007
The deaths of two outstanding Catholic figures are marked in this week's press. The first article (Haaretz, August 3) appeared on the thirty-day memorial for Marcel Dubois, a prominent Dominican who lived in Israel most of his life and contributed greatly to Israeli society (see previous Reviews).
The media also noted the death of Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger, who died this past week of cancer at age 80. The Cardinal, who served as Archbishop of Paris until a few years ago and was mentioned as a possible successor to his close friend and mentor, Pope John Paul II, was born Aaron Lustiger in France in 1926. His mother, Gisele, perished in Auschwitz; Aaron was saved by being sent away with his sister. He became a Catholic in 1940, at the age of 14, yet always considered himself to be Jewish: "'For me it was never an instance of denying my Jewish identity. On the contrary' ... 'Christianity is the fruit of Judaism'" (Jerusalem Post, August 7). When he was invited - controversially - to address the World Jewish Congress, Lustiger spoke to reporters "and declared as always: 'I consider myself both Christian and Jewish'" (Makor Rishon, August 7). Lustiger maintained and nurtured ties with the French Jewish community, which considered him their supporter. The respect and esteem with which he was held in Jewish circles was evident in the number of articles which noted his death, and in the way in they reported it, focusing on his Jewish background: "Influential French religious leader Cardinal Lustiger, who left Judaism for Catholicism, dies at 80" (Jerusalem Post); "The well-known French Jewish apostate dies at age 80" (Ma'ariv); "The Jewish Archbishop of Paris dies" (Makor Rishon); "The Catholic experiment/experience of the Jews" (Yediot Ahronot); "The Jew who became an Archbishop dies" (Metro Israel).
Yediot Ahronot, August 8; Jerusalem Post, August 7, 8; Ma'ariv, August 6, 2007
This week's press continues to comment on the anti-Semitic remarks of a Polish priest, the Jerusalem Post (August 7) remarking that "the continuing anti-Semitic rhetoric of Father Tadeusz Rydzyk, founder of Poland's Catholic, nationalist Radio Maryja, and the Polish government's refusal to come out publicly against the rhetoric, has angered senior Israeli government officials." Likewise, the press noted Pope Benedict's meeting with Rydzyk. "Photos showing the pope at his summer residence with the Rev. Tadeusz Rydzyk, along with two other Polish priests, were published in Polish newspapers Tuesday. The Vatican has not commented on the meeting. But a Vatican official confirmed yesterday that the three were brought to the pope, along with other pilgrims, after the pope's weekly blessing Sunday at Castel Gondolfo, his summer home" (Jerusalem Post, August 8). Yediot Ahronot (August 8) stated in its headline: "Pope gives blessing to anti-Semitic priest."
Another (Italian) Catholic priest has also recently made anti-Semitic remarks (Ma'ariv, August 6). Adding insult to injury, Don Gelmino, who is being investigated on charges of sexual molestation of youths, countered the accusations by saying that they were "a Jewish conspiracy." "They thought about what happened in America, the exploitation made there of the affair of pedophile priests. The whole church doesn't have to pay the price. There's a world conspiracy of the lobby, how can it be described? A radical Jewish lobby that is fighting the American church with the intention of weakening all of it."
Sihat Ha'Ir, July 20, 2007
According to a report in Sihat Ha'Ir (July 20), a local Beit She'an paper, an American Christian organization by the name of "House of David" has adopted the town and intends to contribute funds toward its development. In stating its purposes, the Christian Zionist group asserted: "The 'House of David' organization is engaging in extensive activity in Beit She'an in order to help the Mayor, Jackie Levi, realize his goal ... God helped us find the best Mayor and the best city. We were very impressed by you, Mr. Mayor, already several years ago when we first visited here. We haven't come to give you a vision but to help you fulfill yours." The article defined Christian Zionists as "people who love Israel and believe that Christianity directs them to love Israel and to help Jews in the Land." "House of David" runs a television program broadcast across the U.S., which focuses exclusively on Israel and "how to help the citizens of the State."
Pnai Plus, August 2; Haaretz, August 6; Globes, August 7; Yediot Ahronot, August 7, 2007
The broadcast of the documentary film Jesus Camp on YES-Docu this past week garnered much attention from the local media. (See previous Reviews for the film.) The children's religious "conservatism" was interpreted in many cases as akin to Islamic terrorism, fundamentalism being considered the same in whatever religious tradition it occurs. The reviewers were generally shocked by the "Christian jihad against American democracy and the whole world" being conducted by millions of evangelicals. "Either you're with them or you're against them. In one of the scenes, a mother forces her child to swear allegiance to the flag. They have three: the first is the American flag, the second is the flag of the church, and the third is the flag of Israel. It warms the heart, no?" (, August 7).
Shishi BeGolan, August 3, 2007
This season's excavations have come to an end at Bethesda, with new findings related to the Iron Age gate of the city as well as the plaza in front of it. According to Dr. Rami Arav, the excavation's director, "In the area next to the gate, we found parts of the main street that led into the city from the gate. On this paved road, from the ninth century B.C.E., we plan to lead visitors to the site from the gate."
July 31, 2007
HaTzofeh, July 27; Ma Nishma, July 20, pp. 3, 28; HaModia, July 20, 2007
The local Kiryat Gat paper Ma Nishma, which last week printed a lengthy interview with two Messianic youths from the city's congregation, this week published two pieces on Yad L'Achim (July 20). The second (p. 28) focused on the organization's fight against mixed Jewish-Arab marriages and mentioned its anti-missionary activities only in passing. The first (p. 3) was in fact a letter to the paper from Yad L'Achim, which is worth quoting at length: "Dear Editor, we were astonished to read the interview with two youths, graduates of a high school in Kiryat Gat, who have fallen into the clutches of the mission. During the course of the interview it became clear that the youths had undergone intensive brainwashing, to the point of having converted to Christianity. This forum is too brief for us to lay out all the distortions, falsifications, and lies fed them by the missionaries, when youngsters lack the tools necessary to deal with the missionaries-preachers. When all is said and done, the knowledge of the Bible and Jewish sources possessed by this age group is, unfortunately, very limited. It should be noted that the Supreme Court has already ruled that Messianic Jews cannot define themselves as Jews. Below is a quote from Supreme Court Judge Mr. Tzvi Berensohn (Supreme Court Protocol 467/75, Hutchins vs. the Interior Minister): 'We haven't yet heard of yeshu'im who are considered and accepted as Jews. [Editor's note: This term was used by the judge in his attempt to define the people to whom he was referring. Although it is the Hebrew word for "Jesuits," the judge appears to have employed it in the sense of forming the name of a group from the name of its founder - as "Christians" from "Christ." Yeshua is, of course, the name of Jesus in Hebrew.] This is simply unacceptable. According to any criteria whatsoever - halakhic-religious or secular legal - no such thing exists, ask any Jew on the street if such a thing can exist, and his unambiguous reply will be: No. It is known that a sect exists of people who were born Jewish and became believers in Yeshu the Messiah, who are called "Hebrew Christians [Ivrim Meshichi'im]." They, as it were, want to retain their Jewish origin but Judaism spit them out and they will not be allowed to enter Israeli society.' Particularly disturbing is the fact that your reporter did not bother to bring any response whatsoever to the youths' words from Yad L'Achim activists, who could have exposed to the public at large the system of lies, disguise, deception, and negative motives which motivate the missionaries when they come to hunt innocent Jewish souls. We would be very grateful if you would be kind enough to give space to our response in the next issue, and be very glad if you would publish a parallel article presenting the true face of the missionaries to your readers. ... As we have mentioned, we have in our hands fascinating information, which without doubt your readers would find very interesting."
HaTzofeh (July 26) and HaModia (July 27) both carried a report on a group calling itself "Tzahal" - a Hebrew acronym for "Today Obey the Lord," which also sounds like the Hebrew acronym for the Israel Defense Forces. The group's aim is to encourage believers entering the army to witness during their service, and it recently visited an army base in the south, where it began witnessing with music and preaching: "We believe in him, we call him Yeshua, we believe that he was a Jew, not a Christian. We're here to thank you and ask forgiveness and pray that God will keep you in all your paths." Yad L'Achim was not surprised to hear a report from a soldier on the base about the event - which passed off peacefully, with the group leaving without any violence. "Members of the organization recalled this week that already a year ago it had exposed a document about the sect ... [which read under the headline]: 'Tips for soldiers in regular service: The army is one of the best places for outreach. When you're "stuck" for ten hours in an armored vehicle on the streets of Ramallah, conversations about God, death, and other spiritual matters are bound to crop up. I want to encourage all you soldiers: Take advantage of the opportunities the army gives you, whether it be on guard duty, long journeys, etc.'" According to the report in HaModia, the group belonged to those "calling themselves 'Messianic Jews.'" A video taken at the time allowed Yad L'Achim to "identify one of the missionaries as Ya'akov Damkani."
BaKehila, July 19, 2007
In response to a previous article printed in BaKehila regarding Jews who served in the German army, Rabbi Moshe Hillel wrote to the paper saying that anti-Semitic Jews were not a new phenomenon: "Indeed, up to the rise of Hitler, Christianity was Judaism's greatest enemy and Christianity was responsible for the murder and death of thousands of Jews. And as we know, Christianity was founded by Jews. All the first Christians were Jews. Likewise, the suffering caused to the people of Israel by apostates was nothing compared to what the Gentiles themselves did."
Globes, July 26; Mishpaha, July 19; Yediot HaGalil, July 20, 2007
Mishpaha (July 19) carried last week's story of the "conversion" of the Sea of Galilee into a "Christian settlement," while Yediot HaGalil (July 20) ran the story of the cross to be constructed in Nazareth. (For both pieces, see last week's Review.)
Although not strictly speaking a piece on Christians in Israel, the story of a group of Kenyan "pilgrims" was sufficiently amusing to include here. An Israeli tour guide picked the group up from the airport and took them straight to Caesarea. From there, they made their way north to Nazareth, the guide reporting his suspicions from the first when the leader, dressed as a priest, did not correct one of his "charges" when the latter exclaimed that Yeshu was born in Nazareth. Their first stop in Nazareth was at the Church of the Annunciation. "When we went inside - eight of the group suddenly disappeared," said the guide. "I asked where they were and their colleagues said that they'd gone to buy scarves to cover their heads out of respect for the church. I retraced my steps, but I didn't see them." While the guide was off looking for the eight "lost sheep," the others were also disappearing. "At first I was left with eight, then with five, then with three, and finally all the group had disappeared." Having appealed to the police, he opened the suitcases left behind in a search for their passports - to discover that the "heaviest" contained only two items of clothing. "'It was clear to me that this was something organized,' said the abandoned guide. 'They're most likely no longer in Nazareth - someone probably came and picked them up and took them to the center of the country.'"
Jerusalem Post, July 26; HaModia, July 22, 2007
Both features related to Christian Zionism this week concerned evangelical calls for opposition to Iran. Etgar Lefkovits reported in the Jerusalem Post (July 26) that Jack Hayford, who is "heading a four-day conference of more than 3,000 church leaders and laymen from around the world in Jerusalem, in what is his 34th trip to Israel," recently stated that "The horrible terror of the ... behavior of [Iranian President Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad is enough to cause any thinking person to ask: Is there another way than some military intervention?"
HaModia (July 22) similarly noted that "thousands of Christian supporters of Israel demonstrated opposite the American Congress and called on the government to attack Iran immediately." At the same time, they warned members of Congress that "if they did not support Israel, they would not help them get reelected." In a speech at the rally, John Hagee stated: "During the Second World War the Christian world kept silent and allowed the murder of the Jewish people. This time we will not keep silent. The Christians will not be silent. I call upon the great body of 50 million evangelicals: Wake up! We are here forever together with you. We shall not be quiet any longer. Ahmadinejad is Hitler - make no mistake."
Ma'ariv, July 27; Jerusalem Post, July 20, 24; Makor Rishon, July 20; Ha'Ir - Tel Aviv, July 19, 2007
The Jerusalem Post (July 20) ran the story of HOT's dispute with the Christian broadcasting station Day Star (see last week's Review).
The latest film from the Czech-born half-Jewish director Milos Forman - whose adoptive parents were both Protestants who perished in Nazi concentration camps - is about the Spanish Inquisition: "'I believe that the most important conflict in the history of mankind is between the individual and institutions,' Forman said. 'Man creates institutions, which then assume total power and believe that they own man. That's the theme of Goya's Ghosts'" (Jerusalem Post, July 24).
Two articles noted the airing of the film "When Yeshu meets Hollywood" on Channel 8, on July 19. Under the title "The art of faith," Makor Rishon (July 20) commented that the "ancient book of books" has long served as the inspiration for artistic creations, and "as long as cinematic productions continued to give a conservative interpretation to Scripture, they served as a legitimate tool in the eyes of the American church." Once they began to diverge from this stance, however, the church began threatening the cinema. This confrontation is the theme of "When Yeshu meets Hollywood," which deals with "different attempts by producers seeking to transfer the scriptural story from the written medium to the photographic one. And despite the large space given precisely to the stories of the New Testament, the film is fascinating all the way through." Likewise Ha'Ir Tel Aviv's take on the film: "Since the beginning of the cinema, the story of Yeshu has succeeded in attracting the films with his great stardom." It also created numerous disputes between Hollywood, the church - "and how not, also with us Jews." According to this report, "Yeshu meets Hollywood" "examines the problematic relationship between Hollywood and the Crucified One."
In a lengthy feature including pictures and illustrations of God as a dinosaur, Ma'ariv (July 27) took a look at the "Goodbye" that Christianity is now being forced to say to its traditional control over the written media. "After decades of Christian management, the States is being flooded with a wave of militantly atheistic books, which are being grabbed up like hot cakes. The bottom line is unambiguous: There is no God ... Tell a Christian that frozen yogurt makes people disappear and the chances are that he will ask for proof and will only be convinced to the degree that the proof allows him. But tell him that the book next to his bed was written by an invisible deity who will punish him with everlasting fire - and he won't need any proof at all."
HaTzofeh, July 27; Jerusalem Post, July 22; Haaretz, July 22, 2007
According to the Jerusalem Post (July 22), "Jewish groups welcome Vatican offer to remove controversial prayer." Likewise, HaTzofeh declared: "The Vatican will not encourage prayer for the conversion of Jews." On the other hand, Amiram Barkat in Haaretz (July 22; Hebrew edition) interpreted the Vatican's "offer" as an "opposition" to the inclusion of the prayer!
Makor Rishon, July 20; Jerusalem Post, July 25, 2007
Shlomo Riskin, a well-known Rabbi in Anglo-Israeli circles, wrote a piece for the Jerusalem Post (July 25) in which he explained his "sea-change": moving from radical opposition to strong support of Jewish-Christian interfaith dialogue and cooperation. It turns out that the watershed in Riskin's thinking derives from Christian Zionism - "the enemy (Christianity) of my enemy (radical Islam) is my cousin, if not my brother. After all, Christianity emerged from the matrix of Judaism, and the founder of Christianity was a Jewish teacher who - it would certainly appear from the Gospels - lived a Jewish life-style, replete with the Sabbath, festivals, and kashrut. Hence there is every logical, historical and religious reason for there to be a rapprochement between us." Riskin's reasons for believing evangelicals are "based on the fact that the very time-honored theological positions of Christianity that made immediate conversion of the Jews so necessary for the Church have been publicly and officially contravened and nullified by leading Catholic, Protestant, and Evangelical spokesmen and institutions ... Certainly we must remain vigilant against Christian groups whose raison d'etre is missionizing Jews. However, those many Christian denominations who wish to learn from us and strengthen our common beliefs in a God of love, morality and peace ought to be encouraged in their friendship."
Although not strictly an article on Jewish-Christian relations, Binyamin Gross, in his opinion piece in Makor Rishon (July 20) on "The Jews and the 'European Problem,'" is not afraid to speak of the "Judeo-Christian culture" - an element which he sees as characterizing European history. The alliance between Athens and Jerusalem, between the Bible and Hellenism, was never a comfortable one, however. "In effect, the church fathers adopted the teaching of Judaism in everything relating to the principles of salvation, revelation, redemption, and the Messiah - but rejected everything in that same heritage that was Hebrew in its essence. In other words, it anchored those principles in the reality of the world: From the moment that Yeshu's sufferings atone for sin, there is no further need for law ... Instead of law comes faith in a savior ... In the same way the church jettisoned the exclusive and concrete value of a people chosen to receive the Torah and to apply it in practice, in society, in a specific country destined for it." Ultimately, the tension between the two cities/traditions makes Europe a place without space for the "Other": "At the beginning of the twenty-first century, the State of Israel holds the same position in the eyes of the EU as that reserved for the Jewish community since the fifteenth century and up to the twentieth: the place of a anomalous entity whose 'problem' needs solving."
Makor Rishon, July 20, 2007
Arieh Morgenstern of the Shalem Center has published a new book on The Return to Jerusalem (Shalem, no date). Morgenstern's field of expertise is the history of modern Jewish Messianic movements, and this book falls into that category due to the fact that a large part of Jerusalem's revival in the nineteenth century was due to the arrival of the followers of the Gaon of Vilna, who explicitly viewed their settlement in the city as the "beginning of the redemption." The book covers the interaction between the city's growing Ashkenazi community and British missionaries (from the London Society for the Promotion of Christianity Among the Jews) - the latter being seen by the former as possessing diplomatic influence that could be wielded in defense of the Jewish community.
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July 25, 2007
Ma Nishma, July 6, 2007
The local Kiryat Gat paper Ma Nishma (July 6) carried a lengthy article on two high school believers in the city, including an interview with the two (under pseudonyms) and their "testimonies [edut]." It may be presumed that the reporter's interest was aroused not only by the subject but also by the boys' ages - eighteen and nineteen. The two had met "miraculously" when one, about to become newly religious but still wondering whether the step would full satisfy his yearnings for truth and spirituality, met the other, who told him about Yeshua. The two youngsters demonstrated considerable maturity and intelligence in their responses to questions about Yeshua's deity - it was a Jewish concept even in the Second Temple period; idolatry - lots of Jewish communities revere "saints" and visit their graves; their right to speak of God and forgiveness of sins to their elders - "out of the mouths of babes and sucklings ..."; politics - "we pray for our government, that it will rule justly and not with hypocrisy, bribery, and corruption and act according to God's will"; and their Israeli and Jewish identity - "We celebrate the Jewish festivals, we don't have any connection with non-Jewish holidays ... We don't let tradition come before our faith ... We celebrate [the festivals] and observe the commandments, but that's not what sanctifies us before God, because only atonement atones for sins ... We encourage our friends to serve in the army and to give help in all sorts of social areas." While not all their replies addressed the questions directly, they were based first and foremost on Scripture, of which the article was consequently full. According to the report, the Kiryat Gat congregation numbers "twelve residents, among them families."
Al HaMakom, July 12; Mishpaha, July 12; Yom L'Yom, June 28; HaModia, June 28, 2007
The religious weekly Yom L'Yom (June 28) ran a story about a Jewish soul saved from the clutches of the Jehovah's Witnesses. Mishpaha (July 12) repeated last week's story about the youth conference held at Ramat Rachel (see previous Review). Al HaMakom (July 12) published a letter from Tzippi Lieder encouraging people to remain strong in the face of missionary activity: "The 'Messianic Jewish' movement is more dangerous than Christianity, because disguised as Jews (and even religious ones) their members seek to disseminate their Christian faith among Jews."
Jerusalem Post, July 16, 19; Ma'ariv, July 15; Yediot Yerushalayim, July 13, 2007
Nazareth's economic and tourism crises, largely a consequence of the violence of the past two Intifadas, have been the cause of much concern (Jerusalem Post, July 16; cf. Ma'ariv, July 15). The situation is currently being addressed by a group of "affluent Christian businesses from Israel and abroad" who are "floating" a proposal to construct "the world's largest cross" in the city in order to "draw millions of Christian tourists to the boyhood town of Jesus ... The privately-funded building proposal, which is being promoted by an NGO comprising various Christian denominations, is meant to increase tourism to the economically hard-hit city." The "Nazareth Cross" is intended to rise to a height of sixty meters, being decorated with mosaic tiles made from Nazareth stone. As the article's subtitle indicates, "The initial building plan under consideration needs municipal approval and is likely to face Muslim opposition."
Under the title "The Sea of Galilee is converting to Christianity," Ma'ariv (July 18) reported on the fact that "priests from the Church of Notre Dame have purchased the Hawaii Beach on the Sea of Galilee and intend to establish a resort and religious center there." In explaining why Christians would be so interested in this "most Israeli of locations," the articles states: "The New Testament contains around 125 references to places around the Sea of Galilee, from Mount Arbel in the west to Susita in the east, in which Yeshu lived, gathered his followers, or performed his miracles." [Editor's note: Neither Mount Arbel nor Susita are mentioned in the New Testament itself.] On an accompanying map of "The sites important to Christianity around the Sea of Galilee" appear Kfar Nahum (Capernaum), among whose ruins can be found "the place thought to be the house of Peter, Yeshu's faithful apostle"; the Mount of Beatitudes, where "according to the New Testament Yeshu delivered the Sermon on the Mount, which contains the essence of his teaching"; Chorazin - which possesses a large rock claimed to be associated with "the miracle of the swine which Yeshu performed in Chorazin"; Tabgha, "considered to be the place where the miracle of the loaves and fish took place. In the incident mentioned in the New Testament Yeshu succeeded in feeding about five thousand people with five loaves and two fish. This was one of the ways in which his commission from God [being His representative] was proved"; and the Yardenit - which is not a New Testament site but serves today as the central baptismal location for Christian pilgrims.
Two articles appeared in this week's Israeli press relating to the fate of the Christian refugees from Darfur who are flooding to the country. Larry Derfner, in the Jerusalem Post (July 19), addressing the issue under the title "How to lose hearts and minds," warns that their imminent deportation will negatively affect Israel's international image: "The real damage to Israel's image will not be done in the eyes of its enemies, but in the eyes of its best friends, its most important allies: American Jews and evangelical Christians ... If Israel drags 1,000 of these people back across the Egyptian border ... the Christian evangelists [sic] ... will continue to love Israel as the Holy Land, but they will have a difficult time forgiving what the people of Israel did to the neediest of world Christianity. Some 700 of the 1,000 soon-to-be-deportees are Christians from southern Sudan, where two million people were murdered by Arab Muslims. Yet Israel is going to send these Christians back to Egypt, an Arab Muslim country that, while not slaughtering them en masse, made their lives an honest-to-God nightmare. Imagine evangelical Christian families watching that on television."
That this analysis may not be far from the truth is reflected in the fact that the first Darfur refugee baby was recently born in Israel, the refugees receiving free medical treatment through the intervention of the International Christian Embassy with the government (Yediot Yerushalayim, July 13).
Globes, July 16, 2007
Following the decision taken by the Israeli cable channel "Hot" to remove the Christian station "Day Star" from its broadcasts (see previous Review), the station has given notice of its intention to sue the cable company - unless the Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Committee approve the continuation of their broadcasts. Asserting that it constitutes the second largest station of its kind in the world, Day Star pointed out that it contributed more than a quarter of a million dollars to Israeli institutions in 2006. According to the report, the station plans to broadcast Israel Channel 10's news, translated in English, to the States, "in order to bring the expression of Israel [Israeli perspective] on American television."
Ma'ariv, July 15, 18; Jerusalem Post, July 15, 16; Haaretz, July 16, 19 (English and Hebrew editions x 3); Makor Rishon, July 13; Yediot Ahronot, July 18; HaModia, July 13; Globes, July 17; Israeli, July 15, 17, 2007
The Vatican's willingness to reevaluate Benedict XVI's decision to restore the Latin mass was noted in Haaretz (July 19; Hebrew and English editions): "The most senior official in the Vatican after the Pope suggested yesterday that a highly controversial prayer for the conversion of the Jews could be dropped from the re-introduced Latin-language rite ... Bertone said the prayer that many Jews have found offensive could be substituted with one introduced into church rituals in the 1970s and which makes no reference to conversion of Jews."
David Rosen, former Chief Rabbi of Ireland and now the International Director of Interreligious Affairs at the American Jewish Committee, contributed an opinion piece in the Jerusalem Post (July 15) on the same subject. Having noted the steps the Jewish community have taken in asking for clarification of the decree and its implications, Rosen went on to note: "There are those who ask what right Jews have to tell the Catholics what kind of prayers they should or [should] not recite. Of course the church's liturgy is the church's business. However, if the church declares, as it does, that it wishes to live in a respectful relationship with the Jewish people, then it is right and proper for it to be pointed out that a prayer for us to accept the Christian faith - which we see as a betrayal of our own - is hardly an expression of mutual respect." Despite this, Rosen concludes that it would be hasty to dismiss all possible continuation of dealings with the Catholic Church: "... we have a lot at stake and much to gain from this relationship. We would accordingly do well to exercise a substantial amount of realism, and even humility, in how we publicly address this relationship and how we express our expectations and even our disappointments."
Another opinion piece regarding the Pope, by Aviad Kleinberg, was published in Yediot Ahronot (July 18). Kleinberg lauded Benedict for the fact that, despite the problems which his conservative stance has raised in various quarters, "he believes in the truth. He believes in telling the truth - to Muslims, Protestants, agnostics. This truth is not absolute. It is his truth. But at least we know where he stands."
Edward Atler published a far more personal response to the Pope's decision on the subject in Makor Rishon (July 13). Atler was a resident of the Warsaw ghetto who managed to escape to the Aryan side in 1943 - where his first "job" was assisting a Catholic priest in the celebration of mass as a "ministrant." The mass was recited in Latin, of course, and Atler learnt portions of it by heart in order to know exactly where to give his responses to the priest. "On the street opposite the church, the Germans were randomly stopping passers-by and loading them onto trucks with shouts and blows. From the protected distance of the church we stood by the side of the priest clothed in a white robe laced with gold, detached from the horror outside. The priest: 'Sursum corda' (lift up your hearts). Me: 'Hebemus ad dominum' (we shall lift them to God)."
On the other hand, Benedict XVI's decision to reintroduce the Latin mass and his issuance of a document noting "'defects' in other Christian faiths" (Jerusalem Post, July 16) were both grasped by MK Meir Porush as potential causes for the increase of missionizing in Israel (HaModia, July 13). Calling them "new anti-Jewish decisions," Porush claimed that they were "likely to radicalize and enlarge missionary activity in the State" - presumably because, on the one hand, Christians would be encouraged to pray and work towards the conversion of the Jews and, on the other, be more confident that Christianity was the only true religion. The same article also noted Porush's stand against the "indifference" of the Israeli education system towards the alleged missionary activity in schools across the country, reporting that in response the Education Minister has promised to set up a special committee to "deal with the strange sects and the radical missionary organizations which are working energetically and intensively in the state educational school system." The creation of a second committee has also been proposed for the purpose of "formulating strict guidelines regarding what is allowed and what is prohibited in their [missionary] activities among youth."
In the wake of the controversy over the closed Vatican archives which have prevented scholars and researchers from investigating Pius XII's role in the Holocaust, another aggravating factor has just been added: the Vatican has closed its library for three years for renovations (Haaretz, July 19).
Five articles in the Hebrew press reported the Catholic Church's payment of $600 million to the victims of sexual abuse at the hands of its clergy (Ma'ariv, July 15; Haaretz, July 16; Globes, July 17; Israeli, July 15, 17).
TimeOut, July 12, 2007
Hebrew University Professor Yair Zakovitch has published a new book entitled "Yeshua Reads the Gospels" (Am Oved, no date). In it, he "reexamines the New Testament story and fashions a kind of new biography of Yeshua in a collection of songs."
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July 16, 2007
Yediot Haifa, June 29; HaModiah, July 12; HaZofeh, July 13; Yom L'Yom, July 5; Iton Yerushalayim, July 6; Kol HaZman, July 6; HaShavua BiYerushalayim, July 5, 2007
The Orthodox community is up in arms over a recent campaign in Haifa to distribute free copies of the "Christian missionary" video "Yeshua" in mail boxes throughout the city's neighborhoods, particularly, so Yad L'Achim claimed, in poor areas (Yediot Haifa, June 29). "What have we come to? They are marketing Yeshu in the mail boxes and distributing free videos ... There is a serious misinformation here, because the flyers don't say anything about them being missionary tracts. They say that this is a film based on historical facts, filmed in Israel, and that all the actors are Israelis. The fact that there are subtitles in Russian demonstrates that the flyers are intended for immigrants from the former Soviet Union, an audience frequently composed of people in need - and they are trying to exploit this hardship for the purpose of conversion."
Two days before it took place, Yad L'Achim discovered plans for a youth "missionary marathon" to be held at Kibbutz Ramat Rachel in Jerusalem (HaModiah, July 12). "Hundreds of youngsters from all over the country got together for the destructive activity of the 'Messianic Jews' and were assimilated into it two weeks ago for a marathon of workshops and teaching lectures. The leaders of the sect, whose names are well known to Yad L'Achim, stood before hundreds of youth who for three days joined together for workshops and panel discussions of clear missionary preaching." Not having been able to prevent the conference from taking place, Yad L'Achim's director subsequently approached the chief and local Rabbinates with the request that Ramat Rachel's kashrut license be revoked.
With the arrival of the summer holidays, the Ministry of Education has embarked on a campaign to make sure that the numerous children's camps offered are suitable to the children's age, offer appropriate activities, and meet the necessary security standards. According to a report in Iton Yerushalayim (July 6), fifteen camps in Jerusalem have been disqualified, including "scientology camps and Messianic camps which, according to the Ministry of Education, are of a missionary nature." [Editor's note: I have no information to substantiate this report.]
Other articles repeated earlier stories concerning the Aspeklaria Theater's cancellation of their appearance at the Pavilion (HaShavua BeYerushalayim, July 5; Kol HaZman, July 6), Netivyah's building plans (Yom L'Yom, July 6), and Yad L'Achim's activities against the Jehovah's Witnesses center in Haifa (HaZofeh, July 13).
Iton Yerushalayim, July 6, 2007
During a lengthy interview with Doron Sheffer, a well-known basketball player who has recently undergone a spiritual journey, the athlete was asked about the Jewish figures from whom he derived inspiration. Following King David in first place and Moses in second, Sheffer added that he also felt great affinity "with someone identified with Christianity but who is Jewish. To this day I haven't delved the depths of my view and our view [as Jews] as to the story there - and that's Yeshua of Nazareth. I'm greatly attracted to this figure, but I still haven't figured out the story and what happened in the way that till today they're crucifying him. I'm an insignificant person, but I can say that the place he gave to forgiveness and love means a lot to me. Christianity is already something completely different. I don't see Yeshua as a Christian but as a Jew, because Christianity is a religion which arose after him. David, Moses, and Yeshua - they're my opening three."
Iton Modi'in, July 6; The Marker, July 1, 2007
The regional paper Iton Modi'in (July 6) surveyed the Latrun monastery near the city, giving some interesting details about the origin of its name: "The name comes from the Latin 'latro' - 'thief.' According to Christian tradition, when Yeshua the Nazarene [haNotzri] was crucified in Jerusalem 2007 years ago, he was crucified with 'the good thief' - a thief who repented before he was crucified. The name Latrun was given to the place following the crusaders' visit; they believed that 'the good thief' was born there."
A similar tour of Christian places was undertaken by The Marker's reporter, this time in Jerusalem's Old City (July 1). Describing the visit, he commented: "Only in Jerusalem does time not seem to be hurrying anywhere. Here they haven't heard that fashions must change at least every thousand years. It's already 3,000 years since the city has been adorned with carved stones the color of beige-rust, its priests wander around with the same scraggly beards, and its most celebrated star - still - is Yeshua of Nazareth." At the same time, however, he acknowledges that "the truth is that the Jewish tripper to the Via Dolorosa is primarily interested in the shops along the way."
Zman HaKrayot, July 6; Ma'ariv, July 12, 2007
A research study conducted at the University of Haifa surveyed the reactions of Jewish and Arabs students to the Second Lebanese War. Part of the findings related to the "distinction along religious lines": "The Christians expressed the highest level of fear - 4.17% - followed by the Jews with 4.11%, the Muslims (3.93%) and the Druze (3.85%) ... The Muslim students expressed fears related to the harming of Arabs in Lebanon and to Nasrallah's importance as a strong and significant leader. These subjects did not come up amongst the Jewish students and were rare amongst the Christians and Druze."
Ma'ariv (July 12) this week carried an article on the Sobotnik sect founded during the nineteenth century in Russia by "peasants and simple people who adopted Judaism to various degrees." The term is the Russian for "shabbat," indicating the sect's adoption of Jewish practices. Some remained Christians, other converted to Judaism on immigrating to Israel at the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. They suffered both from anti-Semitism and from discrimination on the part of the Rabbinate. When the Russian authorities prohibited their conversion, they immigrated to Israel. Israel's Chief Rabbi, Shlomo Amar, has recently reached a decision to allow them to convert, and "tens of thousands" are now expected to make aliyah. "Rabbi Amar determined that the Sobotnikim, while not being Jews, have a deep connection to Judaism."
Zman HaDarom, July 6, 2007
Under the title "And thanks to the Christians," Kol HaZman (July 6) devoted an article to the Christian financial support which enabled Kiryat Malachi to complete the revitalization of a municipal park, a project initiated by the Jewish National Fund which subsequently failed to come up with the promised monies. "Following the completion of the first stage of the repair, an additional amount of money from an American Christian Zionist organization arrived, which will serve to equip the park with game areas and a tennis court."
Jerusalem Post, July 10; Haaretz, July 9, 2007
According to the Jerusalem Post (July 10), "The Tourism Ministry has launched a program to bring Christian 'youth pilgrimages' to Israel ... 'There is a very large movement of Christian tourists to Israel, and we are working to bring more tourists,' [Tourism Minister] Aharonovitch told The Jerusalem Post ... Various projects will include youth visits to Israel's holy sites and vacation spots. Large travel companies are said to be marketing exciting pilgrimage packages geared towards a younger audience focusing on the holy sites of Israel, but also including visits to the Dead Sea, Eilat, and Tel Aviv. Another project includes 1,000 trips sponsored by Telecom (the Italian equivalent of Bezeq [Israel's telephone company]) and the postal company of Italy. Maronite Archbishop of Haifa and the Holy Land Boutros Nabil El-Sayah is smitten with the idea. He told The Jerusalem Post: 'We like young people to come to the Holy Land, it is where their roots are as far as the faith is concerned' ... Aharonovitch suggested that the project, which will be kicked off by Pope Benedict XVI, should be in honor of previous Pope John Paul II. One of the attractions, in its fifth year, is the 'Jerusalem-Bethlehem Marathon,' otherwise known as the 'Pope John Paul II Peace Run,' which will take place in April of 2008."
Yediot Ahronot, July 12, 2007
Under the title "Get off my screen," Yediot's reporter Raz Shaknik reported that "after a year on the air, the [TV] cable [companies] are removing the Christian channel [Day Star] from their broadcasts, apparently due to pressure from religious elements." Although the cable company Hot claims that the official reason behind their dropping of the channel derives from "repeated and constant complaints" from observant viewers, other sources in the company suggest that it has been pressured by acquaintances of Shas Minister of Communication, Ariel Attias. According to the report, "Day Star channel went on the air in May 2006 both on Hot and Yes [the two Israeli cable channels], and broadcasts free Christian programs, some of which preach conversion to Christianity. The channel is identified with Christian evangelicals as well as with the conservative Right in the U.S." In the meantime, Yes is still airing the channel.
HaKibbutz, July 6; Haaretz, July 8 (English and Hebrew editions), 12; Ma'ariv, July 8, 12; Jerusalem Post, July 8, 10, 2007
In addition to the continuing press concerning Pope Benedict's revival of the Tridentine Mass (Haaretz, July 8 [Hebrew and English editions]; Jerusalem Post, July 8), the Pope figured largely in the Israeli press this week also for the fact that he is planning to write a sequel to his newly published book on Jesus (Jerusalem Post, July 10), his announcement that non-Catholic streams of Christianity are essentially heretical (Ma'ariv, July 12; Haaretz, July 12) - and for his invitation to Zev Shor for a personal interview in the Vatican (HaKibbutz, July 6). The latter, the secretary of the kibbutz movement, was among the party which welcomed John Paul II on his visit to the country in 1999 [sic]. The two spoke of the kibbutz system, the pope indicating that he had understood that it "wasn't like it was a hundred years ago." Shor, being somewhat frustrated that even in the Vatican he had to talk about this subject, replied: "Your excellency, when people dream and believe, they can create something like the kibbutz." Shor relates that upon hearing this, Benedict's face "immediately lit up, and several times he repeated and mumbled: 'Dream and believe, dream and believe.'"
Ma'ariv, July 6; Haaretz, July 6, 2007
Haaretz (July 6) continues its publication of excerpts from Marcel Schwob's book on the Children's Crusade.
Micah Goodman in Ma'ariv (July 6) reviewed Jonathan Sack's book Radical Then, Radical Now (Fount, 2001). Claiming that because Judaism - unlike Christianity - has never formally defined orthodox Jewish faith, Sacks proposes a refreshing and innovative approach to Judaism. "The book offers a general look at the religion of Israel which does not focus its discussions on Judaism's worldview but on the demands it makes from the world. This is the heart of the book's thesis: to be Jewish means to take part in an ancient protest movement responsible for many of the humane achievements of humanity, whose goal has not yet been reached ... the essence of Judaism is not only worship of God but primarily work with God [in Hebrew, the two roots are the same], with the aim of creating a more perfect and just world."
July 12, 2007
HaModiah, June 29, July 5; Kol HaZman, June 29; HaShavua BiYerushalayim, June 28; HaZofeh, July 6, 2007
According to a report in HaModia (July 5), Yad L'Achim have identified four premises in Haifa and the Krayot which serve as centers for the Jehovah's Witnesses' missionary activities in the North. The article claims that the sect presents public lectures twice a week attended by around 60 people. Having posted "fluent speakers and propaganda experts" at the entrance, Yad L'Achim counted its success in fighting the "mission" by the "moving fact" that "several participants stopped appearing at the missionary lectures." It rejoiced over the ultimate cancellation of the lectures when summons to the police had failed to stop Yad L'Achim's protests. "Yad L'Achim announced this week that 'once again it has been demonstrated beyond doubt that constant and persistent action that knows no rest has proven itself and does its work with the help of heaven. This is the only way [to operate]."
In response to Asher Kesher's lengthy investigation of the Messianic congregations in Jerusalem (see the June 27 Review), a reader wrote to Kol HaZman (June 29) saying that "the movement of 'Messianic Jews' is more dangerous than Christianity because people in Jewish guise (and even dressed as Orthodox Jews) seek to disseminate the Christian faith amongst Jews. Their integration into Jewish society, education, work, and the army greatly facilitates their missionary activity. Cheap demagogic claims (such as their comparison with the Messianic stream within Chabad) can't hide the fact that they clearly represent a Christian sect with all its elements: baptism, faith in Yeshua and the Christian Trinity, the New Testament, and so forth. ... The police should enforce the anti-missionary law in the same way it enforces the laws against gambling and drug trafficking in clubs."
The religious "Aspelaria Theater," which puts on a musical called "Chanaleh and the Shabbat dress," had planned to appear at the Pavilion in Jerusalem - until it discovered that the premises served as a "missionary center." According to the article in HaZofeh (July 6), "a number of years ago it was reported that the Kfir cinema in the Clal Building had been purchased by a Canadian missionary organization that operates preachers from its denomination in Israel and has even established a congregation of Messianic Jews in the country. The group turned the purchased hall into a congregational center and gave it the name 'The Pavilion.'" [Editor's note: The group is the Assemblies of God of Canada, under the pastorship of Wayne Hilsden. The Pavilion is intended for the use of local Messianic groups for various public events, as well as housing King of King's Assembly.] The article continued: "The congregation's leaders prominently publicized numerous times that the place serves as a church, a place of worship [pulchan] and prayer. They have even distributed a video showing and praising the missionary activity performed in the place. Chuck Cohen, who serves as a minister in the congregation, even stated that 'the purpose of the place is to bring Jews and non-Jews [together] so that they will believe and walk in the way of the Christian Messiah.' In parallel, a commercial firm has been set up to bring income to the Christian church by marketing the place to the public as a social and events hall on the days on which the church has no activities." Unconvinced by information reaching it about the hall's true nature, the theater's management eventually agreed to a meeting at which Yad L'Achim presented "various proofs" that it was a missionary center. A rabbinic personage present at the meeting declared that "attendance at shows in such a place is like participating at a performance held at the gas chambers of Auschwitz while they were working - we're talking about a place in which Jewish souls are burned." These words left the theater group little choice but to cancel the scheduled shows at the Pavilion.
The two remaining features repeated articles on the saving of a Jewish soul from the Jehovah's Witnesses ( HaModia, June 29) and the cancellation of the permission granted to Roeh Israel to renovate its building (HaShavua BiYerushalayim, June 28) (see last week's Review).
Iton Ayalon, June 28; Iton Yerushalyim, June 29, pp. 26, 43; Ma'ariv, June 29, 2007
In a lengthy article entitled "The Father, the Son, and the Golani Spirit," Ma'ariv (June 29) reported on the wounding of a Golani Brigade soldier by the name of Yosef Hadad in the last Lebanese war. Hadad is a Christian Arab, apparently the "only soldier in the IDF whose father is a priest." Hadad volunteered to serve in the IDF. In an interview with the paper, conducted in his home in Upper Nazareth where a picture of the "holy Mary and the crucified Yeshu" hangs next to the tree which is the symbol of the Golani Brigade, Hadad senior explained, "Both of these are significant symbols for us," with Yosef adding, "A winning combination: faith and Golani." During his army service, Yosef habitually carried three items with him: pictures of Mary and Jesus, and an amulet he received from the Stella Maris monastery in Haifa. "I believe that in every mission we went on, we were successful due to Mary. I prayed before every operation: 'Peace upon you, Mary full of grace and love. God is with you. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us for we are sinners.' Afterwards, I would cross myself and enter the territory - Gaza, Lebanon, wherever we had to go."
Hadad's decision to volunteer for the IDF was a direct result of his sense of loyalty to his country: "I entered the army from a simple ideology: Israel is my country and I love it. There were those who said: 'You're a traitor, shooting Arabs.' I never had a dilemma. No Palestinian who sees me says, 'Wait a minute, he's an Arab, I won't shoot him.' It's me or them. When a suicide bomber blows a bus up in Haifa, he doesn't check whether there are Christian Arabs on the bus." Yosef was completely accepted in Golani, his friends calling him "Yossi" and obeying all his orders: "I was the commander of Jews. I, a Christian Arab, told them what to do ... If I said to them 'Turn left,' they turned left. It wasn't obvious to me. I would tell my friend at home: 'Get this, I, Yosef Hadad, an Arab, a Christian, a commander of 31 Jews in Golani. If I can do that, I can do anything." When he eventually told his fellow soldiers that he was an Arab, the most common response he received was "Good for you." He developed relationships with all of his comrades, particularly the religious soldiers: "I never once encountered a racist attitude ... I also revealed my Arab identity to my inductees ... only at the very end. They were in shock. One of them, a religious guy, an evacuee from Gush Katif [i.e., a settler], got up and hugged me. He said to me: 'I'm getting married in a couple of months. I want you to come to my wedding as the guest of honor.'"
Yosef's family had no problem whatsoever with his serving in the IDF. His father, Thoma, a Greek Catholic priest, thought that it was something entirely normal. "I remember that I used to take him to the bus station on his way back to his base. He was in his uniform and I was in my clerical uniform." Out of respect, however, Thoma would not wear his clerical garb when he visited Yosef on the base. "Even when people said to me: 'You're a priest, a peacemaker, how can you send your son to kill people?' I didn't have a problem. In my eyes the army is a peacemaker. A soldier fights to defend his country's borders. We want peace and the Golani Brigade will bring peace." Yosef himself considered his involvement in the Second Lebanese War also a way of helping Christians: "I served the State of Israel as a soldier, first of all. But this was the first time that I felt, even if only peripherally, that perhaps I could also help Christians. This was something that maybe didn't occur to my Jewish friends." His mother, Violet, corresponded with Christians in Lebanon while her son was fighting in the IDF there: "I was proud. I wrote to them: 'My son is in the army, in the war.' Everyone wrote back to me: 'My God preserve him. Send him our thanks, his brothers in Lebanon.'" Hadad was seriously wounded in the war, in the face and feet. In addition to the extensive physiotherapy which he now undergoing he is also suffering from post-traumatic shock. While he hopes that he will eventually recover from his physical injuries, he is not so sure about the psychological ones.
Another form of Arab pro-Israelism was evident in an article on an Arab school in Neve Shalom, where the students study both English and Hebrew starting in first grade (Iton Ayalon, June 28). In the school's effort to promote coexistence, they demand that their pupils learn both languages. Recognizing, however, that this may be too great a burden, the school has recently decided to defer one language to a later grade - English.
The Sudanese refugees who are coming to Israel in increasing numbers are now receiving medical help from Israeli hospitals (Iton Yerushalayim, June 29, p. 43). This week, a representative from the International Christian Embassy brought a refugee from Darfur for medical treatment at a clinic in Jerusalem. "The presence of the woman from this war-torn strip of land aroused great excitement amongst the staff, and in accordance with the guidelines of the emergency clinic she was treated without payment."
The sons of a man who eighty years ago received permission to marry an Ethiopian nun were recently granted the right to continue residing in the Ethiopian church where their parents had lived, despite the church's attempt to get them to move following the couple's deaths (Iton Yerushalayim, p. 26). The sons' father had remarried after his first wife's death and they were the offspring of this second marriage. The Ethiopian church gave its permission for the family to continue residing in a room on the church premises. When the couple divorced, the sons continued to live in the room. The church claimed, however, that since their father was not a protected tenant, the sons had no rights to the residence. The appeal was overturned by the district court, which ruled that the sons could continue to live on the premises.
HaZofeh, June 29, 2007
The coming Jewish year is a shemittah year, in which, according to the Tanakh, the land must not be cultivated but left to rest. Since no produce must be grown, other means of livelihood must be sought for farmers, and ways found to import the fruit and vegetables usually consumed. One of the ways of coping with this situation is to buy produce from other countries. The author of this article, writing in a religious paper, criticized the Orthodox practice of doing business with Hamas in Gaza in order to acquire produce from the Gaza strip. "How in the name of heaven it is possible," he asks, "for people to commit such a crime? Every tomato and cucumber from the Gaza strip is literally full of Jewish blood. Hamas will take considerable percentages from the sales in order to acquire even more sophisticated way to kill the Jews residing in Zion." While this attitude is quite comprehensible, equally striking is the "conclusion" the author draws from such conduct: "We're talking about desecration - or more accurately Christianity. We have here words extolling heaven and deeds of villainy in reality."
Jerusalem Post, July 1, 2; Yediot Ahronot, July 1; Ma'ariv, July 1; Makor Rishon, July 1; Haaretz, June 29, 2007
The Latin Mass recited over the centuries in all Catholic churches, and which was replaced in 1969 by the vernacular liturgy, is being revived by Benedict XVI in a decision which some believe to represent an effort to "bring the ultra-traditionalist Society of St. Pius X back under the auspices of the Vatican." The move has been welcomed by conservative groups within the Church, who maintain that "the Latin mass is more moving and authentic that the modern one." It will allow priests to use the traditional Latin text without special permission from the Pope. While this move may constitute an internal Catholic matter, the revival of the Tridentine Mass - recited every Good Friday - has aroused criticism not only within the church but also from Jewish groups upset by its potential encouragement of anti-Semitism. The text of the mass refers to "the perfidious Jews" who live in "blindness" and "darkness" and petitions God to "lift the veil covering the hearts of the Jews so that they may recognize Jesus Christ our Lord" (Jerusalem Post, July 1, pp. 1, 2). Despite the fact that the version that will be used "dates back to 1962, when this phrase had already been eliminated," the "controversy continues over Benedict XVI's decision to 'facilitate and clarify' the possibility of performing mass in this Latin version." The modern version of the prayer reads: "Lord our God, who chose the Jews before all other men, to receive his word, help them to continue progressing in the love of your name and faithfulness to your covenant."
The twelfth European Maccabiah games will be held this year in Rome (Ma'ariv, July 1; Yediot Ahronot, July 1). Pope Benedict XVI will meet and bless representatives of the 1,700 participating Jewish athletes at the Vatican.
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July 5, 2007
HaMahane HaHaredi, June 21; Kol HaZman, June 22; HaMekoman, June 21; Mishpaha, June 21; BeKehila, June 21; Yom L'Yom, June 21; HaModia, June 28, 2007
Two articles (Kol HaZman, June 22; HaModia, June 28) featured the recent decision of the Jerusalem municipal Planning and Building Committee to overturn their earlier approval of Kehillat Roeh Israel's plan to renovate and expand their premises (see the Review from the last week of November 2006). The difference in tone between the two pieces reflected the secular and religious perspectives of the respective papers. According to Kol HaZman, the reversal came in the wake of a "flood" of letters opposing the permission, in Hebrew and English, from organizations and individuals, "overflowing with biblical references." One example: "We're talking about a Christian Messianic missionary sect which has been operating in the neighborhood for over twenty years and making our lives miserable with its unceasing noise on shabbat and festivals." Yet the outrage was not all on the side of the residents. Papa Allalu (Meretz), a member of the local council, "is very angry over the canceling of the permit. 'Most of the opposition was irrelevant and spiteful. If something like this had happened in a Christian country regarding a synagogue, we'd be up in arms. The decision to recognize the opposition is a racist one.'" The Planning and Building Committee responded that the permit had originally been issued in ignorance of the fact that the premises were in a residential zone - and had no relation to the "religious reasons" raised by the neighborhood's residents.
HaModia focused on the congregation's so-called "missionary" activities and nature: "A plot by the Messianic missionary congregation 'Roeh Israel' to become the first to establish a 'missionary synagogue' in the heart of Jerusalem has been foiled. At the head of the congregation whose activities are run by a group of people who call themselves 'Messianic Jews' stands the well-known missionary Joseph Shulam, of whom the anti-missionary organization Yad L'Achim has clear evidence that he baptizes Jews to Christianity." The report claimed that the letters opposing the premise's change of purpose were orchestrated - or at least followed in the wake of - an "intensive campaign" by Yad L'Achim to "explain to the residents of the whole street the destructive and dubious purposes of the building following the change in purpose." It added that the neighborhood's inhabitants were claiming that the value of their property had significantly decreased once it had became known that missionaries were operating in it. It also cited a response by the "missionaries": "In face of the complaints, the members of the missionary congregation attempted to argue that they do not engage in any missionary activity and that their only purpose is to establish a soup kitchen." Yad L'Achim's reaction was expressed by its director, who "praised the alertness of the residents of the street and neighborhood and said that 'It has been proved that ... opposition and action using every legitimate means at our disposal can bring results that no one can deny.'"
Under the title "Commando Deri," a report in HaMekoman (June 21) noted that Yehuda Deri, the Chief Rabbi of Beersheva, is planning to send out six groups to "oversee" the missionary activity directed towards soldiers allegedly being undertaken at the central bus station and city center. Deri's ire was aroused by information passed to him by local storekeepers and bus drivers to the effect that the missionaries were distributing "material with pictures of soldiers and people wearing kippot [yarmulkes], without one word about Yeshua." The task imposed on Deri's volunteers is to "at least explain to the public that the literature is missionary material."
According to an article in Mishpaha (June 21), a Chinese missionary group by the name of Falon-Gong (?) or Falon-Dafa (?) put up a stand at a community center in Jerusalem on the occasion of an end-of-semester (religious) school party. No real indication was given of the sect's nature, apart from a quote from one of the teachers, who stated: "In front of me were thrust the words 'love,' 'compassion,' meditation illustrations and strange terms." Yad L'Achim claimed that the group "invites the public to join in meditation exercises and thereby pull people in to study the sect's teachings."
Yad L'Achim's efforts to "save souls" were rewarded in Netanya recently, when they were able to convince a new immigrant from the former Soviet Union not to be baptized to Christianity at the hands of the Jehovah's Witnesses (BeKehila, June 21). A further soul was saved from the same group working in Ashkelon and masquerading there in the form of an alternative medicine center, according to a report in Yom L'Yom (June 21).
The proposed bill, initiated by Ya'akov Margee, to stop all missionary activity in Israel was recently dismissed by the Knesset Ministerial Constitution Committee (HaMahane HaHaredi, June 21). An appeal has already been presented to the Committee against the decision.
HaModia, June 26; Makor Rishon, June 25, 2007
An article in HaModia (June 26) expressed its indignation at the fact that the Tali school system in Israel (which incorporates religion into its curriculum) has introduced a new program whose "declared purpose is 'to strengthen Jewish identity within the student population.'" While this would not be a matter of outrage, it appears that the program has "Jewish and Christian students studying texts from the Tanakh ["Old Testament"] together, visiting synagogues and churches, and meeting together in a variety of activities." It would appear that the Christian students come from local Arab schools.
In an interview with Yechiam Fadan, an Israeli editor and translator, the latter expressed his views on the state of cultural knowledge among Israeli students. Asked, "What importance is there to studying mythologies at school, and what is your opinion regarding the claim that students should first study the Jewish heritage?" Fadan replied that every mythology has a grain of truth. In expanding on that sentiment, he related to Christianity: "Our world of images is built upon cultural creations and their origins. And because the books in the New Testament were inspired by the Tanakh, cultured people should be familiar with their narrative parts - just as it's possible to study Roman mythology, which is a blind copy of Greek mythology."
Yediot Ahronot, June 25, 2007
A lengthy article appeared in Yediot Ahronot (June 25) under the title "The Order will stand at ease: Franciscans, Benedictines, Salesians, and Messianics - the main thing is to live quietly." The piece was a review of the numerous monasteries in the area of Latrun, just outside Jerusalem. The reference to "Messianics" in the title was rather incongruous, since none of the monasteries are in any way formally connected to the Messianic movement in Israel.
Haaretz, June 22, 2007
Another review of "tourist sites," this time in the Golan, included the now non-existent village of Kursi. The name has preserved a distortion of the name "Gargasa" - the Greek form of "Gargashi" - "which, according to Christian tradition was the place in which Yeshua performed the well-known 'miracle of the swine,' and there are the remains of an early church here."
Ma'ariv, June 15, 2007
The residents of Gush Katif who were evacuated two years ago have still not found new homes or jobs. Christian Zionists have stepped into the gap left by the government's failure to fulfil its promises, but their support has raised a controversy in the community and even led to threats by the Rabbi. Eventually, the evacuees returned the money to the donors - "not because the settlers did not wish to be pitied, but perhaps because the time has come for full assistance from those who truly need to help."
HaTzofeh, June 22, 2007
Yossi Klein Halevi's new book At the Entrance to Paradise (Gan Eden; Keter/Shalom Hartman Institute, 2007) "deals with the experiences of the special journey of a religious Israeli into the closed worlds of Islam and Christianity in little Israel and the territories. He spends whole days in churches, monasteries, mosques, and houses of prayer. He befriends monks and spends his time in the company of religious Christians and Muslims during their festivals. Yossi Klein Halevi frequently finds himself in situations and circumstances such as: prayer in a mosque in Ramallah, meditation in a subterranean church excavated by an ascetic monk from the Galilee [Bargil Pixner], grieving over the Armenian genocide with Armenian monks in Jerusalem, and a final dance with a Muslim sheikh in a refugee camp in Gaza. And his conclusion? Religious-spiritual reconciliation is the way to settle the political conflict. Not necessarily original or controversial, but wonderfully written."
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June 27, 2007
This week's Review demonstrates the increasing awareness of and interest in Messianic Jews and Judaism in Israeli society. Following last week's Haifa article about Shmuel Aweida and Beit Eliahu, the local Jerusalem paper Kol HaZman this week devoted a lengthy article to Messianic Jews in the country, particularly in Jerusalem. This was supplemented by the to-be-expected responses to Kati's film (see previous Review), expressed in three letters published in the regional paper HaTzvi. Several articles dealt with Christians in Israel, two in relation to the death of a prominent Benedictine, a former Hebrew University philosophy professor, and one in relation to the increasing number of Sudanese refugees arriving in the country.
HaTzvi, June 14; Ma'ariv, June 20; Jerusalem Post, June 20, 2007
Reflecting the increasing familiarity of many Israelis with the phenomenon of Messianic Judaism, Kol HaZman's Asher Kesher "set out to mosey through Messianic congregations, visited the schools and churches, investigated the process of conversion [hamarat ha-emuna], followed the intense struggles with 'Yad L'Achim,' and discovered that Messianic Jews [ma'aminim] are right-wingers who give financial assistance to the residents of the settlements. All of them, by the way, are registered as Jews" (June 14). Despite the promise this heading holds out, the article fails, to a certain degree, to measure up to expectations. Kesher does indeed visit several congregations in Jerusalem, many of which use the Baptist Church as their place of worship: Even Israel (Russian), El Ro'i (Hebrew), and Yad HaShmonah. People in general were very reluctant to talk to Kesher; most will give their first name but not their surname, claiming bad experience with the press. Ofer, from the Hebrew congregation, asked for anonymity for the sake of his son who is presently serving in the army. According to Ofer's understanding, his son's military career might be threatened if it was discovered that he had connections with Messianic Jews. The overall tone of the article is one of suspicion. A good example of the people interviewed is Rachel, from the Messianic school, "whose fear is so great that two days after the interview with me in her office, with great reservation, she rang to inform me that if I told anyone what she had said I and Kol HaZman would run the risk of being sued." Kesher understands the apprehensions displayed. A large part of the article is devoted to the activities of Yad L'Achim. Under a subheading entitled "Who's to blame for the Holocaust?" he acknowledges that, having visited the website YouTube - to which Polly from Arad directed him in order to look at a picture taken by Yad L'Achim of the so-called rampaging of the Messianic Jewish community - what he actually saw was "photographic proof of Yakim's and Polly's claims of unceasing harassment and incitement against the Messianic community in Arad. In one of the strongest clips, one of the Gur Hasidim turns to a woman in the market and claims that they, the Messianic Jews, are responsible for the murder of six million in the Holocaust."
While Kesher describes the worship in some detail (sometimes painful to hear - such as the fact that the words of the songs written on the screen are written in badly spelled Hebrew) and asks about the observance of Shabbat at Even Israel, where Galen (?) answers him that Messianic Jews hold no day sacred above another and that they sometimes celebrate the Jewish feasts with the rest of the country, "not out of duty but out of solidarity," we learn very little else substantial about Messianic faith. When questioned directly about the way in which he became a believer, Ofer responded that after a disappointing five-month spiritual search in India, he then experienced "in a way on which I don't wish to elaborate here, a revelation of the Messianic faith." The clearest information on the belief of Messianic Jews comes in Kesher's question to Galen: "I know this is a big question, but why should a person believe in Yeshua as the Messiah? 'In the Tanakh, Isaiah 59:1-3 says that because of man's sin God does not hear his prayers. Messianic Jews believe that through Yeshua, whom we regard as the Messiah, the sins of all those who believe in him are forgiven and God listens to our prayers. We pray in Yeshua's name so that God will hear our prayers through him.'" Also interesting is the response of Salo Kapusta from Yad HaShmonah to Kesher's question whether "a child born to Messianic parents is also called a Messianic Jew": "No. A child born to Messianic parents cannot be called a Messianic Jew because it isn't an issue of religion but of faith. So a child born to Messianic parents will only be called a Messianic Jew when he himself decides to believe in Yeshua."
The most informative part of the article in fact appears in a separate section entitled "Who is a Jew: Some [well-]known and less [well-]known facts about Messianic Jews": "Messianic Judaism is a loosely-joined collection of religious groups who define themselves as Jewish despite the fact that they primarily contain Christian, particularly evangelical, elements:
- The groups developed out of a stream of Christianity which was founded in 1825 in Dublin, Ireland. [Editor's note: I cannot identify the group to which this refers. The first organized body of "Hebrew Christians" was established in London in 1860 - the "Hebrew Christian Alliance."]
- These groups accept the Tanakh [the Old Testament] and the New Testament as Scripture.
- Messianic Jews define themselves as Jews who have accepted Yeshua as the Messiah and Son of God, but are considered an inauthentic stream of Judaism by almost a complete majority of the Jewish streams.
- The Law of Return does not apply to Messianic Jews and most of the Jewish streams perceive ethnic Jews whose faith is Messianic as apostates to Christianity.
- Messianic Jews claim that a Jew who believes in Yeshua has not converted - just as the Chabadnikim have not.
- Yeshua was a Jew and from their perspective the Messiah of whom the Tanakh speaks. A Jew who believes in Yeshua is therefore actually a real Jew in God's eyes.
- A Jew who believes in Yeshua does not become a member of another religion. He can continue to observe Jewish tradition and isn't required to accept Christian tradition for himself.
- If a Messianic Jew's mother is Jewish according to the Rabbinate's requirements, under the 'nationality' clause is written 'Jew,' so that a Messianic Jew does not formally lose his Jewish identity or his place in the Jewish people when he believes in Yeshua.
- When a Jew who was not born to Messianic parents decides to become a believer as an adult, the nationality clause in his identity papers does not change."
As the above quote indicates, some of the legal aspects Kesher deals with are also instructive. Kesher interviewed Caleb Meyers, a lawyer belonging to the community, who claimed that "Messianic Jews are related to in Israel on the same level as terrorists, tourists from the [movement] do not have their visas renewed and their [local believers'] children are not registered." Having apparently contacted the Interior Ministry for its response to these claims, Kesher cites the reply he received: "The laws and procedures of the Interior Ministry apply to anyone in the population who turns to the Ministry, without distinction. A person who is an Israeli citizen and received that citizenship legally, even if he becomes a 'Messianic Jew,' will receive all the services provided by the Ministry of the Interior. We do not make any distinction between one citizen and another." [Editor's note: As Caleb argues, this may be the law on paper, but it is far from regularly applied in practice. It is very nice, however, to have such a statement from the Interior Ministry on record in writing.]
The last page of the article (it is not clear whether the column also belongs to Kesher's piece) related to the "renewal of the activity of the Committee for the Prevention of the Domination of the Mission." In a bizarre twist on the "Jewish conspiracy" theme, this committee, headed by Mina Fenton, sees Christianity as a whole as attempting to dominate the world. In Fenton's words - in response to the question whether the "good deeds" of the Messianic Jewish community could not truly be taken at face value - "Everyone who, like me, fights against the missionaries, knows their program. It's an organized, long-term, global program that has an influence on both the public and private realms and includes penetration into tens of thousands of households in Jerusalem and the whole country. The fundamental Christian doctrine is to catch Jews. This represents a true danger. Christian businessmen openly declare that 'we will bring Jews to faith in Yeshu through business.' We cannot make a distinction between Christians' religious faith and their desire to dominate the fields of culture, education, and economics. This domination is their premier goal and they are not ashamed to acknowledge it."
A second article, in Ma'ariv (June 20), reports on some of the people hanging out at the Promenade in Jerusalem - who include "smiling Messianic Jews who know that missionaries are forbidden in Israel but that they can sell books on any subject - including, for example, how to become a Messianic Jew in several simple steps."
The third piece (Jerusalem Post, June 20) does not strictly fall into this category, being a critical response to Isi Liebler's previous article defending Israel's befriending (American) evangelicals. Part of Ellen Horowitz's grievance with this policy, however, lies in the fact that "It must be known that some of the same evangelical bodies that are praising, praying for, and generously contributing to Israel are simultaneously pumping significant funds towards maintaining and promoting the over 100 churches, institutions, ministries, congregations and seminaries that service an estimated 15,000 Hebrew Christians ('Messianic Jews') - many of whom have no qualms about proselytizing."
HaTzvi, June 14; Yediot Haifa, June 15, 2007
HaTzvi (June 14) printed four letters responding to its article "Who would have believed?" concerning the film made about the Messianic community in Arad (see last week's Review). The first is worth quoting at length for its attitude towards Christianity and Messianic Judaism alike: "I have heard that we have a new blockbuster in town 'Who would have believed?' from the Messianic film makers. The name of the film is a transparent paraphrase of the opening verse of Isaiah 53. This chapter is a particular favorite of the missionaries, which they use to base the essence of their teaching which justifies, religiously and morally, the streams of Jewish blood which have been shed as a punishment for the Jews for our denial of the suffering of the Crucified One as allegedly portrayed in the chapter: Whoever does not convert to Christianity will suffer the same fate. What a pity and how sad that the high school in Arad should sponsor the disseminators of such nonsense - which even the Christian world has laid aside in disgust. What a pity and how sad - but not surprising. This is the missionaries' method: To make cynical use of every Jewish issue by fashioning it to achieve their purpose after emptying it of its original content. This is what they do with our festivals, ceremonies, customs, and Scriptures. So why not to a whole school? Does not the innocent Jewish heart, our graciousness and lofty morality, stand at the disposal of everyone - even our enemy?"
The next two letters both express outrage at the "blurring" of the boundaries between Christianity and Judaism which they presumably see Messianic Judaism as representing. The first is from a neighbor, originally friendly to the congregation but turned into a supporter of the Orthodox protestors following the attempt by some of the congregation's members to "influence me." "Since then I have been encouraging the demonstrators. The missionaries' gall exceeds all bounds, they want me as a Jew - true, not a religious Jew, but still a Jew - to become a Christian. 'Who would believe' that in the State of Israel there would exist such shameless coercion and blurring of Judaism and Christianity. It pains me that in the State of Israel we should have to be afraid of a small group who attempt to obscure the difference between Judaism and Christianity, and dare to call themselves Messianic Jews. They are Christians - as the Supreme Court has determined."
The last letter has more specific complaints about the community's lifestyle: "The question needs to be asked what are the motives of this group living in Eretz Israel? In the city of Arad? What is their goal and what do they live off? Did they come to make the desert bloom in the Land in general? And in the city of Arad in particular? This group doesn't work - many of them aren't Israeli citizens, and the real question is who is supporting them and what is the purpose of their being here in the Land, sometimes for months, sometimes for years?"
An article in Yediot Haifa (June 15) renewed the reports that the Jehovah's Witnesses in the city were again engaging in missionary activity, culminating in the "baptism of tens of Jews to Christianity." The piece also claimed that the sect recently failed in its attempt to purchase property in Haifa for their activities: "The owners of property in the neighborhood expressed opposition to a change in its purpose."
Ma'ariv, June 18; Haaretz, June 18, 20, 2007
The three articles in this section this week relate to non-local Christians who yet wished to make Israel their home. The two pieces in Ma'ariv and Haaretz (June 18) related to the death of Prof. Marcel Dubois, OB. Marcel Dubois was a well-known figure in Israeli society - his contribution being noted by the bestowal of the Israel Prize and Dignitary of Jerusalem prize. Dubois was born in France in 1920, entering the Benedictine Order at eighteen. During World War II he was employed with thirteen other brothers in the French welfare office, through which he helped hide Jewish children in church establishments. In 1962 he was sent to head the Benedictine order in Jerusalem with the establishment of Beit Yeshiahu, over which he presided until his death, when he was unfortunately its only inhabitant. Over the years he became a prominent figure in Jewish-Christian dialogue, "symbolizing Jerusalem's possibility of being not only the scene of confrontation between religions and cultures but also the scene of their meeting." One of his many "achievements" was offering himself as a substitute for the hostages at Entebbe. Marcel Dubois was 87 when he died.
Another, more recent, form of Christian "pilgrimage" to Israel comes in the shape of the increasing number of Sudanese refugees (Haaretz, June 20). Persecuted because of their faith in their native country, many Sudanese are fleeing to Egypt, where they also feel uneasy. One such refugee felt that "the fact that he was a Christian and an African was a stumbling block" to his residence in Egypt (see previous Reviews).
Yated Ne'eman, June 18, 2007
The Ministry of Tourism has opened a new campaign to promote tourism to Israel, under the slogan "You'll love Israel from the first peace." Part of the target population is "Christians in whom around 2 million dollars have been invested, [a sum] that constitutes about 18% of the total budget, under the slogan: 'Visit Israel and you'll never be the same.' The fear is that neither will the State of Israel be the same after such a flood of Christians and non-Jews ..." [Editor's note: The last sentiment reflects the paper's Orthodox stand.]
Iton BeMakom, June 15, 2007
A choir from Denver, Colorado is planning to visit the country and as part of its tour will give a concert at Asaf HaRofeh Hospital. Proceeds from the concert will go to purchase medical equipment for the hospital. "The members of the choir are Protestant Christians, who believe that they must support Israel and her citizens. Above their church flies the Israeli flag and they are very active in everything concerned with support for the Holy Land."
Shishi Be-Golan, June 15, 2007
This year's archaeological season has opened with excavations at Bethesda (Beit Tzeida). "The site at Bethesda belongs to the period beginning from the tenth century B.C.E. and it was abandoned in the fourth century C.E. The impressive gate which was uncovered at Bethesda belongs to the Iron Age - the tenth-eighth centuries B.C.E. Bethesda was the birthplace of three of the most important apostles of the Christian church, Yeshu visited it frequently and performed miracles there, according to accepted Christian tradition." The archaeologists hope to open the site this year to visitors.
Haaretz, June 17, 19; Jerusalem Post, June 18, 2007
On a recent visit to Assisi, Benedict XVI spoke of the fighting in the Middle East, considering it his duty "to launch from here a pressing and heartfelt appeal that all the armed conflicts that bloody the earth may cease ... Our thoughts go in a special way to the Holy Land, beloved of St. Francis [of Assisi], to Iraq, to Lebanon, to the entire Middle East" (Jerusalem Post, June 18). On the occasion of the Cypriot Greek Orthodox Church leader's visit to Rome, he and the Pope "pledged yesterday to work for peace in the Middle East, saying they feared a widening crisis with 'disastrous consequences'" (Haaretz, June 17).
The Vatican's plans for the beatification of Pius XII have again gone into high gear this week (Haaretz, June 19). Both supporters and objectors to the move are flooding the Vatican with evidence for their position. While conservative elements are trusting that Benedict XVI's own conservative stance will aid their effort, the Jewish community is hoping that his German origin will make him sensitive to the Holocaust and therefore cautious not to offend Jewish sensibilities. "Because the discussion will revolve to a large degree around Pius' attitude towards the Holocaust, Jews have the right, and perhaps even the duty, to voice their opinion, especially against the background of the part the Catholic Church played in persecuting Jews over the centuries." The article reviewed the respective attitudes, pointing out that Jews as well as Catholics can be found among Pius' defenders. It concluded by indicating, once again, that the process of Pius' beatification depends to a large degree on the contents of the Vatican archives. "It's dubious whether it will be at all possible to reach a decision in this matter while the Vatican continues to refuse access to all the documents in the Vatican archives from the period of the war. The fate of these archives in the near future will apparently constitute a marker of the way in which Benedict XVI will move in his office - and not only on the subject of the Jews and Pius XII."
Zman HaNegev, June 15; Yated Ne'eman, June 18; Haaretz, June 15, 2007
The question of anti-Semitism arises not merely in relation to Pius XII but also with regard to Italian attitudes in general. New research, recently published, "proves [that] Fascist Italy was anti-Semitic" (Yated Ne'eman, June 18). According to this report, the new book, Italy and Persecution of the Jews, published in Paris, "is based on authentic sources and documents and proves that anti-Semitism was not forced on the Italian government by the Nazis and popular pressure, as has been claimed. Mussolini's regime itself initiated the prohibition against Jews serving in certain professions and their denunciation in the press." According to the researcher, Mary Ann Bonci, "Mussolini strove to influence public opinion to justify Fascism following the end of the Spanish War through anti-Semitic incitement and efforts to remove Jewish liberties. The Vatican and the King kept silent in the face of the government initiative."
Hadar Moritz reviewed the Hebrew translation of Jose Saramago's book The Gospel According to Jesus [Yeshu] in Zman HaNegev (June 15). "Our story is thus about no one other than Yeshu who, like every good Jew, was born in the sin his father committed in order to save his son, who without doubt unwillingly became the number one missionary in the world. The guilt of his father's original sin is passed to his son, who does everything he can to atone for it. Yeshu sets out on a journey of atonement, on which you, the readers, will join him. There you will find a tour guide, a shepherd with original thoughts who shakes the foundations of the youthful Yeshu's world. In the end, it turns out that this shepherd is a famous figure with slightly negative connotations, whose identity you will find out by yourselves. Moreover, the sensitive youth finds himself in the arms of the most famous prostitute in the annals of history, Mary Magdalene, who becomes his companion throughout his brief life. Likewise, you will encounter depressed fishermen whom Yeshu amazes with his divine powers. At the end you will be witnesses to a divine plot ... yes, yes, God and Satan concoct a plot in which Yeshu is compelled to be the lead player. That's it - now all you have to do is arrange your holiday and to remember that whatever happens - Yeshu was born and died a Jew, and that fact no one can ever take away from us."
Haaretz (June 15) continues with excerpts from Marcel Schwob's book on the Children's Crusade.
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June 20, 2007
HaTzvi, June 7; Kol Bo (Haifa), June 8, 2007
"Messianic Jewish stronghold" in the city, and interviewed Shmuel Aweida, pastor of Beit Eliahu. Under the title "Messiah, Messiah" (taken from a popular Chasidic song), the article opened thus: "'We believe that the people of Israel are the chosen people, that the Land of Israel belongs to the people of Israel, and that God chose the people of Israel to be a light to the nations.' When these words are said in fluent, unaccented Hebrew, by Shmuel Aweida, 39, a Christian Arab born in Haifa, a graduate of a municipal school, they sound rather surrealistic." The cause of this surrealism lies in the fact that - as the interviewer, Chana Tal, points out - Aweida hasn't converted or become Jewish, but was born an Arab. Aweida's love for Israel - both land and people - is expressed, in Tal's words, "with a naturalness that arouses astonishment," leading her to raise the rhetorical question: "Confusing, no?"
Describing the service she attended at Beit Eliahu, Chana Tal noted the amiability of the congregants who "were willing at any moment to spread the Gospel that Yeshua the Messiah was born to the Virgin Mary, crucified, and buried, rose from the dead, ascended into heaven, and the day is soon coming when he will be revealed again and reign over the world." Having spoken of the "angelic singing," she then described the prayer: "The prayers aren't taken from a book. They're personal and spontaneous, but with a fixed content: asking the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob for mercy and compassion, healing for the sick, and aid to the needy. They also request from the Creator of the world that He will help the earthly and local leaders make the right decisions - at this moment, that Ehud Olmert will be able to stop the rocket attacks on Sderot and that the mayor will run the city properly."
Under the subheading "Baptism and Bible study," Chana Tal noted that "according to their faith, the first Messianic Jews were Yeshua's twelve disciples who, following his crucifixion, believed that he was the Messiah. They were considered traitors by the Jewish people, and all contact with them was forbidden ... According to their system, God made a new covenant with those who believe in Him, which demands that they believe in Yeshua as the Messiah, Son of David. This belief is sufficient to gain them entrance to Paradise, without the duty of observing any [of the] commandments. They choose to celebrate the Jewish festivals out of identification with the Jewish people." Tal understood that the only obligations they feel are imposed upon them are baptism - "a symbolic declaration of their faith and new birth" - and communion, which they celebrate once a month.
According to Tal, the Messianic community in Israel numbers around 15,000, having doubled in the past ten years due largely to the influx of Russian immigrants. The 100 or so congregations across the country "have names which carry a Jewish character: Mercy, Grace, Hope of Israel, Israel Lives, Living Water." Claiming that "the congregation's character is missionary by nature," Tal addressed the fact that it is consequently the target of anti-missionary organizations, especially Yad L'Achim, whose activities "slid over into real violence against the congregation in Arad and Beersheva." According to Tal, Yad L'Achim protested against a march by the "Haifa congregation" in August 2005, during which the participants handed out literature. "They were met by Yad L'Achim who loudly announced 'Beware, missionaries! Don't take anything from them! They want to make you convert' -and promptly led to the dispersal of the march." In response, Aweida declared, "We are no more missionaries than the Chabadnikim who stand at cross-roads and sell books." When asked by Tal concerning feelings of persecution, Aweida noted that the congregation has suffered from graffiti and he himself constantly receives threatening and abusive telephone calls in which the community is described as Nazis and Christians. Responding to a specific question regarding his Arab identity, Aweida said: "I don't live among them, don't come into contact with them, don't even speak Arabic. I've never once spoken to my two brothers in Arabic. I only see Arabs when I go to buy a shwarma [meat in pita bread]. The Arabs perceive us as enemies. Whoever believes in the Tanakh [Old Testament] believes that God chose the people of Israel and gave them the Land of Israel, and there can't be a situation in which he will see the Jewish people as an enemy."
Tal interviewed several young people in the congregation, most of whom preferred not to reveal their full names. She also interviewed a former congregant who, having become a believer, then left the faith, claiming that it was a cult. At the end of the article, she devoted a section to Yad L'Achim's attitude toward the Messianic Jewish community. Overall, the piece was objective and even positive toward Aweida, the congregation, and Messianic Judaism in general.
The "largest local paper in Arad and its environs," HaTzvi (June 7), carried an article entitled "Who would believe," featuring a film made by a twelfth-grader in the communications track in a local school who "daringly decided to touch on the most sensitive subject in Arad - the Messianic community and the dealings with the Orthodox sector." Correcting itself from indicating that the young woman had "exposed herself" to say instead that "she had exposed the truth behind the Messianic congregation in Arad," the article maintained that the film's purpose was to "present the true nature of the Messianic congregation which stands under the constant threat of the religious, according to her [the young woman, 'Kati'], something which is visible in violent tensions in Arad." The article quotes her words, which indicate that she is herself part of the Messianic community, in explanation of the friction: "We don't try to convert anyone to Christianity or to baptize anyone. We - or I at least - don't try to influence anyone by my opinion. If someone's interested or wants to know more about my faith, he can come and ask me and learn, when it comes from him and not from me." Despite the fact that other students have also addressed sensitive and controversial topics in their films, "this time everyone agreed that this film was special and moving." According to Kati, "I thought that someone had to take a step forward and bring the matter to people's attention." The article concluded by saying: "The film is 16 minutes long, and tells about the nature of the Messianic congregation in a documentary fashion, so that interwoven pieces of life can be seen in it."
Immediately underneath this article, HaTzvi inserted a second piece, entitled "(A) man shall live by his faith?" This article described the recent activities of the anti-missionary organizations in Arad, including the verbal abuse of a member of the congregation from outside her own house. "When they mentioned Hitler and the Messianic Jews in the same breath and shouted in unison through her window, the woman evidently summoned the police, who arrived several minutes later and dispersed the crowd."
Haaretz, June 8; Ma'ariv, June 8, 2007
This year is the sixtieth anniversary of the publication of Leah Goldberg's cycle of songs called "The Prodigal Son" (Haaretz, June 8). One of Israel's earliest, most well known and beloved poets, Leah Goldberg wrote this cycle - which has become part of the school curriculum - as a "serious parody of the parable of the prodigal son which is known from the New Testament (Luke 15:11)." According to the article, the parable "has gone far beyond its original context and become a great symbol. It has become an important subject in Western art (Rembrandt painted several versions of it), literature, music, [and] dance ... But its significance in the arts differed from its New Testament meaning: It wasn't the father's (i.e., God's) good-heartedness that was central but the son's fate and suffering. The Romantic period turned the son into a secular rebel who immersed himself in all the pleasures of the world and ultimately discovered himself empty, wounded, and humiliated. His submission and his return to his father were interpreted as a great moment of crisis and destruction, of forfeiture and not victory of the spirit (it should be noted that the Christian parable is open to such interpretations). Leah Goldberg goes beyond this development of the story and her poem deals with the tragic symbolism of the figure of the prodigal rather than the father's good-heartedness. But she also shifts the whole story and rewrites it, this time with a no less astonishing addition: a mother figure. And not only does a mother appear in the story - she becomes its central protagonist." It is the mother who decides to allow the son to come home - and determines the father's response, "teaching him that even anger is a form of love."
A more recent poem, written by Ezekiel Nafshi, appeared in Ma'ariv (June 8). Entitled "Of God's Grace," it is supposedly written by a Jew who, instead of going to India in search of spirituality, visits a monastery in Ein Karem (a neighborhood of Jerusalem, traditionally said to be the birthplace of John the Baptist). "The poem is an obviously religious poem. The speaker believes in the Creator of the world and seeks His grace everywhere. Perhaps he doesn't know, like many other Israelis, that Jews are forbidden to benefit from Christian consecration (holiness). In any case, the poem exudes an aroma of faith and worship of God via a Christian outlook, as for example, in the search for God in beauty, nature, (and) people's faces. Even the monk responsible for his hospitality presents his meals to him as if they were a Christian sacrament: instead of wine, jam; instead of bread, toast."
Ma'ariv, June 7; Haaretz, June 13, 2007
The Supreme Court has decided to take a lenient attitude toward the "Christian" couple charged with setting fire to the Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth (Ma'ariv, June 7). In response to an appeal on their behalf, the court reduced the husband's jail sentence from three to two years.
Having set out to visit the Golan Heights during Hebrew book week, Benny Tziffer took a detour and ended up at a "mysterious monastery" established by a Catholic order known as "the neo-catechumenal way" (Haaretz, June 13). "People come to 'Domus Galileo' in order to 'deepen their understanding of prayer' as one of the brothers in black explained. In the prayer room there is, untraditionally, a Torah ark for storing the Bible [biblia], as in a synagogue. And in the library, at its center, a synagogue pulpit with a Torah scroll on it, covered in velvet. It's possible to become very cynical in view of this mixture of Judaism and Christianity. But everything dissolves - or almost does - when the door to the balcony is opened, and there, in front of you, is a wall inscribed with Yeshua's Sermon on the Mount, which begins with the words "Blessed are the poor in spirit," and in a kind of ascending rhythm of lament are added to the poor in spirit those who mourn, the hungry, and blessed are those who are persecuted, blessed are you if people curse and revile you. There can't be a greater elegy than this."
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Caspari Center Media Spotlight: Yeshua Superstar
In this video translated by Caspari Center, witness one of the most surprising secular media presentations on the Messianic movement in Israel to date. In February 2007 Israel's Channel Two news, watched by millions of Israelis, presented a thoughtful documentary portraying the Messianic community in worship and family life. Often, the Messianic community is portrayed in the media with stereotypes, misperceptions, and hype. Here, Channel Two listens carefully to articulate representatives of the Messianic community, notes their contributions to Israeli culture, and even casts a negative picture of their Ultra-Orthodox critics. This can only be an indication that the Messianic community is breaking into mainstream Israeli consciousness at a time when the country desperately needs to hear the message of peace, hope, and forgiveness through Messiah Yeshua. We've added English subtitles to the Hebrew video to give you access to this amazing event.
From Israeli Media:
Chief Rabbinate Nixes Christian-Jewish Conference
by Hillel Fendel http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/122358
(IsraelNN.com) The Chief Rabbinate has banned participation in the Bridges for Peace women's conference scheduled for next week in Jerusalem.
Participation in the "Woman to Woman" Conference in Jerusalem next week, sponsored by the Christian "Bridges for Peace" organization, has been banned by the Chief Rabbinate of Israel. The event is set to coincide with the celebrations commemorating the 40th anniversary of Jerusalem's re-unification in the Six Day War.
A special Rabbinate committee, headed by Rabbi Simcha Kook of Rechovot, ruled on Thursday that concentration on "Judeo-Christian values" and the study of "the Jewish foundations of Christianity" are forbidden. The rabbis ruled that these efforts are actually part of a long-running campaign to bring Israeli-Jews to believe in Jesus.
Promotional literature for the Woman to Woman conference, to take place in Jerusalem from May 16-19, describes it as "Jewish and Christian women together, studying the Word [italics added] and working together to build bonds of friendship and bring comfort to the people of Israel." Each Conference day will begin with "praise and worship... in preparation for an exciting series of visits and speakers, focusing on the roles, experiences, and opportunities for Women in Israel."
Bridges for Peace is a Jerusalem-based, Bible-believing Christian organization that supports Israel and is engaged, according to its website, in "building relationships between Christians and Jews worldwide through education and practical deeds expressing God's love and mercy. It is our desire to see Christians and Jews working side by side for better understanding and a more secure Israel."
The Conference will be followed by the Knesset Christian Allies Caucus Women’s Summit, entitled, "Empowering Women through Judeo-Christian Values." The two-day event (May 20-21) will, according to the official invitation, "bring together hundreds of Jewish and Christian women from all over the globe to address the difficult issues and tragic circumstances millions of women face daily. Every component of this remarkable experience is designed to encourage and equip women to be all that God has called them to be. Together, we will come to know Him better, and we will go back to our home countries, an army of His women, empowered to change the world."
Another promotional website explains, "The Knesset Christian Allies Caucus Women’s Council Conference will focus on hardships facing women worldwide, to which solutions can be found through Judeo-Christian values. Women representatives from every country in the world will join together in this monumental forum to be trained as ambassadors who will mobilize their respective governments to promote the status of women in their home country. Through this conference in the holy city of Jerusalem, women leaders will promote Judeo-Christian values globally. Christian women leaders and members of the Israeli Knesset Christian Allies Caucus Women’s Council will chair the conference and teach in special post-conference guided tours following the footsteps of the Bible throughout the Holy Land."
The two other members of the Rabbinate committee are Rabbi Yitzchak Peretz, Chief Rabbi of Raanana, and Be'er Sheva Chief Rabbi Yehuda Deri. The committee, together with Chief Rabbis Yona Metzger and Shlomo Amar, ruled that the Woman to Woman Conference is "in opposition to Torah thought and law," and that the events organized by the Knesset Christian Caucus, Bridges for Peace and the International Christian Embassy of Jerusalem "strive to create a partnership between famous Christian preachers and leaders of organizations that have worldwide missionary programs to missionize as many Jews as possible... Events of this nature have been banned in the past by Torah giants throughout the generations, and they are forbidden."
Rabbi Deri explained to Arutz-7, "We note of late the terrible phenomenon of Messianic Jews wreaking havoc and destruction in Israel by trying to bring Jesus as Messiah into Israel. With pleasantness and kindness, they bring Torah, fear of G-d and even Torah commandments - but all with one underlying theme: that Jesus is Messiah. This joins with the phenomenon of millions of Evangelical Christians; Bibi Netanyahu said about them, 'They are not just friends of Israel, they are Israel!' They want to help and support us, but they have the same goals as the Messianics. They make tremendous efforts and support us all over, and are even more right-wing than we are in some ways, and they help us with Bush, etc. - this is all true, but in the end, they have one goal, and that is Jesus. We are not on the level of early great Rabbis who were able to take the good and spit out the bad..."
MK Rabbi Benny Elon (National Union) responded with sorrow to the decision. He said that he and others like him make sure to work only with Christians who do not have missionary intentions. "We work closely with the Yad L'Achim anti-missionary organization," MK Elon told Arutz-7, "though now a competing organization - Lev L'Achim - has arisen and seems to have 'stricter' standards... It's hard for me to understand: What can be wrong about forging friendships with those who want to help us and care about us?"
Jerusalem Councilwoman Mina Fenton of the National Religious Party says that Elon's approach is very naive. "They try to do outreach in any way possible," she told Arutz-7, "but all they actually want is to infiltrate into the Jewish public in any way possible, and to blur the differences between Judaism and Christianity. That's why they have all these missions and study groups and women's groups and seminars on Christianity's Jewish roots and the like - because they want Jews to think that they can remain Jewish while still accepting Jesus."
The Knesset Christian Allies Caucus has made no secret of its opposition to missionary efforts. In fact, high-profile evangelical radio talk-show host Janet Parshall, known for her strong support of Israel, has refused to speak for the Caucus for this reason. She said she made the decision after learning that the Caucus "condemns" and does not associate with missionary groups. Parshall said she fears Israel would soon essentially say, "We'll take your aid, your support and your tourist dollars, but we won't take your Jesus."
On the other hand, Precept Ministries founder Kay Arthur - who has said, “The Jews need conversion" - is still active in the Knesset Christian Allies Caucus Women's Council.
Rabbi Deri admitted that the decision was not an easy one: "It's true that in the short run, it's advantageous to work with them - but what about the harm caused 50 years from now?... This is a hard issue, and I very much admire Benny Elon and his family - but we have to rely on the majority of rabbis, such as Rabbi Avraham Shapira and Rabbi Lior and many others..."
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April 25, 2007
During the week covered by this review, we received 28 articles on the subjects of Messianic Jews, anti-missionary activity, Israeli attitudes to Christianity, Christians in Israel, the Pope and the Vatican, and art. Out of the total:
HaTzvi, March 8, 15, 2007
Two articles in this local Arad paper addressed the conflict between the Messianic and Orthodox communities in the city. The first (March 8), written by Moshe Regev, countered the widespread opposition to the Orthodox influx into Arad. As part of his argument, Regev related not only to the positive but also to some of the negative aspects of the phenomenon: "However, I have a very serious objection to the behavior of a handful of bored, radical Gur Hasidim who are letting out their creative impulses on a small and valuable group of Messianic Jews and Christians. I know the group personally - not missionaries, nor anything of the sort! They include two paramedics who have saved many lives in Arad!!! If people behaved like this toward Jews abroad we would be outraged."
The second piece (March 15), written by Gershon Konkol HaLevi ("an ordinary Jew") in response to Moshe Regev, was entitled "'Messianic Jews' - there is no such animal!" HaLevi began by identifying some possible candidates for the title - such as Chabad, for instance, who believe that their Rabbi is the Messiah, or the "Mizrachi" movement in Israel that thinks that the establishment of the State of Israel constitutes the beginning of the Redemption. "But Messianic Jews for real - they don't exist." According to HaLevi, "The first and most important Christian indicator is the belief in Yeshu as the Messiah, and ever since they first assembled around the memory of this good and tortured Jew, a handful of Jews who believed in and disseminated his so-called Messiahship, he has joined the long list of 'false messiahs' (as they are known in Judaism) and he unwillingly became the 'Messiah' of half the world's inhabitants who have nothing in common with Judaism." Like other Orthodox figures (such as Yehuda Deri; see previous Reviews), HaLevi is most upset by the "Jewish disguise" in which Messianic Jews parade, thereby posing a greater missionary danger than ever before: "The modern missionaries who have inherited the crusaders' sword and the inquisitors' cauldrons disguise their true identity with such false names as 'Messianic Jews,' 'Jews for Jesus,' and so forth, and thereby, by ways of pleasantness and peace, they draw adults closer to them and they especially draw misled, confused, and outcast youth."
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HaTzvi, March 8; Mishpaha, March 29; HaModia, April 16, 2007
The first article was a very brief note of Eddie Beckford's banishment from Arad ( HaTzvi, March 8). The second ( Mishpaha, March 29) also dealt with "old news," reporting on the Jehovah's Witnesses' conference in Tel Aviv "which became a platform for public frustration" when confronted with the knowledge that "Yad L'Achim's members are lying in wait for us everywhere and succeeding in restraining our activity." The third report ( HaModia, April 16) noted Lev L'Achim's tenth annual conference.
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Arim, April 5; Yom L'Yom, April 12; Mishpaha, April 13, 2007
The two religious papers ( Yom L'Yom and Mishpaha) carried a story related to the recent Easter celebrations which, according to the view proposed, threatened to desecrate the Shabbat. The articles were indignant over the fact that, in order to safeguard the security of all those participating (Christians), the Israeli police force and volunteers had been compelled to work on the Shabbat "known to Christians as a special Shabbat." Because the Christians had "intended to go to the Old City during the afternoon, the police were deployed to keep the peace and the security of these Christian events" ( Yom L'Yom, April 12). Mishpaha (April 13) similarly stated that "A procession of Christian worship on the last path of That Man, may his named be blotted out, will create a mass desecration of Shabbat by thousands of police and soldiers deployed for their security." The same report quoted residents of the Old City's Jewish quarter as saying: "We're not claiming that the police shouldn't safeguard the procession. But not in such great numbers." The implication: Most of these policemen could be at home on Shabbat, since the procession wasn't going into Muslim areas and therefore wasn't expected to cause security problems. The police response, also noted, was that they didn't require professional advice on how to safeguard the procession and were quite prepared to provide security for "processions of the various communities who have been observing their own commandments and way of life for thousands of years."
The Via Dolorosa also figured in Arim, a regional paper for the middle of the country. In a column entitled "Five Trivialities" it featured "marches." The first listed was the Gay Pride March, the second the annual "March of the Living" at Auschwitz. The third was the "death marches" conducted by the Nazis toward the end of the war, followed by the fourth - the Via Dolorosa - "the name for the path of sufferings which Yeshu walked on his way to the cross. According to Christian tradition, Yeshu was accompanied by Roman soldiers on this difficult and humiliating path, from the area around the Lion's Gate in Jerusalem's Old City Muslim quarter up to the Holy Sepulcher in the Christian quarter." The fifth march was the recent one by hundreds of Britons, bound together by iron chains, marking the 200-year anniversary of the abolishment of the slave trade.
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BeMachane, March 30; Haaretz, April 12, pp. 2, 3, 2007
Easter celebrations were not confined to Jerusalem. According to a report in BeMachane (March 30), "thousands of pilgrims [are expected] to arrive over Easter at the Israeli baptismal site on the River Jordan." Jericho was singled out especially, where water and bathroom facilities were prepared in advance and the civil guard on duty was given special instructions "so as not to lead to an international incident." Although any Palestinian Christian who wished was permitted to attend the ceremonies in Jericho, most of the visitors were foreign pilgrims. The authorities were expecting attendance from five Christian communities, including the Greek Orthodox and Copts, the latter "known for their colorful ceremonies." One of the police duties was to make sure that each community arrived at a different time. While half a million people a year on average visit the baptismal site, "the Christians living in the land are accustomed to celebrating Easter by baptism in the waters of the Jordan."
In an interview with Bob Novak in Haaretz (April 12, p. 3), commenting on his infrequent visits to Israel, Novak noted that his first visit, last year, had been at the initiative of Dr. Deal Hudson, director of the Washington-based Morley Institute for Christian Culture and the Catholic publication "Crisis Magazine," who had invited Novak "to check the situation of our Christian brothers in the Holy Land." Back with the same people now, Novak stated: "I came last year in order to examine the fate of the Christian population in the territories, which is suffering from the fence and limitation of movement ... I saw the wall around Jerusalem, which causes so much suffering to the Catholics and the Palestinians in general, and I thought it right to follow up on their situation."
In a column by Shahar Ilan, the opening comment included the statement, "Perhaps unwittingly, a clause in the coalition's agreement with Shas has led to a 21 million shekel budget for mosques and churches." Under a subtitle "One child difference," statistics were also provided regarding the Christian fertility rate in Israel. According to the report, the fertility rate for "Arab-Israeli women (including Muslims, Christians, and Druse) is lower than the Muslim rate alone, and stands at 3.6 children per woman." These statistics are interpreted to indicate that "the gap between Jewish and Arab fertility rates already stands at one child. The reason for the low Arab fertility rate in relation to the Muslim rate lies in the fact that the Arab-Christian rate is especially low (2.1 children per woman in 2006) and is approaching the European Christian birth rate. A fertility rate of 2.1 children is exactly the rate necessary to safeguard the permanent size of the population."
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Haaretz, April 13, 15 (pp. 11, 12), 16; Jerusalem Post, April 13, 15, 16; Ma'ariv, April 13, 16; HaZofeh, April 16; Yediot Ahronot, April 13, 2007
Tensions ran high this week following the Vatican ambassador to Israel's refusal to participate in this year's Holocaust Remembrance Day events. The ambassador objected to Yad Vashem's inclusion of a picture of Pope Pius XII with the caption, "Even when reports about the murder of Jews reached the Vatican, the pope did not protest, refusing to sign a 1942 Allied condemnation of the massacre of Jews." This would have marked the "first case in which a foreign emissary deliberately skipped the ceremony" ( Haaretz, April 13). Jewish reaction was vehement. According to the Jerusalem Post (April 15), Abe Foxman, ADL national director and himself a survivor, stated, "While we understand Monsignor Franco's displeasure about the photo caption, his decision to boycott the entire Holocaust Memorial Day ceremonies is unnecessarily insulting and unbecoming ... The photo caption may be inappropriate and too judgmental, but it does not justify the Vatican's refusal to participate in Israel's national observance of Holocaust Day. Without the public release and analysis of the Vatican's wartime archives, the questions about Pope Pius XII will remain unresolved." Franco eventually attended the ceremony ( Haaretz, April 16).
Shmuely Boteach, also in the Post (April 16), developed a similar argument: "To be sure, the facts of Pius's moral failure to condemn the Holocaust is [ sic] well established, and it is a shame that the Catholic Church is more offended by its revelation than its occurrence. Indeed, the inability of Pius XII to speak out against the destruction of European Jewry constitutes, perhaps, the greatest moral omission in the history of the world ... For all his white robes, Pius's record is a dark stain against a great church, whose leadership was an affront to a great religion. It would behoove the modern leaders of the august Catholic faith to join Yad Vashem and the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in looking at the failures of the church and its leader with honesty and humility." Ma'ariv (April 16) added in its piece: "The key to understanding the action of Pius XII during the Holocaust lies in the Vatican's hands. Until the Vatican orders the opening of its archives, the figure of the pope will remain that of one who kept silent."
The Pope and the Catholic Church were also the focus of two further articles in the Israeli media. The first related to Benedict's - again - controversial reference to Judaism, this time in one of the meditations on the Stations of the Cross. According to tradition, "the 14-station candle-lit procession, presided over by the pope, goes around the Coliseum in Rome" ( Jerusalem Post, April 13). This year, at the pope's request, a quotation from an Auschwitz diary formed part of the meditation for the third station, "newly entitled 'Jesus is Condemned by the Sanhedrin,' which reenacts the turning over of Jesus to Pontius Pilate by the Jews' 'Council of Elders,' as told in Luke 22 and 23." The quote, related to the need for a "witness which must be forcefully rendered even when there is a powerful temptation to hide, to give up, to go along with the prevailing opinion," was taken from the diary of a young woman who died at Auschwitz: "In the words of a young Jewish woman destined to die in a concentration camp, 'Each new horror or crime, we must oppose with a new fragment of truth and goodness which we have gained in ourselves. We can suffer, but must not surrender.'" Both Christian and Jewish sources denounced the use of the quote. Tantur Ecumenical Institute's rector in Jerusalem stated that the "use of a Jewish source in the context of the Passion was a mistake," a view echoed by Ephraim Zuroff of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Israel, who declared that "while he was not familiar with the details of Catholic ritual, he was wary of any attempts to 'Christianize' the Holocaust." David Rosen of the ADL, on the other hand, was of the opinion that the quote was not a harmful factor: "The reference that the pope makes to a positive, committed Jewish person shows that, in keeping with the sea change in Church doctrine, the Passion is not a charge of collective responsibility against the Jewish people."
On a different note again, an article in Ma'ariv (April 13) examined the phenomenon of "Friday the thirteenth" (the day on which the paper was published). Its origins were traced to King Philip of France who, on Friday 13, 1307, ordered his troops to attack all the Templar fortresses in France. "The Templars, or by their other name, 'The Order of the Knights of Solomon's Palace,' were knight-monks responsible on behalf of Christendom for the defense of the Crusader kingdom in Israel and the Crusaders who reached Jerusalem. Philip arrested all the Templars on French land apparently because he wished to seize their property. He ordered that they confess to heresy, homosexuality, and Satan worship. According to another explanation, another person is responsible for this tradition - Judas Iscariot, Yeshu's disciple who betrayed him, because he was the thirteenth apostle at the Last Supper. "
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Jerusalem Post, April 11, 2007
In an article entitled "Scholars featured in 'Lost Tomb of Jesus' backtrack," Etgar Lefkovits indicates that "Several prominent scholars who were interviewed in a bitterly contested documentary that suggests that Jesus and his family members were buried in a nondescript ancient Jerusalem burial cave have now revised their conclusions." These include some of the most important witnesses for the film's claim, notably the statistician Andrey Feuerverger, who originally stated that the odds were 600:1 that the tomb belonged to Jesus' family. The retractions are found in an article written by Stephen Pfann, himself interviewed on the film, and disseminated on the internet. Feuerverger's initial assessment has now been revised: "A statistical study commissioned by the broadcasters ... concludes that the probability factor is in the order of 600 to 1 that an equally 'surprising' cluster of names would arise purely by chance under given assumptions. Another statement on the same Web site stating that Feuerverger had concluded that it was highly probable that the tomb, located in the southeastern neighborhood of Talpiot, was the Jesus family tomb - the central point of the film - has now been changed. It now reads: 'It is unlikely that an equally surprising cluster of names would have arisen by chance under purely random sampling.'" Pfann's paper also asserts that Frank Cross Moore's positive statement in the film has been revised, that the DNA analyst later stated, "the only conclusions we made were that these two sets [tested] were not maternally related. To me, it sounds like absolutely nothing," and that Prof. Francois Bovon, quoted in the film as identifying Mariamne with Mary Magdalene has "issued a disclaimer stating that he did not believe that 'Mariamne' stood for Mary of Magdala at all."
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April 18, 2007
HaModia, April 2; Mishpaha, March 8; BeKehila, March 8, 15; Iton BeMakom, March 23; Yom L'Yom, March 8, 15, 2007
Three of the religious papers (Yom L'Yom, BeKehila, and Mishpaha) carried the same story, broken last week, of a missionary's alleged assault on Arad's Chief Rabbi and Eddie Beckford's arrest for ostensibly attacking a group of Yad L'Achim activists. The report opened by noting the "new low" to which the level of missionary activity had reached - indicating that (if it were indeed true), this constitutes the first time violence has been used.
HaModia (April 2) reported on a wave of missionary activity "flooding" the country prior to Passover. According to the article, flyers were distributed in Haifa, Holon, Ramat Gan, and Netanya inviting the population to "public Seders" [the celebration on the first night of Passover]. These events were scheduled to include "songs, readings from the Haggada and Scripture, and a meal - kosher for Passover of course!" The most favored missionary tactic was also used: "Free entry - no fee." The report further noted that the activity represented an expression of the "incomprehensible facility with which the missionaries allow themselves to do anything which comes to mind - including the sprinkling of sand on the way to accomplishing their abominable goal of converting Jews." [Editor's note: the reference in this last comment is very unclear.] The article concluded with a report on the "self-whipping and bitter frustration" of the Jehovah's Witnesses at a recent conference when faced with Yad L'Achim's successes against them.
In the light of such perceived increase in missionary activity - and especially in the wake of the legal support it recently received in the Haifa district court - Yad L'Achim activists have stepped up their efforts to introduce a law banning all missionary activity. According to a report in BeKehila (March 15), a letter was sent to all the Orthodox Members of Knesset urging them to take "all the parliamentary steps in their power to bring the Knesset to pass an anti-missionary law that would put a stop to all missionary activity whatsoever." The anti-missionary goal appears to be to make any preaching illegal: "A Jew cannot persuade a non-Jew to join himself to the Jewish people, and vastly different, no non-Jew can take any action or persuasion whatsoever toward conversion." Shas has joined this campaign, proposing a bill that would impose a year's imprisonment on anyone engaging in such missionary activity.
Two further reports relate to missionary activity among the Ethiopian community. BeKehila (March 8) stated that Ethiopian spiritual leaders recently communicated their anger to the government over its policy of bringing falashmura to Israel. Having undergone the conversion process demanded by the Israeli Rabbinate in order to prove their Jewishness, these people then proceed to engage in Christian missionary activity. The leaders further accused the Rabbinate of implicitly encouraging missionary activity: "Although we find it difficult to adopt an attitude of defiance to the Rabbinate, it is easy for us to agree on the way forward: Because the Chief Rabbinate has refused to acknowledge our standing as spiritual leaders in Israel, the mission is working to eliminate the Ethiopian Jewish community precisely here in our holy land. The mission has established churches in Jerusalem, Rehovot, and Jaffa for Ethiopian Jews who have converted to Christianity under the pressure of financial temptations." According to Iton BeMakom (March 23), Rehovot's Ethiopian spiritual leader, Yitzhak Zagai, also complained this week about the infiltration of missionary activity into the formal and informal educational system - although nowhere in the article was the form this is allegedly taking specified. Zagai wrote a letter to the chairman of the Knesset Education Committee asking that the subject be placed on its agenda.
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Jerusalem Post, April 2, 8, 10; Ma'ariv, April 5; Haaretz, April 2, 5 (English and Hebrew editions); Iton Yerushalayim, March 30; Kol Bo, March 30, 2007
Most of the coverage of the Easter celebrations centered on the fact that this year the Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant calendars all coincided, leading to large numbers of pilgrims. The celebrations were not tempered, as they have been in previous years, by the security situation. They were only partially marred by in-fighting over the Greek Orthodox Patriarch, Theofilos III being permitted to conduct the Easter Eve ceremonies at the Holy Sepulcher - particularly that of the "Holy Fire" - despite his not having received official approval (Jerusalem Post, April 2; Ma'ariv, April 5). His rival Irineos was also featured in the press in an article reporting his recent case against the Greek Orthodox Church's lawyers whom, he claims, have continued to represent the Church without its approval. Irineos himself is under attack for illegal property deals (Iton Yerushalayim, March 30).
A more unusual aspect of Easter was addressed in an article by the Duchess of Hamilton in the Jerusalem Post
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(April 8), who looked at the connection of the festival with flowers. "Christians visit the Holy Land in search of the spiritual, so having an abundance of fresh flowers and gardens in keeping with the time of Jesus would help visitors recapture the feeling of early Christianity ... Little is said about the flora that surrounded Jesus during his earthly life. This lack of focus is unexpected as the outdoors was essential to early Christianity. Most of Jesus' ministry took place in the open, especially the events during Lent ... Just as the religious character of the exterior areas around churches is often overlooked, it is now the same with the actual species of flowers. If local plants such as tulips, wild marjoram, sage-leafed rockrose, African rue, hyacinth, common narcissus, sea squill, blue lupin, sea daffodil, Cyclamen perssicum and Anemone coronaria, were grown in the grounds of Holy Places and church gardens in Israel, it would add a sense of continuity with the past, give an extra dimension for tourists and, more importantly, help the environment." The latter element relates to the fact that the "artificial" flowers now produced for the market enhance beauty at the expense of nature, being more aesthetically pleasing but less fertile.
Yediot Ahronot, April 2, 2007
Aharon Megged had an amusing - yet serious - piece in Yediot Ahronot (April 2), depicting a recent family Passover experience in Spain. Vacationing in the region, the family belatedly realized that it was the night of the Seder. Descending to the hotel's dining room, they eventually conveyed to the manager that they were endeavoring to celebrate the festival - as Megged notes, in the Spain where the conversos had been forced to observe the feast clandestinely, they were celebrating it in a foreign land in remembrance of Zion! During the meal - in which they improvised matza with crackers brought with them for the journey, a poached egg for the boiled egg, a chicken leg for the "zroa," mustard for the "bitter herbs," and chocolate mousse as the charoset - they were approached by four nuns, "two in black, two in white." Asking what the family was celebrating, they exclaimed "Jerusalem, Easter" on hearing it was Passover. Megged invited them to join the festivities, "since Jesus himself celebrated Passover on the Mt. of Olives in Jerusalem!" The group proceeded to celebrate an "ecumenical Seder," with Megged dividing the roles of the four sons amongst them, "giving 'the one who does not know to ask' to the elder nun." "After we had eaten and been filled to our satisfaction, we sang, Jews and Catholics alike, Handel's Messiah, and together we blessed the peace we had brought between the two rival religions."
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Haaretz, March 29, April 5; Jerusalem Post, April 1, 2, 10; Ma'ariv, April 1, 5; Yediot Ahronot, April 4, 2007
Various reports in the Israeli media this week concerning the Pope's recent activities included Benedict XVI's first book published since his election (Haaretz, April 5), his Easter speech, in which he "welcome[d the] Israel-PA dialogue" (Jerusalem Post, April 10), and another speech in Rome in which he insisted that Hell (Gehennom) is more "symbolic" than a physical place - "a state of eternal separation from God." As the article in Haaretz (March 29) indicated, the pontiff's "direct language [is] characteristic of the pope's conservative attitude and his worldview on the need to return to the sources of religion, which he has been advocating since entering office."
Holy Week this year includes the second anniversary of Pope John Paul's death (April 2, 2005). Benedict's predecessor has been much in the news regarding the process of his beatification, which has already been set in motion. The process recently gathered momentum through the release of information concerning an alleged healing miracle he performed for a French nun, curing her of the same Parkinson's disease from which he himself suffered (Jerusalem Post, April 1, 2; Ma'ariv, April 1). A documented miracle, inexplicable on scientific grounds, is the first condition for beatification.
Two further articles dealt with Catholicism, one looking at a recent survey examining Catholic attitudes toward celibacy, the results of which indicate that 53% of the 20,000 Spanish priests questioned would prefer celibacy to be an "optional" part of their faith (Ma'ariv, April 5). The second, on a much less serious, but sugary, note, reported that "While the Catholic Church embraces statues of the crucified Yeshu, it appears that a statue of the Son of God made of chocolate is very difficult to swallow." The statue - a life-size replica of a naked Jesus, made of 90 kilograms of chocolate, which has come to be called "My sweet Lord" - was due to be exhibited in a Manhattan hotel. The event was cancelled following official and popular complaints.
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Yated Ne'eman, March 29, 2007
A lengthy article in Yated Ne'eman (March 29) followed the award of an honorary doctorate to a Mormon leader (see previous Reviews). While it reported the event, the body of the article was devoted to an explanation of Mormonism, including its controversial practice of baptizing people into the Mormon religion after their death and without the permission of their families (examples include Rashi and Rambam, Christopher Columbus, American Presidents, Genghis Khan, Hitler, and Stalin!). "There is no need to conduct an in-depth investigation to discover the meaning of the promises which Mormons make. But it's clear to everyone that members of the Mormon sect are active missionaries, in effect the most active missionaries of all the Christian sects."
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Haaretz, March 30, 2007
The latest Christian Zionist endeavor came in the form of a "letter of apology to Israel" initiated by the Texas-based Covenant Alliances. "Addressed to 'the people of Israel,' the letter asks for forgiveness, 'on behalf of millions of Christians who love Israel and pray for her' for 'crimes committed against the Jewish people throughout history in the name of "Christianity." We have sinned against God and against you.'"
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Tzomet HaSharon, March 30; Haaretz, April 2, 2007
In a section entitled "The Sacred Family," an art column devoted to the nature and role of the family in recent Israeli-exhibited art, a brief segment looked at "The Father, the Son, the Blood, and Europe" (Tzomet HaSharon, March 30). Claiming that the "universal and timeless theme of the family" has become peripheral in modern art discussions, the report argues that this development contrasts with the "prevalent tone" in the "history of Western, Greek-Christian culture, which "primarily sees in the family a place for the development of archetypal conflicts and bloodshed. Someone must be murdered - the father (Oedipus) or the son (Yeshu)."
Haaretz (April 2) carried a book review of two volumes examining the life and work of Reuven Rubin, published to accompany the exhibition of his work at the Tel Aviv Museum (see Review of Nov. 27, 2006). According to one of the books, Rubin's painting "The Temptation in the Wilderness" (1921) "is one of the only and earliest examples of a Jewish painter who dares to identify himself with the image of the Crucified One in a personal context" - an identification which also appears in other paintings. "Christian motifs continued to occupy Reuven also in his first year in Eretz Israel," this author goes on to argue, "as well as afterwards, although only indirectly."
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April 10, 2007
This week's Review consists of a smorgasbord of different items. Various anti-missionary activities continue to be reported, together with further reactions to the burial of a non-Christian soldier in a military cemetery. Isolated articles appear on the themes of Christian Zionism/tourism, Christians in Israel, and interfaith dialogue, while outside of Israel much of the focus lies on Catholic activities, including the Pope's recent speech before the EU and a predecessor's conduct during the Holocaust. One travel article briefly mentioned Yad HaShmonah, the messianic moshav, while two book reviews related to specifically Christian themes - Mary and sin.
Missionary and Anti-missionary Activity
Haaretz, March 23; HaModia, March 23 (x 2), 2007
With respect to the recent Haifa court ruling against the municipal conference hall's decision not to rent their premises to "Christian" groups, Haaretz (March 23) carried a comprehensive report on the affair. Describing the details of the law against discrimination in full (the reason for the ruling against the owners) - public places are forbidden to prohibit entrance or to refuse services to anyone on the basis of race, religion, nationality, origin, gender, sexual orientation, outlook, party affiliation, personal and hereditary status - the article went on to say that "the congress center in Haifa thought erroneously that these important values were insignificant in relation to financial considerations." The rationale behind the center's claim lay in the fact that "it knew that connection with [this] community would lead to losses in the wake of the refusal of various other bodies in Haifa to benefit from its services." It was precisely this reasoning which the court rejected, maintaining that it constituted discrimination. The ruling continued that, despite its claim to be a private enterprise, the center is in fact a public body, established by public funds and providing public services. The court further ruled that "the discrimination was flawed in its purpose, opposed to the principle of equality and fairness, and even violated the instructions of the law"; that public supervision over the administration of the center should be increased; and that the center must henceforth be administered not only according to financial considerations but must also integrate anti-discriminatory policies into its service of the public. The article concluded by stating, "In such a heterogeneous State as Israel, in which various different publics live side by side, there is certainly place to protect, with all possible vigilance, the dignity of man and to remove all vestiges of discrimination - even at the cost of a certain impingement on the freedom to deal with whomever a person chooses and the freedom to do what he likes with one's property."
The Jehovah's Witnesses were again the focus of the religious papers, which reported that "by methods which will remain secret for the time being," Yad L'Achim gained intelligence of a "closed meeting" conducted by this "well-known sect" during which "a girl of 12 ascended the platform and delightedly recounted to her operators [sic] that in the framework of her school studies she had been 'privileged' to be able to bring the 'Gospel' to the knowledge of many of the girls with whom she studied" (HaModia, March 23). In response to the information, Yad L'Achim wrote a letter to the principal, stating that "During the course of the meeting, your student ... recounted how she engages in 'missionary outreach [bisur]' within the school walls. She added that she has two other school friends with whom she regularly studies Christianity." In the name of the struggle against the mission, the letter appealed to the principal to provide Yad L'Achim with the names of the other students and their parents "in order for us to be able to explain to them the danger they are facing" and to forbid the student "from engaging in missionary activity." In this instance, not being able to claim that the missionary was exploiting the needy or poor, Yad L'Achim argued that the mission's work in "posh areas" took advantage of the "openness" of the teaching staff which allowed the "hunters of souls" to "make contacts with high school students."
HaModia (March 23) carried an article reporting Meir Porush's indignation over the police decision to close their file - activated by Porush's complaint - on missionary activity amongst minors by a family in Gan Yavneh, due to insufficient evidence. According to the Minister of Internal Security, "Following a comprehensive police investigation, no evidential foundation was discovered for the complaint filed." Porush responded by accusing the police of shoddy investigation procedures which, in his opinion, "will effectively enable the continuation of missionary activity in Gan Yavneh and the southern coast." He produced a copy of a "missionary newspaper" distributed in Gan Yavneh which allegedly claimed: "It's very moving to hear and to see so many churches [Editor's note: filmed on a video/tape] whose services are in Russian and Hebrew. The new video/tape has been enthusiastically welcomed by all the attendants. It is designed for children and youth." Porush was of the opinion that the police should have taken this report seriously - unless they were unaware of it or the video - as being in clear violation of the law against persuasion to convert minors.
Messianic Jewish Congregation
Yediot Ahronot, March 26, 2007
In an article reviewing guest houses in the south of the country, the author wrote that "a great experience awaited me in the Jerusalem area: At Moshav Yad HaShmonah Jews who believe in Yeshu and a group of Finns, founders of the moshav, live side by side."
Israeli Attitudes toward Christianity
HaDaf HaYarok, March 22; Zman HaKrayot, March 16, 2007
In continuation of the affair of the non-Jewish female soldier buried in a Jewish cemetery next to fallen Jewish soldiers, HaDaf HaYarok (March 22) carried a lengthy article on the girl's background, clearly indicating that it did not support the parents' complaint. Valentina Yabseinko lost her mother at an early age, moved to kibbutz Barkai at age 15, was an excellent pianist, and was killed during her army service, in which framework she was also in the process of converting to Judaism. In the words of one of her friends on the youth/conversion program: "We bring them to Israel and after they get here they become citizens and many of the boys go into combat units. Afterwards, if something happens - God forbid - some people treat them as second-class citizens. Our students reacted very badly to this case. They were all very hurt by the attitude shown toward her. The most shocking thing in their eyes was all the talk of moving the grave half a year after she had been buried." While the kibbutz had been willing to bury her on its property, they had acceded to the wishes of her grandmother, that she be buried near Kiryat Ata.
Christians in Israel
Jerusalem Post, March 22, 2007
The "Greek Orthodox Congress" recently expressed its "no-confidence" in the incumbent Greek Orthodox Patriarch, Theofilos III, by calling for his resignation. According to the Post (March 22), this move is "especially significant both because of competition with former patriarch Irineos, who disputes his deposition and still has Israel's backing, and because of the Church's extensive property holdings throughout the country." Theofilos' predecessor was "ousted" on charges of improper "property deals." The situation remains complicated, Irineos refusing to "recognize his dismissal" and Theofilos still not having received Israel's "formal backing." "Traditionally, the Greek patriarch needs three-way approval that includes Jordan and the Palestinian Authority, which have given the nod to Theofilos."
Christian Zionism/Tourism
Kol HaNegev, March 16; The Business Post, March 23, 2007
A lengthy article in The Business Post (March 23) reviewing Bibi Netanyahu's economic plans - proposed before a Israeli-Canadian Chamber of Commerce conference - contained Netanyahu's reference to Israel's religious potential: "It will be possible to exploit Israel's religious importance to encourage evangelistic [sic] tourism - a religious stream within Christianity. According to Netanyahu, it should be possible to use the north of the country and Jerusalem, both of which hold many sacred Christian sites, to encourage the pilgrimage of millions of evangelistic tourists. According to his plan, church leaders will be given property north of the Sea of Galilee for the construction of a world center of Christian heritage where mass religious events will be held."
According to a report in Kol HaNegev (March 16), a German pro-Israel group visited the area this week bringing a gift of 2 million shekels (around $500,000), designated for the development of a "crocus field" and park for the soldiers of Lehavim. While they were here, they planted trees in "Germany Forest" near Lehavim and unveiled plaques erected in memory of their "dear ones" killed in the First World War.
Interfaith Dialogue
Zman Modi'in, March 23, 2007
While "International Tolerance Day" goes largely unmarked in Israel, this year a Reform synagogue in Modi'in invited the head of the Anglican church and the Imam of the mosque in Ramleh to preach a sermon. The two figures will address the Reform congregation on Friday evening, at the kabbalat shabbat service [welcoming the Sabbath]. According to the article in Zman Modi'in (March 23), the Protestant population of Ramleh numbers around 200, the Muslim population 15,000. The Modi'in synagogue runs a large educational network designed to promote the values of Judaism, equality, and dialogue. Its rabbi is the first woman to be ordained in Israel.
The Pope and the Vatican
Yediot Ahronot, March 28; Ma'ariv, March 25; Haaretz, March 25, 2007
In a speech marking the 50th anniversary of the foundation of the European Union this week, the Pope severely criticized the Union for failing to mention God: "If on the 50th anniversary of the 'Rome Declaration' the member states of the Union wish to come closer to their citizens, how can they ignore such an important component of European identity as Christianity, by way of which most Europeans continue to define themselves?" (Haaretz, March 25). "It is not surprising that the Europe of today, despite presenting itself as a model of values, is questioning the existence of absolute and universal values. This is actually an unusual type of heresy, even in God's eyes, and it is surely likely to lead Europe to cast doubt on its own existence." Yediot Ahronot's commentary on the Pope's speech was more penetrating: "The pope is proving himself more and more to be one of the most interesting voices in Europe today ... Two phenomena in particular drew his eye: the first, that Europe's ancient [original] population is reducing itself voluntarily; the second, that the European elites are denying their Christian roots" (March 28). In other words, the pope's perspective on Europe is that it is not slowing or decreasing in importance due to external factors but from an internal will - and appears to be unaware of its self-destructiveness. According to the article, "Benedict is not complaining about the Europeans' sinfulness against their Creator. It is not the fact that they don't go to church or baptize their children which bothers him ... but the fact that in their great enthusiasm for pluralism they have forgotten their 'essence' - i.e., lost their identity ... In the eyes of Benedict XVI, the Christian heritage is the European Union - not as a system of religious regulations but as a cultural appendage which created for itself the same European desire for freedom and unique balance between reason and emotion. The blurring of this balance in the rich dialogue and clichéism of Europe today, said the pope, 'is more heresy in itself than it is betrayal of God. It leads Europe to cast doubt on its identity' precisely at the moment that it needs it more than ever."
A report in Ma'ariv (March 25) notes the publication of a new book which exposes the fact that Pope Pius XII "was not only indifferent to the Holocaust and failed to save European Jewry during the Second World War, but also was prejudiced against black-skinned people." The historian Umberto Gentiloni has published telegrams sent by the Vatican ambassador to his government which indicate that "the Vatican requested that brown-skinned [black] soldiers not be sent to the Italian front in order that they might not come near the Holy Father's presence in Rome."
Book Reviews
Haaretz, March 28; Steimatzky Magazine, March 1, 2007
The Italian author Erri De Luca's new book In nome della madre ("In the Name of the Mother") has recently been translated into Hebrew, and was reviewed by Ayelet Shamir in Haaretz (March 28). The book is about Mary (Miriam), giving her a voice, a body, emotions - in short, a life. In Shamir's words: "A woman gives birth to a man, in whom millions of people will believe: Who will stand at the center of this story? Like his readers, Erri De Luca knows that the mind will instinctively go to the child, the son [Jesus]. To think of him means to think of a man born out of the joining of flesh and spirit; it means to think of involvement without contact, of a birth without sin; it means to think about isolation [separation], and simultaneously to think about sex, lots of sex, and how the hell they did it in that room, on that specific day, she and her angel? Instinctively, long before we start thinking about Miriam's womb, our consciousness is flooded by the ancient conjunction 'holy mother' and raises a strong dissonance: motherhood and exaltation; deep longing for intimacy and distance. Out of this dissonance De Luca seeks to write. Carefully, hesitantly, in tender touches. He peoples the empty page in order to deliver from it the mother's silenced voice. Now she has a voice, now she has a will, now she is aware of emotion and of the rest of the time which beats in her, now she not only has a secondary role in the conflicted plot, now she will also have a body and a name."
Aviad Kleinberg's new book, Seven Sins - A Partial List, reviewed in Steimatzky's Magazine (March 1), is intended primarily for a secular Israeli audience - one unfamiliar with the concept of sin because it also has no understanding of the concept of "commandment." The Tel Aviv University professor starts from the premise that the secular Israeli is unwilling to accept the idea of "a transcendent and judging ethical power." The question thus arises: "Why did Kleinberg write a book for people who don't feel that they are sinners and therefore can't even understand what sin is?" Kleinberg's answer is that he is not talking about the sense of guilt which comes in the wake of having done something a person feels to be wrong. He is addressing the "root of the transgression: the will not to keep the law precisely because it forbids us to do what we want. This is a book about the desire to sin." The second chapter of the book is devoted to the differing views of sin in Judaism and Christianity: "Here an interesting picture is revealed: if for the Jew sin is a by-product of life on earth and hell [gehinnom] isn't a barrel full of boiling excrement but a 'laundry' which scours [cleanses] the soul from the sins which cling to it from the lower world, in Christianity sin is the essence of human existence. Hell is the eternal punishment for those who refuse to accept for themselves the medicine which Yeshu offered." The remainder of the book is dedicated to Kleinberg's "personal analysis" of the "seven deadly sins" of Christianity - pride, sloth, gluttony, jealousy, anger, avarice, and lust. To these, Kleinberg adds an eighth - based on his analysis of our era - the sin of self-justification. "In his words, this sin is the sin of all those who convince themselves that they are covered in moral feathers and thus seek to separate themselves from everyone else and to reprove them for their deeds."
Copyright 2007, Caspari Center.
The Media Review is an English-language synopsis of articles which were originally published in the Israeli press. The articles, most of which were written in Hebrew, focus on Messianic Jews and Christianity. Complete archives of the original articles are available in the Caspari Center library, and previous editions of the Media Review are available at www.caspari.com/mediareview.
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June 6, 2008
Kol HaZman, May 30; Mishpaha, May 29; Israel HaYom, June 1; Yediot Bik'at Ono, May 23, 30; Yediot Tel Aviv, May 23, 2008
Yediot Bik'at Ono (May 23) reported on General Attorney Mazuz's instructions to the police to investigate Uzi Aharon (see last week's Review). It quoted substantial portions of Mazuz's letter, including a statement that Aharon's actions appear to constitute a violation of the law which prohibits "infringement of religious and moral sensitivities." It also included Aharon's response: "'I welcome the Attorney General's decision. I have full confidence in the legal authorities. We shall wait patiently for the results of the investigation which will determine whether I was involved in the burning or not.'"
Responses to the book burning continued to be published in the Israeli press. Natan Zahavi in Kol HaZman (May 30) asserted that "Operation book burning 2008 in a Jewish city in the State of Israel sent a shudder through many people. The lethargic Israeli police and those among its top echelon did not arrest the perpetrators, the Attorney General and the state defense lawyer muttered something unintelligible about the event, and the Minister of Justice is swimming in Eilat, preoccupied with the slow assassination of Dorit Beinish, the President of the Supreme Court, and has no time for such trivial issues as book burning ... In Or Yehuda, where racist attitudes were displayed towards Ethiopian immigrants not long ago, people have managed to preempt Heinrich Heine's prophecy [that where books are burnt, the burning of people will follow] and turn it on its head. They first burned people and then, twenty years later, books ... We're living in 2008 and apparently it doesn't matter to anyone that in a state of 'Survival,' 'A Star is Born' [the Israeli equivalent of American Idol], and the Eurovision song contest, the values of civilization, human life, human rights, and respect for life are terms which don't raise a hair on their heads."
A. Shushan, in the religious paper Mishpaha (May 29), gave a chilling example of what the relatively harmless tradition of Lag B'Omer can turn into at times. His son came home from the bonfire claiming that he had burned his teddy bear on the pyre. Yet what crimes had the soft toy committed, other, perhaps, than having outworn its usefulness? The fact that effigies such as Haman, Hitler, and Ahmadinejad are burned on Lag B'Omer is no guarantee that innocent teddy bears will at some time replace truly wicked figures; we must be very careful that the "holiday" does not turn into an auto de fé. Shushan continued with his "cautionary tale," however, not by denouncing the burning but justifying it: "This year in Or Yehuda they took the issue of 'purging the evil from amongst you' very seriously, even performing it early. A week before Lag B'Omer in an orchestrated and coordinated burning, abominable and corrupt books from the house of study of Christian missionaries were burned at the stake. There's no more worthy and fitting fate for the greatest perversion in history and for the disseminators of the atrocities of the missionaries who do not balk at any means of converting Jews. Only one problem remains. The burning was meant to persuade the convinced. All the people who stood around the bonfire and celebrated know very well how to identity copies of the New Testament and quietly throw them into the bin without reading them ... there are easier ways to express your frustrations that aren't associated in any way with faith in something or reading silly texts hundreds of years old." The trouble comes with those - with little spirituality and faith - who read in the press about an Orthodox Jew performing an act which reminds them of the burning of Jewish books and synagogues, "and ask themselves what we [Orthodox Jews] are really afraid of - that perhaps these books really do contain something." Moreover, burning books is counterproductive, since it merely gives the missionaries the opportunity to reprint their Scriptures in abundance - and to enjoy the publicity and sympathy of much of the Jewish population: "The soul hunters are backed from all sides, and the broadcasted burning only motivates them to renew the dissemination of their lies ... [which] will encourage more people to endeavor to examine the books in order to understand what is so appalling to the hated Orthodox." Even in denouncing the book burning, Shushan's point appears to be more to defend the Orthodox than to denounce the act itself: "The struggle against the mission is dirty and difficult. But we must be careful not to adopt easy solutions. Public burning is one of these. When it is performed by people dressed in Orthodox garb who have already accumulated many hours of hatred in the media and are the victims of an unsympathetic and hostile atmosphere, no good will result from it."
Yehoshua Sobol contributed a satirical piece on the subject to Israel HaYom (June 1), in which he presented himself as mystified by the mysterious way in which his television screen appeared to keep jumping out of time, showing scenes from Berlin in the 1930s when he thought he was watching a video of the events in Or Yehuda.
Bik'at Ono (May 23) published a lengthy article by Noam Gil, in which the latter expressed his hope that "we can shake free from hypocrisy and stop pretending to be innocent": "The writing is on the wall. Whoever relates publicly to Christianity, Messianic Judaism, and the missionizing of other religions as 'an existential danger' and uses such radical terminology in complete seriousness is in danger of performing the same acts." Calling the book burning a "fascist act," Gil identified it as the breaking of a record. According to his report, Aharon asserted that the incident got out of control when, he himself only having burned missionary literature, the yeshiva students involved threw copies of the New Testament onto the bonfire as well. Aharon's superior, Mayor David Yosef, was quoted as denouncing the "radical act": "'We're shocked by this act. The people of the Book remember other periods, dark and awful, in the history of mankind in which the burning of books served as a means to advance despicable purposes ... The municipality [of Or Yehuda] had nothing to do with this act. In our view, books represent all the things which we wish to bequeath to our children - culture, ideas, language, acceptance of the other, and tolerance. Books are the best part of us, and protecting them is protecting a cultured and enlightened way of life.'"
On a very different note, in its regular column on Tel Aviv gardens, Yediot Tel Aviv (May 23) looked at the American-German neighborhood which includes Beit Immanuel youth hostel. In its brief review of the locality's history, the column noted that the hostel is currently being run by Messianic Jews and proceeded to provide a definition: "'Messianic Jews': Jews who believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and Yeshua as the Messiah."
Ma'ariv, May 30, 2008
In response to Meir Shalev's opinion piece regarding the book burning (see last week's Review), Menahem Ben contributed one of his own, entitled "Pearls before swine." Ben's ire was raised precisely by Shalev's deprecation of the New Testament in comparison to the Tanakh: "I am not suspected of not being a lover of the Tanakh, which has no rival or parallel, but despite this I say: The New Testament is a wonderful spiritual and religious book. Not only are the four Gospels fascinating in their four opening accounts of the book but also selected parts of the letters and sermons (although not all) are outstanding in their high level of spirituality and religiosity - even if I completely reject the claim that Yeshu was the messiah and redeemer (truly not, because if he had been the redeemer, the redemption would have had to have come, and it hasn't, so don't talk to me about the messiah). It's true that the Hebrew of the Tanakh is naturally superior to that of the translated Hebrew of the New Testament (despite the fact that Prof. Franz Delitzsch's translation is superb), but the New Testament is still certainly one of the most beautiful continuations that have been written of the Tanakh, even if I prefer Isaiah to Yeshu (who said, among other things, 'don't cast your pearls before swine')." In addition to relating to Meir Shalev's column, Ben also gave suggestions for recommended reading for the upcoming Hebrew book week. His list included Helena Yegev-Mor's autobiography, The Parable of the Fig Tree, which, he stated, is of particular interest "against the backdrop of the terrible schemes against Messianic Jews in Israel." (For the book, see the May 5, 2008 Review.)
HaModia, May 29, 2008
Under the headline "Supreme Court grants Israeli citizenship to missionaries, in wake of State's approval," HaModia (May 29) carried the report of the Supreme Court's decision to grant Israeli citizenship to twelve Messianic Jews (see previous Reviews). According to the piece, in a "change of policy," the Interior Ministry has agreed to "'recognize' the Jewishness of missionaries from the group of 'Messianic Jews.'" Yad L'Achim's director called the decision a "dark day" and claimed that it was a "deliberate sabotage of the holy struggle against missionary activity in Eretz Israel."
Yediot HaTzafon, May 23; Haaretz, May 27, 29 (pp. 4, 7), 30; Kol Ha'Ir, May 30, 2008
Yediot HaTzafon (May 23) ran the story of the mayor of Akko's law suit against local council member Molli Cohen for slander, the latter claiming that the former was favoring Christian missionary groups over Jewish bodies (see last week's Review).
Numerous articles were devoted to the news that the Interior Ministry has ordered the deportation of a German postgraduate student on the grounds that she has been engaged in missionary work. Barbara Ludwig (32), who undertook her undergraduate studies in philosophy at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and is now working towards an MA in Religious Studies at the same institution, was recently arrested and incarcerated in Ma'asiyahu prison in Ramle on the charge of not having arranged her residency status (Haaretz, May 29, p. 4). "Despite attempts by the Hebrew University's legal department to demand her release so she could finish her studies, the Custody Tribunal at Ma'asiyahu ordered her to leave the country within 30 days." According to same report, the head of the Population Administration's central region, Elinor Golan (Meretz), "sent two letters to Ludwig's lawyer stating that Ludwig's repeated requests for residency status had been denied because she was 'doing missionary work.'" Ludwig herself "denied being a missionary, although she admits being in contact with Messianic Jews. 'They may have seen me at some meeting of the Messianic Jews,' she says. 'I go around with Jews, with Christians and with Messianics, and I read books about Christianity. So what? That's not a reason to deport me,' Ludwig said." Her lawyer, Michael Decker, stated that a hearing of her case in 2004 had been a "'humiliating religious interrogation'" which included the question whether she believed Jesus was the Messiah. According to Kol Ha'Ir (May 30), Ludwig's initial request for a student visa - submitted in 2003 before she had even begun her studies - was rejected after six months, and she was ordered to leave the country. During the subsequent five years, Ludwig submitted numerous appeals against the ruling, which were all denied. This March, however, she received a letter stating that her case was being reviewed and that a decision had not yet been taken. Having spent three days in Ma'asiyahu, Ludwig was released on bail on condition that she leave the country within thirty days. "On the day she was released, she received a letter from the Interior Ministry according to which she is a missionary who is attempting to legitimate her status in the country among other ways by undergoing conversion." According to the same report, her fellow students signed a petition arguing that it was especially important that German students be allowed to study in the country "'because of the difficult history between Germany and the Jewish people.'"
In parallel to the Israeli government's discussion with Russian authorities regarding the transfer of Russian-owned land back to its original owners (see previous Reviews), the PA is also due to give back land in Bethlehem, the Mount of Olives, and Jericho which belongs to the Provoslavic Church (Haaretz, May 27). According to a member of the Pensioner's Party who follows the Russian news, the Provoslavic Church has recently being undergoing a "renaissance" in Russia and exerts considerable influence over Russia's domestic and foreign policy alike.
Calcalist, June 2, 2008
According to an article in Calcalist (June 2) looking at the increase in tourism - finally - "Out of more than two millions tourists who arrived in Israel this year or will come during the remainder of 2008, around half are Christians. The regular itinerary of Christian groups is as follows: the first night in Tel Aviv, two nights in Tiberias (a visit to Nazareth and sites in the Galilee), and four nights in Jerusalem, including visits to Bethlehem, Masada, and Jericho. 75% of the Christians come through Israeli travel agencies; the remainder - about 250,000 - come through Palestinian agencies in East Jerusalem." The reawakened tourism has helped revive the Palestinian tourism business. A change may also be discerned in the place of origin of tourists coming through Palestinian agencies. While American and West European groups continue to visit, "a dramatic rise has occurred in the number of tourists from East Europe, especially from Russia and Poland. An increasing number of pilgrims are also coming from Greece and South Korea."
Jerusalem Post, June 1; HaModia, June 1, 2008
According to these two reports, "Negotiations between Israel and the Vatican have made 'significant progress,' after a decade of inconclusive talks, according to a joint communiqué issued last week." Although the "thorn in the side" of Israeli-Vatican relations has long been the matter of taxes to be paid by church premises in Israel, "a member of the Israeli delegation said Thursday that the most significant progress was made on church legal matters and not on the critical dispute over taxation of church properties in the Holy Land." The legal structure of the Catholic Church's authority in Israel has been "agreed upon but never confirmed by the Knesset." The next high-level meeting is scheduled to take place in Israel in December.
May 22, 2008
Jerusalem Post, May 6, 7, 9; Ma'ariv, May 7; HaDaf HaYarok, May 6; HaZofeh, May 7, 2008
Following the threats of the Chief rabbis and other leading figures in the Orthodox world to boycott the World Bible Quiz held annually on Independence Day, the event in actual fact went ahead as planned, with no disturbances noted by the press. Nor, would it appear, was the threatened alternative Quiz for "religious participants only" held. Most significant is the fact that official rabbinical rulings were flouted by the religious public.
On the day prior to the Quiz, the Jerusalem Post (May 7) printed an article on the subject on its front page, quoting some of the objections raised: "'Choosing her as a finalist in the International Bible Quiz for Jewish Youth is a transgression of Halacha and is a distortion of the goal and essence of the quiz,' wrote Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar and Yona Metzger in a letter to Education Minister Yuli Tamir. 'The Chief Rabbinate of Israel vigorously protests [the participation] of this representative ... Bible quiz participants have always been Jews who believed in the Torah handed down by Moses. The Chief Rabbinate calls to disqualify this girl from taking part in the quiz ... It is unacceptable that a member of a cult that has removed itself from the Jewish faith take part in a quiz dedicated to a book that has been holy to the Jews since their inception as a people,' the rabbis wrote." In contrast, the piece asserted that, "Messianic Jews believe that Jesus is the savior yet see themselves as Jews." This latter attitude won the day: "[Yuli] Tamir's representative, Lital Apter, said the minister had no intention of canceling the quiz or asking Levi not to take part. 'It is too bad that on the 60th anniversary we are dealing with these sorts of things. This should be a time of celebration, not of controversy. The point of the quiz is to check the participants' knowledge of the Bible, not to scrutinize their faith. The legal department in the Education Ministry verified that Levi is Jewish according to the criteria of the state. That's good enough for us,' Apter said." Other participants also refused to bow to the pressure: "[Tzurit] Berenson/Braunson [the eventual winner] said religious activists have been trying to discourage her and the other participants from taking part in the quiz, 'but we have all decided to go ahead with it.'"
On the same day, Ma'ariv (May 7) addressed the same subject in much the same words, opening with the question: "Scandal on Independence Day: Will the chief rabbis and members of the 'Yad L'Achim' organization succeed in leading to the cancellation of the Bible Quiz, one of the outstanding symbols of the day?"
Surprisingly, the lengthy piece in the religious paper HaZofeh (May 7) was not dissimilar in tone: "In a red dress and two plaits - at least metaphorically - a single girl is threatening to ruin the 60th anniversary celebrations of the State of Israel by her presence." In describing how Yad L'Achim discovered Bat-El Levi's "religious faith," the article noted that the organization "employs in its operations devices and ways that the even the Mossad [the Intelligence Agency] wouldn't be embarrassed to use. 'We have people inside, including non-Jews, working for us, and don't expect me to reveal all our secrets to you - but we have our methods.'" It appears from this article that Shalom Dov Lipshitz's assertion, quoted in last week's Review, that the event was "planned," came in response to the question: "What's the problem with Bat-El participating in the Quiz? Surely there's no argument over the extent of her biblical knowledge?" Significantly, the Chief Rabbi of Ramat Gan - identified with the national-religious camp - issued an explicit ruling calling on participants not to take part if Bat-El did. In the words of Dov Lipshitz, "'Because he believes in that man he has crossed the boundary between Jew and Gentile and has essentially become a Gentile. For example, we can lend money to him at interest because he is not our "brother." Likewise, he will not inherit from his Jewish relatives. You should understand that the blood ties have been cut between us; he's an apostate clear and simple.'"
In response to a question directly suggesting that Yad L'Achim's efforts to stop the competition had "failed," Dov Lipshitz disclaimed any responsibility: "'We are not a party in this [issue] at all, it's not connected to any failure on the part of the organization. For every Jew it's a terrible failure - but it's not linked to Yad L'Achim at all.'" Maintaining that "failure" was the wrong term in the first place, Lipshitz argued that it boiled down to "stupidity" - the "'stupidity of the government who allows such a thing ... If she had taken part in a math tests, well enough. But how can they allow her to participle in the Bible Quiz, which symbolizes the Jewish people? Does this mean that the whole Torah of Israel is nothing?'" Lipshitz's hope was that a segment of the audience - and of the participants themselves - would get up and leave in the middle of the Quiz in protest in order to "'demonstrate what they think of the event. That would be a great sanctification of God's name.'" He further responded to a question on whether it was fair to pit the "great Torah Sages" against a fifteen-year old girl and involve her in an ideological struggle by claiming that Bat-El is a pawn in the missionaries' hands, not Yad L'Achim's: "'She's really a tool in the hands of the mission, who will say that we were there, which means that we are Jews. They're exploiting her for evil purposes ... The girl is a pawn in their hands, not ours.'" According to the report, Yad L'Achim maintain that there are "between 15,000 and 20,000 people in the movement" - although it is not clear whether the reference is exclusively to Messianic Judaism or includes the "50 other sects" mentioned in the same breath. Lipshitz went on to say that, "'We call this a "financial crusade," which draws hundreds of Jews to Christianity every year.'"
In a sidebar, the article gave a brief background on Messianic Judaism: "Messianic Judaism is a group of independent congregations which define themselves as Jewish and contain elements from Christianity and particularly from evangelicalism. Messianic Jews do not have a standard prayer book and their Scriptures include both the Tanakh and the New Testament. In most cases, their prayers are personal and are said by the worshippers. One of the fundamental tenets of Messianic Judaism is evangelism - i.e., the dissemination of their faith. Messianic Jews see themselves as believers not as religious. [Editor's note: This distinction is relevant in Israel, where people are regularly defined as either "religious" or "secular." The term "religious," however, is intended to delineate "Orthodox." Thus "Messianic Jews" are not Orthodox but do "believe."] According to them, they do not have any pictures of Yeshu or Maria and don't go to church. From their perspective, prayers may be said at any time and in any place. In their view, every believer must develop a personal relationship with God. Their personal prayers are directed towards God ('Our Father in Heaven') and usually end with the words, 'In the name of Yeshua the Messiah, Amen.' From the believers' perspective, every Jew can continue to keep the Jewish tradition and is not called upon to accept upon himself Christian tradition - apart from the ceremony of baptism ... The number of Messianic Jews in the country is estimated to be around 10,000 people and they sometimes suffer from persecution, especially at the hands of the Orthodox. The peak [of this] was reached in March, when a fifteen-year-old Messianic Jew was serious wounded by an explosive device in his home in Ariel, after he had opened what looked like a Purim basket. The police are saying that the bombing occurred against a criminal background. The suspicion is that the real background is that the youth belongs to a Messianic Jewish family." The information given in the sidebar is credited to Wikipedia, and in actual fact is quoted verbatim (in abbreviated form) from the Hebrew edition.
In an brief piece entitled, "Once they conducted crusades, now they're sending young girls" (a quote from Rabbi Aviner), HaDaf HaYarok (May 6), the Kibbutz weekly, categorically stated that, "The Minister of Education, Yuli Tamir, will not be able to cooperate, in any way, with the proposed boycott that the Orthodox rabbis are attempting to impose on the Bible Quiz ... The Minister of Education and the Ministry of Education are unable to cooperate with this boycott. If this means that the Bible Quiz, held specifically on Israel's sixtieth Independence Day, will be cancelled, so be it."
In a report following the competition, the Jerusalem Post (May 9) noted that the winner's "bold move" in appealing to Olmert for the release of Jonathan Pollard "was somewhat overshadowed by the week-long buildup of tension over the contest, which Chief Rabbis Shlomo Amar and Yona Metzger have asked Education Minister Yuli Tamir to cancel, due to the inclusion of a messianic Jew, Bat-El Levi."
Strangely enough, the most negative reaction to the Quiz came from Chaim Wasserman in a letter to the Jerusalem Post (May 6). "Sir, - After the Great Schism in Jewish history, it became well established over the next 2,000 years that the line in the sand is drawn at Jews' belief in Jesus as the messiah or the son of God. Accordingly, the assertion by Calev Myers, the founder and chief counsel of the Jerusalem Institute of Justice, that religious Zionist rabbis' protest over a Messianic Jewish woman's participation in the annual Bible Quiz is a show of weakness, is naiveté, if not hubris. The early followers of Jesus in the First Century CE were banished from the Jewish community. Maimonides faced similar deviations from historical Judaism and so penned his 13 principles of the Faith. His code of Jewish law explains why followers of both Christianity and Islam are irreconcilable with Judaism. That this young lady can quote proficiently from the Bible carries little weight. So can many fundamentalist Christians, lovers of Israel and the Jewish people. Protestants and Catholic scholars of the Old Testament know how to quote the Jewish Bible in the original. Would they, on the basis of their keen knowledge, qualify to participate in this Bible contest? Every religion has the right to establish what its fundamental assertions of faith are. Normative Judaism determined long ago that Jewish followers of Jesus are - sadly - apostates."
Zman Holon, May 7; Yated Ne'eman, May 7; BeKehila, May 7; HaModia, May 9, pp. 6, 9, 2008
According to a report in HaModia (May 9, p. 6), Jews for Jesus' recent publicity campaign met with failure from an "unexpected source." MK Rabbi Ya'akov Cohen was informed about the campaign and immediately acted to intervene. He turned to the advertising company responsible for the posters on Egged public transport, which agreed to violate its contract and remove the ads, claiming that it was unaware of their contents. The article claimed that the posters were indeed removed, several days before the contract was due to end. In a related effort, Cohen also turned to the company responsible for public ads in the city. While this company also agreed to remove the posters, at the time of printing it still had not done so. Against this background, Cohen and Yad L'Achim are proposing another amendment to the missionary law, which would prohibit any advertising encouraging conversion. According to Zman Holon (May 7), Egged [the bus corporation] instructed the advertising company to remove the posters from its vehicles, including city buses lines in Rishon LeZion, Rehovot, Holon, and Bat Yam. The posters themselves carried the caption - modeled after the Breslaver logo playing on Rabbi Nachman's name (Na-Nach-Nachm-Nachman-Me'uman) - "Yeshu = Yeshua = Yeshuo't [salvations]." Egged's - and Dan's -response to Yad L'Achim's appeal was that, while they do not usually know the contents of the posters, "'In a case where there are elements of damage to the State of Israel, division of the people, damage to the religion of Israel, or one or another part of the population - the company is requested to receive approval and undergo a check from Egged. The present case is borderline, since the use of Christian elements may arouse associations with mission work. They didn't ask us and decided to go ahead with the campaign, and so we asked them to remove the posters immediately.'" The director of the advertising agency, on the other hand, claimed that it had received approval from the bus companies. "'I believe that there was no particularly vulgar message here,'" said the Dan spokesman, "'and therefore both Dan and Egged approved the posters.'"
In a parallel move, Lev L'Achim, a sister organization of Yad L'Achim, has petitioned the management of the International Convention Center to stop any cooperation with "missionary organizations" and not to allow the latter to hold any conferences at the center "even under the disguise of 'charity' organizations or 'peace conferences' and the like" (Yated Ne'eman, May 7). The petition was raised after the failure to prevent the Epicenter Conference held at the venue on the eve of Passover, "for which no legal grounds could be found for the cancellation of its contract."
Two reports, in BeKehila (May 7) and HaModia (May 9, p. 9), ran the same story of the "missionary" campaign at the new age festival held at Nitzanim near Ashkelon over Passover. With Yad L'Achim in possession of "prior knowledge" of the intended "reinforced presence" of the missionaries, they had originally hoped that the festival's organizers would stand by their promise that the latter would not be given official approval to set up booths. According to the reports, despite this, the "missionaries" set up improvised tents and even went to the lengths of wearing shirts with the logo "Yad L'Achim," underneath which was a picture of "that man's" hand and the caption, "Let him give you a hand." [The caption is a play on Yad L'Achim's name, the first part of which also signifies "hand."] Yad L'Achim complained to the police both about this and the fact that the "missionaries" were approaching minors. The police, however, refused to take action, claiming that, "'If a youth has been approached by missionaries, he should come and complain himself.'" When Yad L'Achim realized that they had "no choice," they brought a fifteen-year-old youth. "Even when the police saw him they made him wait half an hour and 'maybe calm down.'" In response to the objection that "'indifference ... doesn't correspond to the law of 12 months' imprisonment for preaching to a minor [in fact, the sentence is six months],'" the police officer allegedly asserted, "'I don't know of any such law. Let every man live by his own faith.'" The article identified the "missionaries" as leading figures from such congregations as Shemen Sasson in Jerusalem, Kehilat Carmel, and "an American congregation which calls itself 'Messianic Jews' which operates in the south of the country."
Haaretz, May 9, 2008
The issue of the land owned by the Greek Orthodox Church in Jerusalem and leased to the JNF and Israel Lands Administration has arisen once again, this time as a result of Israel's long-delayed approval of Theophilos III as Patriarch (for both issues, see previous Reviews). "Last week the transaction being arranged with the JNF was presented to a committee established by the Holy Synod, a kind of board of directors of the patriarch. And then the storm erupted. The synod's members discovered that the patriarchate had agreed to turn over these hundreds of dunams in the center of Jerusalem for a payment of a mere $9 million from the State of Israel." Politics appear to be behind much of the controversy. One of the reasons for Israel's delay in approval of Theophilos' appointment seems to have been his refusal to sign a guarantee that he would "be ready to sell assets to the State of Israel in general, and to Jews in particular. Theophilos refused to sign such a guarantee, although behind the scenes he explained to anyone who wanted to listen in Israel just what his policy was: He would not agree to sell assets to the State of Israel or to Jews beyond the Green Line, but he was ready to do business if it concerned properties within Israel proper ... That was one of the reasons why last December the government finally recognized Theophilos as the legal patriarch." Objectors argue that the Church has no need of PA approval for the sale of lands within the Green Line: "'It's true that the PA is opposed to the sale of church assets beyond the Green Line, and mainly in Jerusalem, to Israel or Israeli groups,' says Khouri [a Greek Orthodox lawyer]. 'But as far as I know, the PA has no opposition to transactions made by the Greek Church within the Green Line, and the same is true of the Jordanians.'" From a financial perspective, the sum of $9 million is an insult when the property is worth, on estimate, almost a half billion dollars. What is the urgency in the matter, opponents ask, when the lease is not up for another forty-two years? According to the report, "Sources close to the bishops opposed to the transaction say they are even willing to 'give a gift' to the State of Israel and to bequeath it the land on which the Knesset stands, free of charge. But they are not willing to give away the rest of the 520 dunams for a song. The sources say they see the deal as presented to them as being, in effect, the payment exacted from Theophilos for recognition by the Israeli government. 'It looks like governmental bribery,' says attorney Khouri." Theophilos' supporters claim that, to the $9 million must be added "additional sums that the state is committed to transferring to the patriarchate over the years. 'Everything will be done in a transparent manner, and everyone will see that this is a good deal,' promises a colleague of the patriarch. Opponents of the transaction are not sure that things will be so easy."
Yediot Haifa, May 7; Zman Haifa, May 7, 2008
According to these two reports, two sets of meetings between Haifa public officials and French bureaucrats have culminated in agreements that the city will serve as the base for French tourists visiting the north of the country and (Catholic) pilgrims visiting the country. The agreements regarding package tours were reached at an Israeli tourist fair held in Marseilles recently. As part of a deal with the Catholic community, it was also agreed that part of the French pilgrims' itinerary would include "tours in which Jewish life in Haifa would be presented, such as tolerance and cooperation between the various communities and religions resident in the city."
Ma'ariv, May 9, 2008
In a review of Kfar Kana (Cana), the author of a piece in Ma'ariv (May 9) gave the background to the village's significance: "Imagine for a moment that you're at the heart of a wedding celebration in a small village in the Galilee. A poor family. They have no money for wine. The celebrations are going on, the hearts being made joyful with water (because there's no wine, of course) and a mother and her young son arrive. As a compassionate Jewish mother, she says to her son, 'Look, they have no wine ...' The young son says to the hosts: 'Fill the jars with water.' The architriklini (a Greek term for the master of festivities) tastes the drink, and behold, see it's a miracle, the water has turned into wine. This is the first of young Yeshua's miracles, performed at Cana. Admit it, you also would have been astonished at such a miracle. A second event took place in the same village: Yeshu promises a father who's worried that his son is about to die that he'll live - and he does. These two miracles attracted a group of disciples around Yeshu, who followed him and spoke at length of the wonders he performed." According to the report, Christian tradition also associates Bartholomew's daughter with Cana, memorialized by the Church of St. Nathaniel (Bartholomew).
Jerusalem Post, May 6, 11, 2008
These two articles both relate to the recent United Methodist Church's decision "to abandon efforts to divest from companies that allegedly contribute to Israel's occupation of the West Bank. Five divestment resolutions were shot down at the United Methodist Church General Conference in Texas last week, after a protracted campaign by Jews to halt the effort." According to Ethan Felson, the executive director of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, despite this achievement, "'This [the divestment campaign] is an ongoing thing, and in many ways this is a proxy for a much larger conversation that has political and theological dimensions. In some ways it is a reaction to Evangelical support for Israel, and in some ways it is calling attention to the theological issues related to the promise of the land. There is a constituency within this church informed significantly by Palestinian liberation theologians and more fringe elements that see every tragedy in the region as the fault of just one party, the Jewish state.'" Even more disturbing than the divestment resolutions, Michael Lando suggested (May 6), was "a background document, which dismissed concerns about anti-Semitism and the Holocaust. Among the statement in the report are a reference to the founding of the State of Israel as 'the original sin' and a passage defining Israeli actions as acts of 'terror.' The Methodist report claims the Holocaust has been the cause for 'hysteria' and 'paranoic sense' [sic] among Israelis. Thanks to an alliance of grassroots church activists who have nurtured ties to the Jewish community the convention also passed resolutions promoting Holocaust awareness and working to combat anti-Semitism, as well as a resolution opposing the proselytization of Jews." The second report (May 9) highlighted the Jewish activities and responses to the defeat of the resolutions - including those of B'nai Brith International, the Reform Religious Action Center, the Jewish Council on Public Affairs, the American Jewish Committee, the Anti-Defamation League, and Jewish Voice for Peace. "The groups described the actions, taken at the church's quadrennial convention in Fort Worth, Texas, as contributing to interfaith understanding and the quest for peace in the Middle East."
Ma'ariv, May 12, 2008
While doodling on an art pad in the company of a friend with links to the Vatican, the latter remarked that the architect Nir Ben Natan's drawing resembled a cathedral - and offered to pass on the "plans" to his Catholic associates. From there, things evolved until Ben Natan was invited to Rome to meet with the Vatican official responsible for church buildings, Over the course of his job, Bishop Mandera has come to the realization that it is important to "modernize" in order to attract people back to the church. Part of such appeal is the architectural style. He was impressed by Ben Natan's sketch and "'interested by the fact that a Jewish Israeli had suggestions for a cathedral. He gave his own analysis of the plans. He said that it was a spiritual building in which the transparent glass roof enabled a dialogue between man and God.'" Asked how it was that a Jewish architect made sketches for cathedrals, Ben Natan replied: "'For me, it's not a big thing. Over the course of history, especially in Europe, there have been periods during which all architectural work focused on the building of churches and other sacred places. We're not talking here of being "a light to the nations." Cathedrals are always signposts of architectural development, and as such they are always a source of inspiration, wittingly or unwittingly.'" Ben Natan attributes the fact that his drawing most closely resembles a cathedral to his affinity to a linear style. Thus while the building could serve as a sacred site for any religion, it is most suitable for a Christian church. While the cathedral ultimately may not be built in Rome, the plans are attracting interest from other European countries.
May 19, 2008
Jerusalem Post, May 1; Ma'ariv, April 29, May 1, 4; BeSheva, May 1; Shavu'on, May 1; Israel HaYom, May 4; BeKehila, April 1, 2008
The local Messianic community is privileged to have the honor of being represented in this year's World Bible Quiz by Bat-El Levi, the daughter of Ruti and Yitzchak Levi, who live in the settlement of Adam. According to the report in the Jerusalem Post (May 1), Bat-El, an eleventh-grade student in a state school in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Pisgat Ze'ev, "won this year's national bible quiz for state schools and will be one of four finalists from Israel competing for the International Bible Quiz Championship on Independence Day." This event made the news because an anonymous caller revealed Bat-El's identity to Yad L'Achim. The organization immediately took action to stop her participation, contacting Orthodox and National Religious rabbis with a call to forbid their students to take part in the Quiz if Bat-El is allowed to participate (Jerusalem Post, May 1; Ma'ariv, April 29, May 1; Shavu'on, May 1; Israel HaYom, May 4; BeKehila, May 1; BeSheva, May 1). Those rabbis who responded to the call have further suggested holding an alternative Bible Quiz open only to religious students. Yad L'Achim are also planning to hold a mass demonstration outside the theater to "protest against the scandal" (BeKehila, May 1; Ma'ariv, May 1).
According to all these reports, the reasons for the religious protests were that that "'the missionaries will draw great encouragement from the fact that one of the members of the Messianic-Christian community has won the national Quiz and has a chance of being the World Bible Quiz winner'" and that the Bible Quiz is designed for "Jewish youth" and "'members of the "Messianic Jewish" sect are not recognized as Jews.'" (With regard to the first "accusation," it was noted that in the national finals Bat-El "also beat some of the participants from religious schools" [Ma'ariv, April 29].) As the reporter for BeSheva noted, the religious community and Yad L'Achim are presenting the event as one planned in advance: "'This is their new and abominable form of deceiving innocent Jews and to make it clear to them that you can be Jewish - and even a prominent Jew - at the same time as believing in that man and following his ways, God have mercy. As if this wasn't enough, the missionaries are even likely to use the 'Bible Queen' for mass operations amongst the youth, activity which is liable to bring about disaster.'" Yad L'Achim's director stated: "'They've taken a missionary girl from the Messianic Jews and she's likely to win the Bible Quiz or come second. By getting publicity in this way as the 'Bible Queen' they will enter [Jewish/Israeli] consciousness as if they are Jews. It's simply an exploitation to entice Jews to Christianity.'" Or in the words of Rabbi Aviner, "'It's not just a Christian girl, it's a missionary girl. Once they held crusades in order to bring Jews closer to Christianity; now they're operating in different ways.'"
While MK Meir Porush is pushing the Ministry of Education - which is partially responsible for the event - to disqualify Bat-El from the competition on the grounds that the Bible Quiz will become "'a lever for conversion," the Ministry of Education examined the religious claim that only Jews are allowed to compete and arrived at the legal conclusion that "'the student [Bat-El] is Jewish and cannot be disqualified from the Quiz'" (Ma'ariv, May 1). The BeSheva reporter (May 1) also noted that at least three other leading contenders were unaware of the controversy. One of them is a student at a yeshiva in Beersheva, whose head was quoted as stating: "'Our yeshiva network respects the legal decision of the Ministry of Education to hold the Bible Quiz as scheduled. There is no more symbolic day in our State than Independence Day, on which to emphasize the commitment and legitimacy that the citizens give to its laws.'" Bat-El's father was quoted in Ma'ariv (April 29) as saying that, "'If anyone tries to stop my daughter participating I believe that God will repay them. I'm a godfearing person who believes in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and in all the prophets.'" Calev Myers, "founder and chief counsel of the Jerusalem Institute of Justice, an advocacy group that represents members of the Messianic community, said that the rabbis' call to boycott the quiz was a show of weakness. 'If the participation of a Messianic Jewish lady is enough to shake up those rabbis' world, it shows the weakness of that world,' said Myers. 'Why should they have a problem with a young woman who knows how to quote from the Bible?'" (Jerusalem Post, May 1).
In a very "anti-missionary" tone, Menahem Ben contributed an opinion piece to Ma'ariv (May 4) on the subject. He linked it first and foremost to the fact that the Quiz is held very close to Holocaust Day, "which marks the darkest and most awful racism and hatred of all." Precisely on that day, "the ugliest information reached us of well-known hatred precisely of the Orthodox Jewish kind: radical groups, with Yad L'Achim at their head ... are pressuring their friends to boycott the World Bible Quiz for Jewish Youth if the girl Bat-El Levi, who belongs to a Messianic Jewish family, is allowed to participate." He then associated this act with the explosive device sent to the Ortiz family in Ariel (see previous Reviews), further recalling the problems the congregation in Beersheva is experiencing with Orthodox elements. In this respect, he stated quite categorically that, "Even if 'Yad L'Achim' itself isn't directly involved in the matter, there's no doubt that it is largely responsible for the attack and the various pogramniks are nurtured by its inspiration." Ben also considered that the Ministry of Education should have taken stronger action. In his opinion, it should also have denounced the very attempt of the Orthodox "to stain, to boycott, to shame an Israeli girl ... who studies in an Israeli state school ... who won all the former rounds with distinction." He further noted that while in recent years the Quiz has become restricted to "Jewish youth," at its inception it was designed for all "Bible lovers from every race and religion - as befits our world Book of Books, which is admired by billions all over the world." He also pointed out a possible source of threat behind the Orthodox objection to Bat-El's participation: "It's worth remembering, by the way, that the Orthodox yeshivas - in contrast to the national-religious ones - completely neglect study of the Bible in favor of the Talmud, and that the level of Bible proficiency amongst these yeshiva students is extremely low. To study the Bible in its plain sense - God forbid! It contains too many sins and offenses to which the delicate students shouldn't be exposed. But to learn to hate and cause others to hate and to boycott by way of appealing in the name of the Bible and the Bible Quiz - that they can do."
As with the reports on the attack on the Ortiz family last month, Ma'ariv (April 29) also contained a sidebar giving "background: Messianics." This was largely a quote from a member of the Messianic movement, related to the Levi family: "'As Messianic believers we see ourselves as part of the Jewish people. We are Jews both according to birth - we were born within the Jewish community - and according to our faith. We accept all of Scripture, observe all the Jewish feasts, only in addition we also believe in the New Testament and consider Yeshua the son of David to be the Messiah of Israel." The author added his own comments, to the effect that, "It should be noted that members of the community take care to call the Christian Messiah by his full name, Yeshua, and explain that this is his real name and that the name Yeshu was given to him by his Jewish opponents according to the acronym 'May his name and memory be blotted out.' He [the relative] also explained that many Messianic Jews define themselves as great Zionists, serve in the army and aspire to receive recognition as a legitimate stream of Judaism. According to him, they are careful to keep Shabbat - apart from using a car to get to the service - circumcise their children, fast on the Day of Atonement, and keep kashrut and the purity laws according to their own understanding. Most of them do not celebrate the Christian holidays, except for Christmas. They claim that over the years they have been persecuted by the rabbinic establishment - persecution which reached its peak a month ago with the wounding of a youth from the congregation in Ariel ..."
Haaretz, May 2, pp. 12, 40; Kol HaZman, May 2; Israel HaYom, May 4, 2008
In a discussion concerning the dates of various national and religious Jewish holidays, Michael Handelzatz in Haaretz (May 2, 12) recalled how the Jewish calendar differs from the Christian one: "About 3,760 years after the creation of the world according to the Christian calendar (plus or minus three years) a Jewish baby by the name of Yeshua was born in Bethlehem. When he was in his thirties, after the Passover Seder (which since then has come to be known as the 'Last Supper'), he was arrested, tried, and crucified. Three days after he was buried he rose from the dead and ascended into heaven. Since then, Christians have marked resurrection day as the day known as Easter. Because the origin of the date of Easter is linked to the date of Passover but Christians count their years from the birth of their Lord (the same Yeshua) and their months according to the earth's movement around the sun, a need was created to calculate in advance when Easter would fall ..."
The same paper (p. 40) devoted a lengthy article to Simcha Jacobovici, the director of the documentary The Lost Tomb of Jesus. During the course of the interview, the interviewer asked Jacobovici, the son of Holocaust survivors, "How does a religious Jew wearing a yarmulke and tzitziot [fringes] make a film about Yeshu?" The answer Jacobovici gave was this: "'I've been asked that question many times, but in my eyes there's no contradiction. In contrast to Jews who say, "He's theirs [the Christians']," I know that he's ours.'" The article contains some further facts concerning the film's production and reception. It cost four million dollars to produce and was three years in the making. While in Chile there were public demonstrations against its screening and it was banned in Italy, the British bought the film for $400,000 but never screened it.
In the column "What you wanted to know: Sacred Cow" in Kol Zikhron (May 2), a reader asked about the Ohel Ya'akov synagogue in the city, wanting to verify whether it had been built by Christians and thus served first as a church. In fact, the synagogue was built by Templars, "but only because they were considered the best builders in the area ... Before they turned it over to the residents, the Templars held a service in it." In order not to offend the Turks, it was claimed, moreover, that it was intended for use as a cowshed. Later, Rabbi Kook forbade its use, not because of its Christian origins but because it did not include separate sections for men and women.
The relations between the leaders of Shas (the Sephardi religious party) and one its members, Nitzan Chen, have had their ups and downs. According to a report in Israel HaYom (May 4), while at present Chen isn't in their favor, Shas leaders are pleased to have him around "since as a traditionalist they can expect him to deal with the Christian [TV] channels and pornographic broadcasts."
Yediot HaEmek, April 25, 2008
As part of a trip through the Jordan Park, the itinerary includes a visit to Bethesda, where "three of the most important apostles of the Christian church were born: Peter, his brother Andrew, and Philip. According to Christian tradition, Yeshu visited the city and worked miracles there, such as restoring the sight of a blind man and the miracle of the fish and loaves."
Ma'ariv, May 1, 2008
The controversy over Pope Pius XII's role during the Holocaust has ignited once again with the revealing of the private papers of Chaim Berles, a close friend of Angelo Roncalli, the papal nuncio in Istanbul during the war years and later Pius's successor. The unusual friendship between Jew and Catholic was close and deep, and the correspondence and conversations between the two, much of which Berles recorded in his diary, indicate the efforts Roncalli made to convince his superior - Pius XII - to act on behalf of European Jewry. According to the report in Ma'ariv (May 1), Roncalli "committed himself to helping without hesitation. He displayed a sympathetic attitude towards his guest, sent letters, messages, telegrams - directly to Rome and by indirect means through the assistance of his colleagues, Vatican ambassadors in other countries. He did not cease calling on the pope to exert his influence, to exploit the weight of his spiritual office, to intervene, to make his voice heard clearly and sharply in order to halt the destruction machine and put an end to the perpetual suffering. When he did not receive an answer, or when responses to his appeals were delayed for months or were composed of short, laconic replies, his despair penetrated also into his intimate conversations with Berles. He consistently reported to Pope Pius XII and to the Vatican Secretary of State every scrap of information regarding the killing, the slaughter, the abuse, and the expulsion of the Jews from their homes, accompanied by detailed suggestions concerning what could and should be done. But the Holy See continued his silence. Very rarely did he make any reference, in non-committal and general language, to those suffering in the war. The Jews were not mentioned." According to Prof. Dina Porat, head of the Project for the Study of Anti-Semitism at Tel Aviv University and the only person to have been given access so far to Berles's papers, "'The private documents reveal the depth of the friendship woven between Berles and Roncalli ... very rare in its intensity, secrets, and ideas which they shared with one another ... Also very rare is the fact that Roncalli criticized his pope, in delicate language but very clearly.'" One of the examples of Pius XII's attitude towards the "Jewish problem" is illustrated in brutally expressive terms in Berles's papers. "About a year before Roncalli saw the 'Auschwitz Protocol,' Berles approached him with an idea: to grant transit papers under the aegis of the Vatican to children in occupied Europe and thus to save them from the horrors of the war and to send them to relatives in Palestine/Eretz Israel. Roncalli responded immediately. The Vatican ambassador in Egypt, his confidant the Irish priest Arthur Hughes, brought a detailed brief and delivered it personally in Rome. The response was delayed for more than a month: 'The Vatican cannot assist in the transfer of Jews to Palestine because this might lead to the restriction of access by Christians to the holy places ...'"
Haaretz, May 2, 2008
Under the title "Learning to live with one another," Miriam Feinberg Vamosh reviewed Raymond Cohen's recently published book, Saving the Holy Sepulchre (Oxford University Press). With the revealing subtitle How Rival Christians Came Together to Rescue their Holiest Shrine, Cohen examines the almost miraculous way in which the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem has been kept and restored. "Chronicling complexities that make a Gordian knot look like a slip tie, Raymond Cohen, a professor of international relations at the Hebrew University, traces a process that began with insistence on preeminence and reached a point of making do with negotiated condominium, to reconstruct the crumbling complex, culminating in the dedication in 1997 of the new dome over the tomb. Cohen vividly describes the complex that has risen over the course of 16 centuries, a building project he describes as an 'unplanned collaboration between Byzantine and Frankish [Crusader] architects living in different centuries.' Even the most recent example of ecumenical collaboration, the restoration of the rotunda dome, has the simplicity and understated symbolism it does, according to Cohen, less for reasons of artistic choice and more because it was the only décor on which all denominations could agree. Yet the dome, renewed inside and out, is a symbol of the success of the collaborative efforts the book describes." Part of Cohen's purpose is to point out the ways in which political processes, including Israeli policies, have affected the church's history. Thus, for example, Israel refused to hand over the keys of the Deir el-Sultan monastery adjacent to the church - traditionally held by the Ethiopians - to the Copts in 1979 because they feared "risking the right of El Al planes to fly through Ethiopian airspace, and ... hampering Ethiopian Jewish immigration." The pope also had much to do - indirectly - with the church's narrative. According to Vamosh, "the announcement by Pope Paul VI, in 1966, of his impending visit to the Holy Land, brought Jerusalem to center stage once again. Reconstruction and reconciliation became necessarily more closely linked than ever before." The dome itself was only completed when an American Catholic philanthropist donated the necessary sum to the Pontifical Mission, a compromise accepted by the Greeks and Armenians, with the "threat" of a "second historical visit of a pope to Jerusalem around the corner in 2000." As the reviewer notes in conclusion, "Like its title, the book also ends on a harmonious note ... Perhaps this is its lesson: achievements not because of, but in spite of, all-too human tendencies to squabble even over the sacred."
November 30, 2007
Attitudes to Christianity
Al HaMakom, November 15, 2007
In a letter printed in Al HaMakom (November 15), Yossi Peles responded to an article in the paper from October 18. The author, Yitzhak Even Esh, wrote in his piece that "I am telling you to take the Christian books you have in the house and burn them, so that no trace should be left [of them] - because the two things don't go together, Judaism and its opposite." Peles took issue with the content and attitude of Even Esh's statement alike. He reminded the paper's readers first of all of the burning of Talmuds in the Middle Ages: "How can you explain your coming to terms - which is a form of agreement by silence [by printing the article without any comment] - with burning the books of members of another religion? Can you decently do to others what is abhorrent to you?" Nor is it true that the New Testament is the "opposite of Judaism": "It's another interpretation, different from yours (and even from mine) of Judaism. Most of the texts in that books are the fruit of Jewish writers and even if I too, like you, reject with both hands the faith that they present, I still understand their value and spiritual and historical importance."
The paper's editor printed on the same page a direct response to Peles's letter, citing a halakhic authority: "A Gentile who writes a Torah scroll with the names [of God] therein, on the one hand the scroll has no sanctity because the names were not written for the sanctification of HaShem [God], and on the other, it is forbidden to treat it with contempt and so it must be put in a genizah [a place for storing holy books which are no longer in a fit state for use]. An idolater who writes a Torah scroll for idol worship, that scroll must be burned. There is no prohibition again such burning because the names written in it have no sanctity because they were not written for the consecration of HaShem according to the faith of Israel, and in order not to give credit to idolatry, the Sages ordained that their books should be burned (Babylonian Talmud Gittin 45b; Maimonides on that place, 6, 8). Likewise, Bibles printed by missionaries which include the New Testament, which is the foundation of the Christian idolatry, must be burned or got rid of by other means, so that they may not be given credit."
Anti-missionary Activity
Mishpaha, November 15; HaModia, November 16; HaZofeh, November 23, 2007
In the midst of the kassam rockets which have been bombarding the town of Sderot for the past several years, Mishpaha (November 15) reported this week that the town has also recently been barraged by missionary activity. "The missionaries weren't satisfied with distributing literature in bustling locations but went from door to door in numerous neighborhoods giving out copies of the 'New Testament' printed in a special edition for the citizens of Sderot, with a thick cover and gold-edged pages, and informing people that the books would serve as an 'amulet' to keep the citizens safe against the kassams ... Their purpose was to frighten the citizens and disseminate amongst them dubious missionary literature and to make them false promises conditional on their walking in the way of that man." When Yad L'Achim was informed of the situation, the organization immediately sent workers to the city "to counter-balance the soul hunters." A similar report in HaModia (November 16) added that the Yad L'Achim workers identified the leaflets as being written by the "infamous missionary Ya'akov Damkani." In their effort to warn Sderot's residents, they "clarified to them the true identity behind the amiable and friendly appearance of the missionaries." Yad L'Achim's director stated in regard to the events: "The recent missionary activity in Sderot proves how vicious the missionaries can be, even in the face of the citizens of a town who are suffering daily from the growing fear of the unceasing flood of kassams. They perceive them as prey for their sinister hunt and scheme to convert them. It is known that members of Yad L'Achim are about to lay their hands on the precise address from which the missionaries are coming in order to be able to stop their activity by legal means." The piece in HaZofeh (November 23), which ran the same story, printed it with the headline "Missionaries promised to residents: 'The New Testament' will protect you against the kassams."
Christians in Israel
BeSheva, November 15; Ma'ariv, November 16; Hadash BeBeit Shemesh, November 9; Yediot Ahronot, November 20, 2007
In the continuing saga of the Greek Orthodox Patriarch, Hadash BeBeit Shemesh (November 9) reported on the indictment of two businessmen in the patriarchal real estate scandal - some of the property in question being in Beit Shemesh.
BeSheva (November 15) gave a brief history of the struggle between Ireneos and Theophilos, indicating that three days after the Knesset Ministerial Committee recommended that the Israeli government recognize Theophilos as Patriarch, the Greek Orthodox church petitioned the court in Jerusalem to issue a search warrant for all the personal effects located in the "room in which Ireneos has been hiding since his deposition ... including all valuables, medals, crosses, icons, ancient prayer garments, various rings, and other objects." The petition was made following a perceived increase in traffic to and from the Patriarch's room, with people entering and leaving with suitcases!
According to an article in Ma'ariv (November 16), as part of his efforts to strengthen Ukrainian national identity and independence from Russian influence, the Ukrainian President, Viktor Yushchenko, has decided to open a national Ukrainian church in Israel. To the church, to be built on land in Jerusalem and run by Ukrainian priests and monks, is due to be attached a hostel for Ukrainian pilgrims. The move has angered the Russian Church in Israel and threatens to create a crisis in Israeli-Russian relations if Israel recognizes the church. Since the Ukrainian church has never had an independent presence in Israel, the opening of such a church is dependent upon the approval of the Greek Orthodox Church.
In the wake of negotiations to return the Russian Compound in Jerusalem to Russian control, a report in Yediot Ahronot (November 20) indicated that an agreement has been reached whereby the Russian-Israeli millionaire Arkadi Gaydamak will cover the costs of transferring the Israeli offices located on the premises to their new location. The agreement is due to be signed during 2008 and will consist of the funding of a new building to house the Jerusalem District Court.
Christian Tourism
Haaretz, November 20, 2007
A brief report in Haaretz (November 20) indicated that part of the Blair Plan to be proposed at the Paris Summit due to take place in two months with the purpose of raising funds for development plans includes "the promotion of tourism in Bethlehem through the establishment of new installations and the easing of access for Christian pilgrims."
The Pope and the Vatican
Haaretz, November 18, 19; Ma'ariv, November 12; Jerusalem Post, November 18, 22, 2007
Haaretz (November 19) ran the New York Times Weekly Review story printed in the Jerusalem Post last week regarding King Abdullah's audience with the pope (see previous Review).
A senior Vatican official recently lashed out at Israel for failing to fulfill obligations to which it committed itself in an agreement signed in 1993 (Jerusalem Post, Haaretz, November 18). In an interview posted on Friday November 12th on Terrasanta.net, "an online publication about the Holy Land," Archbishop Pietro Sambi charged that "The Holy See decided to establish diplomatic relations (in 1993) with Israel as an act of faith, leaving to latter [sic] the serious promises to regulate concrete aspects of the life of the Catholic community and the Church." These include the status of expropriated church property, services performed for Israel's Jewish and Arab populations by various Catholic groups, and tax exemptions for the church, together with the granting of permits for Arab Christian clergy traveling to and around the West Bank. Sambi blamed the situation - in which he saw Vatican-Israeli relations prior to the agreement as being better than they are now - on Israel's "'absence of political will.' 'Everyone can see what kind of trust you can give to Israel's promises,' Sambi said." A Vatican spokesman was also quoted as saying that Sambi's views "'reflect his thinking and his personal experience' during the diplomat's former position [as papal envoy] in Israel." The Israeli reaction, as expressed by a Foreign Ministry official, stressed that "'Israel is interested in good relations with the Vatican and Israeli and Vatican officials are working to overcome gaps that exist.'" The article also mentioned the tensions which had erupted earlier this year "when the Holy See's ambassador to Israel initially decided to boycott a Holocaust memorial service because of allegations that during World War II Pope Pius XII was silent about the mass killings of Jews" (Jerusalem Post, November 18).
The same paper reported on November 22 that the "Vatican has distanced itself from comments made by its former ambassador to Israel." According to the article, "While the archbishop's comments are not likely to harm Catholic-Israeli relations in the long-term - an official with the Chief Rabbinate's office told the Jerusalem Post relations have never been better - they underscore the tension within the Catholic Church over its Israel policy. Pope Benedict XVI is an avowed advocate of closer political relations with Israel and theological dialogue with Judaism. However, his views are not held by all within the Roman Catholic Church's hierarchy."
The Post also ran an article quoting from an interview held with the current Vatican ambassador to Israel, Monsignor Antonio Franco. At the center of the discussion was Vatican "frustration over the decade-old failure to reach an agreement with Israel on tax exemptions, amid mounting criticism among senior Vatican officials on the state of relations between the Jewish state and the Holy See." According to the piece, "The total amount of unpaid property tax [deriving from the fact that the church's claim that the property is only used for worship and not for any commercial purposes] amounts to roughly NIS 300 million, with the Latin Patriarchate the biggest offender." Negotiations on the issue between the two sides are due to resume on December 12, with the Vatican said to be willing to "pay only a symbolic fee for the city services they receive." "A secondary issue between the two sides has to do with the legal structure of church authority in the Holy Land, which has been agreed upon but never confirmed by the Knesset." A response to the threatening crisis was given by Rabbi David Rosen, who helped broker the original agreement: "'The Vatican is showing remarkable patience and understanding regarding commitments made by the State of Israel in the Fundamental Agreement, which were to be resolved within two years but which have still not been resolved' ... He added that this patience on the part of the Vatican was a testimony of their commitment to good relations with the Jewish people and the State of Israel."
NOV 15, 2007
Anti-missionary Activity
Zman Haifa, October 26; Merkaz Ha'Inyanim, October 29; HaModia, November 8, 2007
The story of the "missionary center" to be established in the Galilee by "evangelists" was run by Merkaz Ha'Inyanim (October 29), a paper providing information for the Ultra-Orthodox public (see previous Reviews).
A piece in HaModia (November 8) reported that Shmuel Halpert, chairman of the religious lobby in the Knesset, recently requested that the current Minister of Tourism honor the agreement his predecessor had made that no "missionary center" would be built in Tiberias (see previous Reviews).
Zman Haifa (October 26) carried a story of Jehovah's Witnesses' activity in the city. According to the report, members of the sect are "approaching children and youth and with smooth talk are telling them Bible stories. They are distributing tracts with the titles 'Troubles will soon pass away' and 'How God takes care of us' ... In them it is written that 'Jehovah's Witnesses are a group of true brethren who embrace the world.'" The "missionaries" attempt to convince the children that only if they follow the way of the Jehovah's Witnesses will they find happiness. A United Torah Judaism member on the local municipal council claimed, "We are talking about an extremist missionary sect with clear anti-Semitic characteristics" - by which he apparently meant the attempt to "destroy every remnant and memory of the Jewish people" through their conversion to Christianity.
Anglican Church
Jerusalem Post, November 2, 4; Haaretz, November 2, 5 (Hebrew and English editions), 2007
Rowan William's one-day visit to Israel last week differed from his previous three in his office as Archbishop of Canterbury (Haaretz, November 5). Whereas previously he had visited Palestinian Christians, this visit was devoted to "a meeting with Israel's chief rabbis and with a special team from the Chief Rabbinate that deals with interfaith dialogue." Despite the fact one of his aims was "to improve relations, even partially, between him and the Church he heads, and the State of Israel and its supporters in the West ... because the Anglican Church, the third largest in the Christian world ... is considered today to be the church most hostile in its attitude toward Israel," most of his remarks as reported in Haaretz dealt rather with Iran and Muslim-Christian dialogue. "'The only way of eliminating [the nuclear] possibility,' the archbishop says, 'would be a preemptive strike, which is against international law.' This he says, would make any possibility of relations with Iran impossible." It is thus apparent that his agenda is indeed dialogue - the religious equivalent to negotiations. His limited success in the latter in Britain he describes as "small things, but I think the alternative - of doing nothing - is worse."
Muslim dialogue is also important to the Archbishop with relation to the situation of Christians in the Palestinian Authority. Recognizing that "Christians have become a minority in areas that once were Christian," Williams countered by blaming Israel: "'I would like to know how much it matters to the Israeli government to have Christian communities in the Holy Land. Are they an embarrassment or are they part of a solution? That is the question ... A better option [than the fence]? I wish I knew. I can only point out the cost, which I think is something that affects Israel in the long term. It encourages the departure of young Palestinians from their environment.'" Even though his remarks on this visit were more muted, Williams found it difficult to lay even part of the responsibility for the situation on the PA itself: "When asked if the PA was responsible [for anti-Christian sentiment amongst the Palestinian communities], the archbishop replied: 'I don't think it's the Palestinian Authority. I think it's the drifting demography in the Palestinian regions.'" According to the report, unlike the Pope, the Archbishop of Canterbury's ability to impose his opinions upon the Anglican Church is limited: "His remarks about Israel are greatly influenced by Palestinian Anglicans who are extremely careful not to accuse their Muslim neighbors of persecution and prefer to level their criticism at Israeli policies." Regarding the Anglican Church's position on divestment from Israeli and international companies which sell equipment to the IDF, Williams repeated what appears to be the "official statement": "I have no commitment to a program of disinvestments. We have an ethical investment policy and certain kinds of investment ... needed to be reviewed in that light. We went through a process that is a routine matter of reviewing our investment policy according to agreed ethical criteria" (Haaretz).
Under the title "Time to renew Anglican Zionism," the Jerusalem Post (November 2) noted that Williams's "sharp criticism of the security barrier," "whether a consequence of misinformation or of bias against Israel or both, was a distortion of the facts. The unfortunate phenomenon of Arab Christian emigration from the Holy Land to the US, Europe and other advanced countries has been going on for decades and is the result of a multitude of factors - educational, social, cultural, and political." The article noted that Williams's statements came "almost 90 years to the day after a fellow Anglican, Britain's foreign secretary Arthur James Balfour, set the groundwork for the creation of the Jewish state." The call for the "renewal of Anglican Zionism" came against this background, the unnamed author remarking that "Sadly, Anglican support for Israel has wavered since then." S/he then suggests that "Perhaps present Anglican censure of Israeli policies has its source in the [Anglican?] Church's expectations that the Jews, God's chosen people, live up to higher moral standards ... Perhaps it is the Christian tendency to come to the aid of the underdog ... But Williams's attitude does not reflect the best interests of his flock in this area, who benefit from the security Israel is seeking to attain and are vulnerable to the same ruthless violence that targets the Jewish state. Israel, with the security barrier, has taken essential steps to safeguard precisely the 'asylum,' the 'safe home' for the Jewish people 'in their native land,' that Balfour envisaged. And, hopefully with the support of intellectually honest allies, 'the full flowering of their genius will burst forth and propagate.'"
Another article in the same paper (November 4) looked at same issue, asking "Does the Anglican Church have an Israel problem?" Starting from the recent American Episcopal "Israel-Apartheid" conference in Boston, sponsored by the Episcopal Divinity School responsible for training many of the Church's future leaders, Rafael Medoff went back in history in order to demonstrate that the current climate is in direct opposition to Anglican and Episcopal positions prior and during the Holocaust. One of Rowan Williams's predecessors, William Temple, appointed to the office in 1942, "did not hesitate to take unpopular positions, such as urging the Allies to grant asylum to all Jewish refugees" - a stance which had a direct influence on Roosevelt's policies in the U.S. While most American Episcopal leaders failed to speak out publicly, the General Theological Seminary in New York and the Berkeley Divinity School in Connecticut were both "co-sponsors of an important 'Inter-Seminary Conference' ... held in New York City in early 1943 to discuss the Nazi mass murders." The Bergson Group, which lobbied for U.S. action to rescue Jews, also included a number of Episcopal leaders. Medoff concluded his historical review by stating that: "Today, as during the Holocaust, there are those within the Episcopal Church whose positions on issues of Jewish concern have raised troubling questions. But it is clear that there are other voices, as well."
According to a brief report in Haaretz (November 2), the Archbishop also called for the release of kidnapped soldiers Eldad Regev, Ehud Goldwasser, and Gilad Shalit in a joint statement issued with the chief rabbis.
Christians in Israel
Haaretz, November 5, 6, pp. 3, 11 (Hebrew and English editions), p. 28, November 8; Israel HaYom, November 6; HaShavua BiYerushalayim, November 1; Ma'ariv, November 6; Yediot Ahronot, November 6; Makor Rishon, November 2, 6; Jerusalem Post, November 6; Business Post, November 6, 2007
The latest developments in the scandal surrounding the Greek Orthodox Patriarch have seen the indictment of two of those involved, Yaakov Rabinowitz and David Morgenstern, for "forgery and fraud," in what the Jerusalem District court "described as 'one of the most sophisticated cases of real estate fraud in the state of Israel.'" The two men were convicted of forging the Patriarch's signature (at the time, Diodorus) and thereby stealing $20 million from the Jewish National Fund by illegally renewing the latter's lease on prime real estate property in Jerusalem and Beit Shemesh (Haaretz, The Marker, Yediot Ahronot, Jerusalem Business Post, Makor Rishon, and Israel HaYom, November 6). According to Haaretz (November 6), the court wrote in its decision, "The suspects cynically took advantage of the strong desire of the state authorities and the JNF to make long-term arrangements for the leasing of property in Jerusalem. The concern of the authorities, which had started to take shape, was that the renewal of the lease would not take place because of the political pressure on the patriarch from various sources in the Palestinian Authority."
Caroline Glick related to precisely this issue in an opinion piece in the Jerusalem Post (November 6) titled "Israel's anti-Zionist leaders." Her take on Theophilos' appointment was that his election "was the consequence of an anti-Jewish campaign of terror by Hamas and Fatah and the Jordanian government against the church and its leaders." As earlier reports have indicated, the Patriarch's position has recently become conditional upon the candidate's agreement not to sell any land to Jews - one of the primary reasons for the dismissal of Theophilos' predecessor (Ireneos). According to Glick, "After Ireneos was ejected from office, Theophilos immediately distinguished himself from his fellow clerics with his enthusiasm for barring Israel and Jews from using church lands. He secured Palestinian and Jordanian backing ahead of the elections by pledging to operate in accordance with Jordanian rather than Israeli law. Jordanian law prohibits all land sales to Jews." Last week's Knesset decision to finally approve Theophilos' appointment is therefore anything but a "simple matter," but embodies the anti-Zionist stance increasingly being adopted by Israel's own leaders: "By accepting Theophilos as Patriarch, Israel is siding with its enemies against itself. It is signaling to Israel's antagonists that terror and extortion continue to pay. Just as terror is viewed as the force which compelled Israel to vacate Gaza and south Lebanon, so in the case of the Greek Orthodox Patriarch, Israel's enemies would be justified in believing that their decision to terrorize the church leadership and force it to embrace anti-Semitism and the jihadist aim of ethnic cleansing of Jews from the Holy Land was the right decision."
The Greek Orthodox church is also posing a traffic problem in the country. The high-technology tunnel road recently constructed between Nazareth and Nazareth Elit (Upper Nazareth) at a cost of 400 million dollars will remain closed until the dispute between the Israel National Roads Company (INRC) and the Greek Orthodox Church has been resolved. At issue is a junction which has apparently not been built according to the specification agreed upon by the latter, who provided a portion of the land on which the road has been constructed. At present, the Greek Orthodox church has issued an interim order forbidding the INRC from continuing work on the paving of the multi-lane highway - which, in replacing the old road which had gained the name the "wall of death" because of its dangerous condition, was hoped would significantly lower the current number of accidents and fatalities. The disputed length was due to include an elevated bridge and a roundabout facilitating access to a residential neighborhood where the church had plans to erect a commercial center. The church is claiming that instead of investing 60 million shekels to build the roundabout and junction, the INRC has erected an intersection with traffic lights at the mere cost of five million shekels. Although the INRC is arguing that this is a temporary measure, the "church is unwilling to compromise, fearing that the temporary will become permanent."
In a further church-related affair, HaShavua BiYerushalayim (November 1) reported that it had received information that four months ago Prime Minister Olmert signed an initial agreement with the Russian government according to which the Russian Compound and Sergei's Court in the center of Jerusalem, which belong to the latter, would be returned to it within a year. Figures involved in the negotiations allegedly informed the paper that the Russian Church is planning to construct a hotel for Russian pilgrims on the sites, closing it off to outsiders. The area currently houses the police headquarters, a museum commemorating Jewish underground fighters, the Ministry of Agriculture, and a hospital building. It has been leased to the Israeli government since it was bought by the Czar's family in the middle of the eighteenth century. According to reports from the Prime Minister's office, which confirmed the information received by the paper, the Israeli government will be compensated for the return of the property to the tune of 100 million dollars - a sum with which the government intends to build a new site to house the District Court. The Jerusalem municipality is calling the affair scandalous, it being unknown for a country to transfer strategic property in the heart of its capital to a foreign power. The proper course of action, in its eyes, would be to buy the property outright.
The "Nazareth cross" has recently received substantial backing from an internet company called "A-2-Z" (Haaretz, The Marker, November 8); (for the cross, see previous Reviews). Under the aegis of its international campaign for the project, a huge cross made of tiles will be erected in Nazareth. The tiles, to which a dedication may be added, will be sold to "believers through the internet" on eBay. A-2-Z is said to be planning an "analysis of Christian believers' activity on the internet" in order to identify the target population most likely to purchase the tiles.
Although not strictly within the purview of the Media Review, we have included here two articles on the situation of believers in Gaza. The first, in Haaretz (November 5), relates to the Christian exodus from the strip: "Since Hamas' domination of the Gaza Strip, the pressure on the tiny Christian community - 3,000 persons living in the middle of 1.5 million Muslims - has increased." The pressure recently took a turn toward violence when the manager of the only Christian bookshop in the city, Bible Society worker Rami Ayyad, was murdered a month ago. "It looked like another dwelling of mourners in Gaza. Rows of plastic chairs for the mourning family and their comforters. Colorful plastic wreaths leaning against the wall of the building, and a picture of a young man, pale - shaved in fact - and bespectacled, smiling hesitantly from the posters covering the walls. But the usual sight of the Al Aksa mosque wasn't visible in the pictures and the floral wreaths were accompanied by verses from the New Testament rather than from the Quran. The victim was a member of the Christian community in Gaza." The bookshop, run under the auspices of the Palestinian Bible Society, also functioned as an internet café where residents could receive computer lessons. Immediately following Hamas' overwhelming victory in the 2006 elections, a note was attached to the shop door demanding its instant closure. On October 6, Ayyad left the shop and didn't return home. His body was found the next day in one of the streets of the city; he had been shot in the head and stabbed in the chest, leaving a wife in the eighth month of her third pregnancy and two small children. Although up until now, despite its size, the Christian community has largely lived in harmony with its Muslim neighbors, the climate now seems to be changing: "Many Christians are planning to emigrate at the first opportunity."
This is also the headline of an article in Makor Rishon (November 2): "The Christians in Gaza want to leave." Here, too, the blame is laid at the feet of Hamas. Quoting the British Guardian, the paper claimed that "Hamas' victory is troubling not only to Israel and Bush but also to the Christian community in Gaza, who are saying that they will leave the city because they no longer see their future there following the victory of the fundamentalist Muslim organization." According to the report, Rami Ayyad was kidnapped by anonymous persons and then killed. "This murder exposed the fact that the Gaza Strip is not only 'Hamastan' politically and security-wise, but first and foremost religiously - an extremist fundamentalist Muslim entity. The most serious manifestation of this trend of Islamization in Gaza is the attacks on Christians. The Muslims hate Christians no less than they hate Jews."
The Pope and the Vatican
Jerusalem Post, November 7; Haaretz, November 7; Makor Rishon, November 7, 2007
All three of these articles dealt with the "first ever meeting between a pontiff and a reigning Saudi monarch" - King Abdullah's audience with Benedict XVI last Tuesday. Given Abdullah's position as "the protector of Islam's holiest sites," the Pope fulfilled expectations by raising the question of the "positive presence and work of Christians" in the kingdom and pressing the issue of the ban on open Christian worship and the building of churches (Jerusalem Post, November 7). The meeting came at the request of Abdullah, who is currently touring Europe, the Pope apparently responding as part of his effort to "reach out to all countries that still don't have diplomatic relations with the Holy See, which include Saudi Arabia and China." According to the reports, "The talks were 'warm' and allowed a wide discussion on the need for interreligious and intercultural dialogue among Christians, Muslims and Jews 'for the promotion of peace, justice and spiritual and moral values, especially in support of the family,' the Vatican said in a statement."
Christian Media
Haaretz, November 1, 2007
The continuing saga of Daystar's removal from HOT's cable package has reached the Supreme Court, which heard the former's complaint against the latter this week. The charge claims that while HOT gave the reason for the removal of the Christian broadcasting channel from its cable package as "religious pressure," Daystar has good reason to believe that the true reason lay with the coercion exerted on the cable company by the Orthodox Minister of Communication. In this context, the removal of the station constitutes, in Daystar's opinion, a violation of the freedom of expression: "We would not wish to imagine the possibility that in America Jewish broadcasting channels would be stopped on the grounds that their very existence impinges on the religious sensitivities of some of its citizens."
Christians in the Holocaust
HaModia, November 11, 2007
According to this report, an ancient Torah scroll, rescued from a synagogue in Cologne on Kristallnacht by a Lutheran pastor, has been restored - both physically and geographically. Gustav Meinertz saved the scroll and hid it in his own home. When the war ended, he returned it to survivors who came back to live in the city. The funds for its restoration were provided by the Archbishop of Cologne. It now resides in the new location of the synagogue, on Roosnstrasse.
October 23, 2007
Christian Zionism
Makor Rishon, October 12; HaShavua B'Yerushalayim, October 11; Hadashot Netanya, October 12; Haaretz, October 12, 15; Jerusalem Post, October 18, 2007
Haaretz (October 12) carried an article about the Christian Zionist Sukkot festivities in Jerusalem (see previous Reviews). Relating to Uri Lupolianski's decision not to participate, ICEJ Director Michael Hedding noted: "'We deeply regret that the mayor couldn't come down to see us here at Jerusalem's biggest annual tourist event. Of course, we all know why he didn't come,' he added, hinting at the Chief Rabbinate's ban" on all Jewish participation. "'The people who banned the event are motivated by ignorance and are working out of isolation. But the state is behind us, and religious figures too. We had prominent rabbis come here. Dudu Fisher even came to sing.' Other guests included the families of Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, the two Israeli soldiers Hezbollah kidnapped last year." According to the report, "Palestinian Christians stayed away because to many of them, the pro-Zionist Evangelicals are ignoring their own brothers and sisters in Christ ... At the Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center Sabeel in East Jerusalem, such shows of support for Israel by fellow Christians are seen as a form of estrangement from the Palestinian community. 'This is the result of a right-wing highjacking of the evangelistic movement,' Sabeel spokesman Jonathan Kuttab told Haaretz this week."
In a separate report on the same page, the observance of the fifth annual Prayer for the Peace of Jerusalem was noted - a ceremony conducted in Jerusalem and broadcast live in 192 countries. "'From small tribal villages in Africa, to the mega-churches of America, Christians around the world were united in prayer on Sunday to demonstrate their allegiance with the biblical command to pray for the peace of Jerusalem,' Robert Stearns, founder of the initiative, said."
Following the Christian Sukkot festivities, Jewish tempers were running hot. Mina Fenton, responsible for foreign relations in the Jerusalem municipal council and a fervent anti-missionary activist, wrote a letter to Makor Rishon (October 12) denouncing the paper's printing of a photo of "a large group of Christian pilgrims carrying a huge banner inscribed with the Tetragrammaton in large Hebrew letters." Her protest centered around the fact that this constitutes an expression of contempt for Judaism and its faith and that Christians believe that the Tetragrammaton is a "designation for 'that man' who is 'God-man and Messiah.'" She also objected to another banner, this one expressing "that man's reign over Jerusalem." Fenton's opinion was that the photo clearly indicated the marchers' true purpose: "The strengthening of their faith and the hastening of their vision, the exaltation of 'that man' precisely in the streets of Jerusalem, his reign over the city and the whole world, the preaching of the gospel from Jerusalem during the march, when thousands of Israeli Jews are cheering them." Fenton claimed that many missionary organizations participated in the march, including the "Messianic Jewish movements which believe in 'that man.'"
Fenton's efforts were further directed toward the dismissal of the director of the municipal authority's Sports Division, the person responsible for the organization of the Sukkot march (HaShavua B'Yerushalayim, October 11). Her claim is that the participation of a much larger number than actually registered constituted a violation of the law. Her true objection lies elsewhere, of course: In her eyes, "the march has turned in recent years into a tool of Christian pilgrims for their Christian-religious purposes which scorn and trample upon the sacred objects of the Jewish people and its faith." The fact that such missionary activity has been allowed to flourish is despicable - and someone must pay.
Attitudes were very different in Netanya, where the city's hotels were filled with Christian pilgrims over Sukkot (Hadashot Netanya, October 12). Special events were organized for the predominantly Swedish and German tourists, who enjoyed a folklore evening in one of the hotels and another in Beit Yochanan with the participation of a Swedish choir.
The Jerusalem Post (October 18) reported on the 6,000-strong twenty-sixth evangelical "Night to Honor Israel" in San Antonio, Texas, | |