The Media Review is an English-language synopsis of articles that were originally published in the Israeli press. The articles, most of which were written in Hebrew, focus on Messianic Jews and Christianity. This synoptic translation is a Caspari Center exclusive. The Media Review reports what was said in the press irrespective of its accuracy, and the information does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Caspari Center. On occasion the editor includes explanatory matter in brackets, preceeded by the words [Editor’s note:].

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During the week covered by this review, we received 3 articles on the subjects of Messianic Jews and attitudes towards Jesus and Christianity. Of these:

1 dealt with Messianic Jews

1 dealt with attitudes towards Jesus and Christianity

1 dealt with archaeology

This week's Review highlights further harassment of the Messianic Jewish community - an attack on Eliav Levine.

Jerusalem Post, December 3, 2009

According to this report, "Beit She'an police on Wednesday arrested two haredi [ultra-Orthodox] residents on suspicion they torched a car belonging to a local messianic Jew late Tuesday night, when it was parked next to the city's police station. Both suspects' remands were extended until Sunday. Police are probing whether the incident is linked to rising tensions over what some Jews in the area are calling missionary activities on the part of some Christians ... The owner of the car, Eliav Levine, identifies with the messianic Jewish community and has lived with his family in Beit She'an for a year and a half. Originally from the former Soviet Union, Levine and his family have been subjected to repeated harassment by local Orthodox Jews, Levine's attorney said Wednesday." Levine's lawyer, Calev Myer [sic], has written to the Israel Police Inspector General, saying that "'the apparent indifference exhibited by the police toward extremist haredi activists leaves innocent citizens exposed to grave danger, simply because of their religious affiliation,'" further calling on him to "fight violence against messianic Jews 'before it is too late, before this harassment takes a toll in human life.'" The article listed a series of attacks against the family, including a prior arson attempt, pressure exerted by one of their landlords, and interrogation of the children at school regarding the family's religious beliefs. Levine himself "denied that they are missionaries. 'We are not missionaries, we are Jews who believe in Jesus and pray with other Jews from Russia who also believe in Jesus,' he said. Levine said the family drives to Nazareth Illit on Shabbat, where they attend private services in the home of other messianic Jews. Levine said that in spite of the harassment, the family has no intention of leaving Beit She'an." In response, Shalom Dov Lipshitz, head of the anti-missionary organization Yad L'Achim, stated, "'We don't justify any sort of violence at all and we are against it, it only makes our work that much harder,' ... adding that the arsonist was 'just a stupid man who went out and did something stupid. What did he gain from this?'" The report also indicated that the Galilee police are still "checking possible motives and are not convinced that the only possibility is [that] the arson was linked to religious tensions ... The [police] spokesperson also denied that the family were messianic Jews, saying they were Christians."

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Ir - Akbar Ha'Ir, December 3, 2009

In a column titled "Five facts about the false messiah Yeshu the son of Miriam and Joseph from Nazareth," the truth about Jesus and Christianity was explained as follows: "There is no certainty whatever that the historical figure of Yeshua actually existed in reality. The events described in the New Testament are not supported by any other documents from the period (records from the Roman Caesars, Josephus' Jewish War, etc.) or by any archaelogical findings related to them. A very high plausibility indeed does exist, however, that a figure of this sort did in fact exist, and it is very likely that such a figure served as the inspiration for the Gospels: under the inspiration of the prophetic literature the title 'messiah' was linked in many cases to leaders when - according to their own testimony - they arose in that period from the remnants of the Jewish people in the province of Jerusalem, primarily as part of the national revolt against the Roman Empire. The story of Bar Kokhva is an especially well known case of this phenomenon. Historically, the establishment of Christianity is generally attributed not to Yeshu but to Paul of Tarsus, who is Saul the Tarsite (Tarshish, Turkey) - a Jew slightly younger than Yeshu of Nazareth who never met Yeshu during his life, and to whom are ascribed the doctrines of original sin and Yeshu as the Son of God who was killed in order to atone for this sin. It was also Paul who allowed people not to observe the Torah and practical commandments, in an attempt to ingratiate Christianity with the Gentiles after it was rejected by the Jews. The doctrine of the Holy Trinity was formulated and fixed hundreds of years after Yeshu's lifetime, at the Council of Nicaea in 325. One of Yeshu of Nazareth's well-known sayings was said when he faced a prostitute bound to the stake whom the crowd sought to kill by stoning: 'Whichever of you is without sin, let him throw the first stone' (John 8)."

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Haaretz, December 7, 2009

According to this report, Megiddo Prison is set to become a tourist site if plans go ahead to develop the "magnificent mosaic floor featuring important inscriptions, including a reference to Jesus" discovered together with the foundation of a building from the third or fourth century C.E. during an Israeli Antiquities' salvage dig. "The finds were evidence that the site was used for Christian religious worship before Christianity became the official religion of the Roman empire, and it is thought to contain the remains of the oldest church in the world. Officials involved in the dig explained that the finds show a link between the Roman army that encamped there then and communal Christian activity. At the center of the site remains of an altar or prayer table were found ... Megiddo council head Erez said: 'On the site, a tourism complex is to be built, the central focus of which will be the ancient house of worship, alongside, of course, the Tel Megiddo archaeological site, which is also a significant site for the Christian world.'"

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