Caspari Center Media Review……..Feb. #2 and March #1, 2002
In the period of time covered by this review, we received 59 articles on the subject of Messianic Jews, Christianity and the mission. Of these:
- 18 articles dealt with missionary activity in the country
- 10 articles dealt with land issues
- 5 articles dealt with tourism
- 4 articles dealt with the Catholic Church and the Vatican
- 2 articles dealt with Christian support of Israel
The remaining 20 articles were single articles dealing with matters of Jewish or Christian interest on their own merit.
Teacher fired from Religious school (Shisha Yamim, 21/02/02, Hamodia, 21/02/02)
A teacher in a religious school in the centre of the country has been fired due to her faith. The ultra religious group Yad Le’Achim was informed that the teacher was of a different faith, and a missionary. They proceeded to follow the teacher in order to establish these facts and after doing so reported her to the school’s administration which then fired her.
Yad Le’Achim also stated that the teacher was placed in the school by the missionary group she is associated with in order to “hunt the innocent souls of young girls.” The chairman of Yad Le’Achim, R. Dov Lipshitz also said that “no-one is safe and immune to the attempts and infiltration of the missionaries.”
Intimacy of faiths (The Jerusalem Report, 25/02/02)
In this bimonthly Jerusalem news magazine an article appeared written by Yossi Klein Halevy, a religious Jew, telling of his experience while visiting the Beit Jammal convent near Beit Shemesh.
Halevy, who tends to visit the convent and sit in the balcony of the chapel while meditating on their exalted song, was greeted at the gate this time by an excited nun who said to him: “today is an important day.” It so happened that that very same day the Pope convened a prayer gathering of leaders of world religions in Assisi, Italy.
In honor of that gathering in Italy the convent was about to hold a special service held in their “Jewish chapel” when Halevi arrived. He was asked to participate in the service and blessed the nuns in Hebrew. His response to the experience can be best summed in his own words: “At that moment, it seemed to me, we all realized that we live in a unique period. For the first time in history, Jews and Christians can glimpse, even experience, something of the others devotion without abandoning their own faith… some of us know that relations have never been more intimate.”
Settlers forbidden to receive gifts from Christians (Ha’Aretz English edition, 26/02/02)
Some Christian groups such as The Christian Friends of Israeli Communities (CFIC) are active in support of Jewish settlements in the occupied territories. Their support includes donations of computers, medical equipment, play sets for public parks and more.
The group also donated bulletproof vests to the Hof Azza Regional Council, but the chief Rabbi of Kiryat Arba settlement has forbidden the council to accept these donations. Rabbi Dov Lior confirmed this in a response to a question on the matter posed on the Torah Web site saying, “in principle, since this is done by the church and in the name of Christianity, (the vests) should not be used, since their intention, covertly if not overtly, is to convert Jews to their religion.” Vests which have already been distributed can be used.
This decision will have implications for many of the settlements, seeing as how Christian support is very widespread in these areas.
“Yoav Yehuda” accused of missionary activity (Yated Ne’eman, 14/02/02, HaModia, 18/02/02)
The tourism company “Yoav Yehuda,” based in the Messianic settlement of Yad Hashmona has been accused by the ultra orthodox group Yad Le’Achim of conducting missionary activities. The two identical articles appearing in religious papers explain these so called missionary activities as the “desecration of the Holy Sabbath and other strict prohibitions.”
Missionary activity in the Former Soviet Union (Hamodia, 15/02/02)
The religious Tel-Aviv daily Hamodia, printed a full page article concerning the “danger” of mission in the FSU. The article depicts events taking place in the Knesset. Knesset Member Nissim Zeev (Shas) criticized the Jewish agency, claiming that it was indifferent to the activities of the various missionary groups in the FSU. In his opinion, the missionaries together with the believers in the country, form a tight web in which they first help Jews to make Alliya, and then continue to try and convert them by offering them support upon their arrival to Israel
Zeev pointed out that the new immigrants are in a delicate state and that the Jewish agency in Israel does not do enough to help them. He then continues to say that the messianic believers “storm the immigrants and engage, among other things, in distribution of literature in the Russian language to the new immigrants and of course, bestow material compensations such as furniture, electric devices and parties at the Churches.”
Baby saved by Arabs, Jews and Christians (The Jerusalem Post, 27/02/02)
In this touching story, an abandoned baby was found and saved by Palestinians, fed and strengthened by nuns, and had her heart repaired by an Israeli surgeon. The infant, named Sallam Sallam (peace in Arabic) was found in a garbage heap in north Ramalla by Palestinians and taken to a shelter in Tulkarm. Later, she was given a permanent home by a group of nuns in Bethlehem. But the baby was born with a heart problem which soon worsened, and the baby was taken to Hadassah hospital. There her heart was repaired by Doctor Eli Milgalter, an Israeli surgeon.
Milgalter performed the surgery free of charge. “It is special, that even with violence raging, and divides widening, Sallam was saved by Palestinians, Christians and Israelis. Yet, its rarity makes it bittersweet” said Milgalter.
Vatican opens archives (HaAretz, 17/02/02)
There has been constant tension between the Vatican and the Jewish world regarding the activities of Pope Pius the 12th during the Holocaust. This is partly because the Vatican has refused access to the archives relating to that time.
The archives opened now are not those in dispute, but rather the ones regarding the Pope Pius the 11th . The importance of these archives is because of the fact that during the office of Pius the 11th , Bishop Ognio Pasli, later to become Pius the 12th , was the Vatican’s ambassador in Germany, and he also served as the secretary of state for the Vatican.
It is possible therefore to assume that Pope John Paul the 2nd is trying to show the anti-Nazi and pro-Jewish attitude that Pius the 12th held at that time, so that when the other archives are opened (they are also due to be opened soon), that criticism of Pius the 12th will be lighter.
Russian Christian Immigrant Jailed Due to attempts to avoid the army (Ma’ariv, 19/02/02)
Dimitry Bogolovov (19) was, as is customary, about to be drafted into the army. Service in the Israeli army is mandatory for all, except for the orthodox religious who are released for ideological reasons. Dimitry is a Christian and is planning to study for the priesthood. He asked to be relieved of army service citing the same grounds upon which the orthodox religious Jews are released from military service.
Unfortunately, the law concerning releasing soldiers applies only to Jews and not to Christians. Dimitry was jailed for 21 days.
Christian hatred towards the Jews (HaAretz Hebrew and English edition, 22/02/02)
In this two-page article, a horrifying phenomenon is exposed. A group of Christians and Jews met in London to discuss the new way in which the west is viewing Israeli policy. What the Jews encountered came as quite a shock. The Christians stated that there is growing anti-Semitism throughout the nominal churches, supposedly springing from a revival of replacement theology that states that the Jews no longer have the right of existence, because they have been replaced in Gods’ eyes by the Christians.
These same doctrines were the ones that influenced Nazi ideology, and it is very disturbing to find that not only do these views exist, but that they have growing support due to the latest events in the Middle East.
In the period of time covered by this review, we received 59 articles on the subject of Messianic Jews, Christianity and the mission. Of these:
- 18 articles dealt with missionary activity in the country
- 10 articles dealt with land issues
- 5 articles dealt with tourism
- 4 articles dealt with the Catholic Church and the Vatican
- 2 articles dealt with Christian support of Israel
The remaining 20 articles were single articles dealing with matters of Jewish or Christian interest on their own merit.
Teacher fired from Religious school (Shisha Yamim, 21/02/02, Hamodia, 21/02/02)
A teacher in a religious school in the centre of the country has been fired due to her faith. The ultra religious group Yad Le’Achim was informed that the teacher was of a different faith, and a missionary. They proceeded to follow the teacher in order to establish these facts and after doing so reported her to the school’s administration which then fired her.
Yad Le’Achim also stated that the teacher was placed in the school by the missionary group she is associated with in order to “hunt the innocent souls of young girls.” The chairman of Yad Le’Achim, R. Dov Lipshitz also said that “no-one is safe and immune to the attempts and infiltration of the missionaries.”
Intimacy of faiths (The Jerusalem Report, 25/02/02)
In this bimonthly Jerusalem news magazine an article appeared written by Yossi Klein Halevy, a religious Jew, telling of his experience while visiting the Beit Jammal convent near Beit Shemesh.
Halevy, who tends to visit the convent and sit in the balcony of the chapel while meditating on their exalted song, was greeted at the gate this time by an excited nun who said to him: “today is an important day.” It so happened that that very same day the Pope convened a prayer gathering of leaders of world religions in Assisi, Italy.
In honor of that gathering in Italy the convent was about to hold a special service held in their “Jewish chapel” when Halevi arrived. He was asked to participate in the service and blessed the nuns in Hebrew. His response to the experience can be best summed in his own words: “At that moment, it seemed to me, we all realized that we live in a unique period. For the first time in history, Jews and Christians can glimpse, even experience, something of the others devotion without abandoning their own faith… some of us know that relations have never been more intimate.”
Settlers forbidden to receive gifts from Christians (Ha’Aretz English edition, 26/02/02)
Some Christian groups such as The Christian Friends of Israeli Communities (CFIC) are active in support of Jewish settlements in the occupied territories. Their support includes donations of computers, medical equipment, play sets for public parks and more.
The group also donated bulletproof vests to the Hof Azza Regional Council, but the chief Rabbi of Kiryat Arba settlement has forbidden the council to accept these donations. Rabbi Dov Lior confirmed this in a response to a question on the matter posed on the Torah Web site saying, “in principle, since this is done by the church and in the name of Christianity, (the vests) should not be used, since their intention, covertly if not overtly, is to convert Jews to their religion.” Vests which have already been distributed can be used.
This decision will have implications for many of the settlements, seeing as how Christian support is very widespread in these areas.
“Yoav Yehuda” accused of missionary activity (Yated Ne’eman, 14/02/02, HaModia, 18/02/02)
The tourism company “Yoav Yehuda,” based in the Messianic settlement of Yad Hashmona has been accused by the ultra orthodox group Yad Le’Achim of conducting missionary activities. The two identical articles appearing in religious papers explain these so called missionary activities as the “desecration of the Holy Sabbath and other strict prohibitions.”
Missionary activity in the Former Soviet Union (Hamodia, 15/02/02)
The religious Tel-Aviv daily Hamodia, printed a full page article concerning the “danger” of mission in the FSU. The article depicts events taking place in the Knesset. Knesset Member Nissim Zeev (Shas) criticized the Jewish agency, claiming that it was indifferent to the activities of the various missionary groups in the FSU. In his opinion, the missionaries together with the believers in the country, form a tight web in which they first help Jews to make Alliya, and then continue to try and convert them by offering them support upon their arrival to Israel
Zeev pointed out that the new immigrants are in a delicate state and that the Jewish agency in Israel does not do enough to help them. He then continues to say that the messianic believers “storm the immigrants and engage, among other things, in distribution of literature in the Russian language to the new immigrants and of course, bestow material compensations such as furniture, electric devices and parties at the Churches.”
Baby saved by Arabs, Jews and Christians (The Jerusalem Post, 27/02/02)
In this touching story, an abandoned baby was found and saved by Palestinians, fed and strengthened by nuns, and had her heart repaired by an Israeli surgeon. The infant, named Sallam Sallam (peace in Arabic) was found in a garbage heap in north Ramalla by Palestinians and taken to a shelter in Tulkarm. Later, she was given a permanent home by a group of nuns in Bethlehem. But the baby was born with a heart problem which soon worsened, and the baby was taken to Hadassah hospital. There her heart was repaired by Doctor Eli Milgalter, an Israeli surgeon.
Milgalter performed the surgery free of charge. “It is special, that even with violence raging, and divides widening, Sallam was saved by Palestinians, Christians and Israelis. Yet, its rarity makes it bittersweet” said Milgalter.
Vatican opens archives (HaAretz, 17/02/02)
There has been constant tension between the Vatican and the Jewish world regarding the activities of Pope Pius the 12th during the Holocaust. This is partly because the Vatican has refused access to the archives relating to that time.
The archives opened now are not those in dispute, but rather the ones regarding the Pope Pius the 11th . The importance of these archives is because of the fact that during the office of Pius the 11th , Bishop Ognio Pasli, later to become Pius the 12th , was the Vatican’s ambassador in Germany, and he also served as the secretary of state for the Vatican.
It is possible therefore to assume that Pope John Paul the 2nd is trying to show the anti-Nazi and pro-Jewish attitude that Pius the 12th held at that time, so that when the other archives are opened (they are also due to be opened soon), that criticism of Pius the 12th will be lighter.
Russian Christian Immigrant Jailed Due to attempts to avoid the army (Ma’ariv, 19/02/02)
Dimitry Bogolovov (19) was, as is customary, about to be drafted into the army. Service in the Israeli army is mandatory for all, except for the orthodox religious who are released for ideological reasons. Dimitry is a Christian and is planning to study for the priesthood. He asked to be relieved of army service citing the same grounds upon which the orthodox religious Jews are released from military service.
Unfortunately, the law concerning releasing soldiers applies only to Jews and not to Christians. Dimitry was jailed for 21 days.
Christian hatred towards the Jews (HaAretz Hebrew and English edition, 22/02/02)
In this two-page article, a horrifying phenomenon is exposed. A group of Christians and Jews met in London to discuss the new way in which the west is viewing Israeli policy. What the Jews encountered came as quite a shock. The Christians stated that there is growing anti-Semitism throughout the nominal churches, supposedly springing from a revival of replacement theology that states that the Jews no longer have the right of existence, because they have been replaced in Gods’ eyes by the Christians.
These same doctrines were the ones that influenced Nazi ideology, and it is very disturbing to find that not only do these views exist, but that they have growing support due to the latest events in the Middle East.