During the week covered by this review, we received 26 articles on the following subjects:
Christians in Israel
Christian Organizations
Christian Zionism
Israel
Anti-Semitism
Christian Tourism
Conversion to Judaism
History
Miscellaneous
Archaeology
Christians in Israel
Yediot Haifa, September 18; Yediot Ahronot (x2), September 20; Israel Hayom, September 21; Tel Aviv, September 24; Yediot Haifa, September 25, 2015
For the past three weeks a conflict has been ongoing over state funding for Christian schools, which are “recognized” by the Ministry of Education but not regarded as state schools (see previous reviews). Father Abed Almassih-Faheem, head of the Secretariat of Christian Schools, stated during a demonstration in Haifa that “the Ministry of Education’s purpose is to expropriate the Christian schools from the church and erase their history and their hundreds of years of cultural and educational legacy.” Almassih went on to say that “equality is his basic right and he is not asking the government for handouts.” In one article, Adv.Botrus Mansour of the Baptist school in Nazareth and of the Christian Schools Action Committee noted that “the percentage of students eligible for matriculation exams is highest in the Christian schools,” and that in spite of the fact that the schools are a large factor in forming a “law-abiding, faithful, industrious population, that loves studying and education,” “the government’s action towards this sector sends the message that they are being abandoned completely.”
The fight has drawn support from both the Jewish and the Arab public; the general high schools carried out a two-hour sympathy strike on September 20, and the Knesset Education Committee discussed the crisis on that day as well. The State Comptroller has instructed a review of the Education Ministry’s budget “in order to include the Christian schools.” However, the second Yediot Haifa article states some elements’ dissatisfaction with the fact that the Christian schools appear to be the only schools in the “recognized but not official” sector that are not supervised, that they wish for no such supervision and yet are asking the state for funding.
Haaretz, September 22, 2015
Attorney-General Yehuda Weinstein has instructed that the Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes at Tabgha must be compensated for the damages resulting from the arson incident in June, according to its request, since the background of the incident is in fact the Israel-Arab conflict (physical damage resulting from the Israel-Arab conflict make the injured party likely to be eligible to receive compensation, by law, from the state).
Christian Organizations
Kol Ha’Ir Bnei Brak, September 17; The Jerusalem Post, September 22; Maariv; The Jerusalem Post (x2), September 25, 2015
Chief Rabbis David Lau and Yitzhak Yosef have published a letter calling for a boycott of the International Christian Embassy’s annual Feast of Tabernacles celebration (see previous review under “Anti-Missionary Activity”). While the letter admits that “the organizers of the gathering may be friends of Israel,” it says that in fact “the event is a spiritual danger and undermines the country’s Jewish character.” Other elements of the Jewish Orthodox community, together with representatives of the Yad L’Achim anti-missionary activist organization, met with Jerusalem’s Ashkenazi chief rabbi Aryeh Stern, who presented letters he had received both from the ICEJ, stating that since its founding the embassy had never done any missionary activity nor broken Israeli law, and from the Jerusalem municipality, stating that the event is entirely private, and that the organizers have promised a complete lack of missionary activity.
The ICEJ’s annual Feast of Tabernacles is a five-day event expressing support of Israel, and includes tours of the country and its institutions. The ICEJ is known as well for its work in providing assistance to Holocaust survivors in Haifa.
Christian Zionism
Kol Yovlim, September 3, 2015
Forty-two volunteers from the Netherlands recently spent two weeks in Israel as part of a Christian Friends of Israel project, painting buildings on Jerusalem’s Stern Street and connecting with the residents.
Israel
HaKibbutz, September 18, 2015
Tag Me’ir, a coalition of some fifty organizations formed as a response to the “price-tag” incidents has begun a fundraising initiative for four-year-old Ahmed Dawabsheh, whose entire immediate family fell victim to a hate crime in Kfar Dumah on July 31. The monies collected are intended to provide support for Ahmed’s medical needs and his education, Ahmed’s grandfather, and the building of a home to replace the one that was burnt. The sum aimed for has already been surpassed, but contributions can still be made through headstart.co.il.
Anti-Semitism
Sha’a Tova, September 24, 2015
This article is of the opinion that the highest government officials in both the United States and Britain, being fully aware of the mass murder taking place in Germany and Poland during World War II, still chose to abandon the Jews to their fate due to the fact that a move to save the Jews would have been unpopular, and “an unspoken understanding that Hitler was doing what they secretly wanted done.”
Christian Tourism
The Jerusalem Post Lite, September 21, 2015
The old city of Akko boasts a variety of sites to be seen. Of particular note are the remains of Crusader-era walls, the Templars’ Tunnel leading to the Templar Fortress in the western part of the city, the Hospitaller Fortress, and the Turkish bathhouse, built in 1795.
Conversion to Judaism
Yated Ne’eman, September 25, 2015
Rosa Moscara and her daughter Priscillia, of Ecuador, have recently followed Priscillia’s sister Yemima’s example and converted to Judaism. Yemima had been interested in Judaism and felt divinely called to convert in Jerusalem. However, she died in a terrorist attack in 2005 and is buried on the Mount of Olives. Both Moscara and Priscillia cite their and Yemima’s conviction that they are descended from Spanish anusim [Marranos] as the catalyst of their interest in Judaism.
History
Segula, September 20, 2015
On September 24, 416, Roman Emperor Flavius Augustus Honorius and Byzantine Emperor Flavius Theodosius legislated that Jews who converted to Christianity to escape penalties were permitted to return to Judaism, “since in the long run Christianity would be better off without them.”
Miscellaneous
Yarok BaKfar, September 11, 2015
The Kfar Saba municipality has decided to invest some 1 million NIS in the development of a museum showcasing the city’s history, from its founding in Roman times to the present day. The museum’s jurisdiction will cover not only the main building but also archaeological sites around the city where ancient remains have been found.
The Jerusalem Post , September 20, 2015
Former NBA All-Star Amar’e Stoudemire has stated that he wants to be referred to as a “Jew” but not as “Jewish.” This is because he feels connected to Judaism culturally, believes in Jesus, and is searching for fulfillment and enlightenment, as well as wanting “to understand history and connect the dots.”
Segula, September 20, 2015
A Museum of the Bible is currently being built in Washington, and is planned to open in 2017. The museum’s collection will be based upon the “Green Family Collection” of rare biblical-era artifacts. Part of the museum will house Israel Antiquities Authority artifacts as well, “granting them hitherto unprecedented exposure.”
Israel Hayom, September 22, 2015
Shina Kim, a Christian volunteer from South Korea, has recently completed her doctorate in biblical studies and philosophy at Bar Ilan University. She plans to return to her country to teach the subject, but mostly “to be a bridge between Judaism and Christianity.” An ardent Zionist, Shina is sorry to leave Israel, but feels that in her doctoral dissertation she has “returned Christianity to its origin.”
Makor Rishon, September 25, 2015
This six-page article is a profile of Beit Tehila, an evangelical Christian church in Brandon, Florida, which is part of the “Hebrew roots” movement of churches that worship on Saturday and adopt some Jewish rituals. “We see ourselves as part of the ‘stick’ of Ephraim, Israel, but not as Jews,” says Nick Palmer, the pastor. The article goes on to describe the “Hebrew roots movement” as an attempt to return to first-century Christianity, with an absence of crosses and icons. While viewing the phenomenon as intriguing, the article is cautious about any future notable influence it might have, as “the more Jewish the movement becomes, the less influence it will have on Christianity as a whole.”
Archaeology
Teva HaDvarim, September 10, 2015
This article surveys the history of winemaking in Israel, the oldest evidence of which found so far is 5,000 years old. The industry’s reputation was widespread, and wine vessels originally from Israel have been found as far away as Western Europe. Winemaking in Israel reached its high point during the Byzantine period, but waned after that, although both Jewish and Christian winemaking for ritual purposes continued under Muslim rule. The industry reached the public again after Baron de Rothschild’s vineyards were opened in Rishon l’Tzion and Zichron Yaakov in the 19th century.
The Jerusalem Post; Modi’in News, September 22, 2015
The Israel Antiquities Authority has recently invested in a renewed excavation of Hurvat HaGardi. The site was originally discovered 150 years ago, and was thought to be the tomb of the Maccabees described by the Book of Maccabees and Josephus Flavius—until Charles Clermont-Ganneau discovered crosses on the site and surmised that the structure was built by Christians in memory of the Maccabees. The excavation, while underscoring the uniqueness and grandeur of the structure and the unlikely necessity for another tomb of such grandeur in the area, has regretfully concluded that there are insufficient grounds for an unequivocal declaration that this is, in fact, the tomb of the Maccabees, especially as parts of the structure have been robbed.