During the week covered by this review, we received 15 articles on the following subjects:
Anti-Missionary Activity
Archeology
Anti-Missionary Activity
Various Articles
A number of articles reported on Alex Kushnir, a politician in Avigdor Lieberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu party, who attended an event at the Messianic Jewish congregation of Beit Hallel in Ashdod. Kushnir did not deny reports of his presence there. A rabbi interviewed in one piece said that Beit Hallel is one of the “boldest missionary congregations in the country”. He also said it is unacceptable that a government official should take part in a missionary event. Or L’Achim plans to investigate whether the event was legal.
BaKehila, March 28, 2019; Kfar Chabad, March 28, 2019
In response to what appears to be increased missionary activity in the city of Ashdod, a rabbinical court put out an appeal to the religious community, urging that action be taken to expel missionary activity from the city. In response, some Yeshiva students volunteered to help sabotage a missionary event on the eve of Purim. The success of the initiative has drawn interest from other Yeshiva students who have offered to join in the future.
Archeology
Various Articles
A clay seal impression has been found in an archeological dig in the Old City of Jerusalem. The seal has been dated between the middle of the 7th century to the beginning of the 6th century BCE. The seal includes a carving with the words: “Nathan-Melech, servant of the king”. The name Nathan-Melech shows up in the Bible once, in 2 Kings 23:11, in relation to King Josiah’s reforms. A “servant of the king” would have been a high-up official, someone close to the king. The dig was conducted by archeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority and Tel Aviv University.