During the week covered by this review, we received 3 articles on the following subjects:
Christian Organizations
Christians in Israel
Christian Organizations
Maariv, June 23, 2019; Yedioth Modi’in, June 21, 2019
The first article was an opinion piece about Israelis who are said to “hate” Israel, as evidenced by their support for such movements as BDS. Two hundred and forty Israeli academics signed a petition urging the German Government not to equate support for Palestinian rights with anti-Semitism. This came in response to a proposed law in Germany that would define BDS as anti-Semitic. The author critiqued these Israelis, and contrasted them with representatives from the International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem (Jürgen Bühler and David Parsons), who have worked internationally to oppose political sanctions against Israel. The author said it was “absurd” that Evangelical Christians were taking up Israel’s cause while Israelis oppose it.
The second article reported that Bridges for Peace and Israel365 teamed up to support Mevo Modi’in residents whose house had burned down during one of the recent fires. The residents were given a free meal, while activities were provided for the children. In addition, each resident received a 500-shekel gift card for the local mall, as well as vouchers for the local pharmacy. The article noted that Israel365 solicits the help of Christian Zionists worldwide, while Bridges for Peace, established in 1976, pushes for Christians and Jews to work alongside each other for a “safer Israel”.
Christians in Israel
Haaretz, June 24, 2019
Nigerian pastor, televangelist, and “exorcist”, T. B. Joshua, held an event in Nazareth. Thousands gathered to see him, with visitors hailing from places like Haiti, Tanzania, Italy, and the Czech Republic. Some Israelis were in attendance, with one local Israeli woman saying she came to seek intercession on behalf of her own struggle with cancer, and her daughter’s medical struggles following an accident. Some attendants got on stage to describe miracles they had experienced. One Israeli man described how his wife had gone to Nigeria to meet T. B. Joshua, and had returned “a different person”. The crowd sang songs of worship, with some lifting their arms, others falling to the ground. Joshua was nearly two hours late, but was welcomed “like a rock star”. He made his way down to the crowd, touched people, causing some to fall to the ground. One girl in crutches claimed to be healed and began to walk. Others screamed “in ecstasy”.