During the week covered by this review, we received 3 articles on the following subjects:
Anti-Missionary Attitudes
Culture/History
Anti-Missionary Attitudes
Olam Katan, February 21, 2020; Kol Israel, February 21, 2020
The first article reported advice from Rabbi Eliahu, who in response to the question of what to do with missionary materials, replied that they should be binned or burned. The author of the article noted, in parentheses, that it is not the missionaries who should be burned, but their materials. The author then went on to ask how it is that missionaries still exist, as the rise of the State of Israel “has made faith in the New Testament irrelevant.”
The second article was about the “Adullam” center headed by Yariv Goldman in Jerusalem. Yad L’Achim found that the center was a “missionary trap”, masquerading as a youth center where young religious and Haredi youth could come to be heard. After Yad L’Achim was tipped off, it put an active watch on the center, and prevented some youth from entering by explaining what the center did. Goldman has been praised by pastors from abroad, one of whom said that “Yariv’s office is a big asset in terms of advancing faith in Jesus amongst the Jewish people.” Another said, “his passion for evangelizing the Jewish people puts him first in line to building the Kingdom of Jesus.” These quotes were taken from a website Goldman set up in English to raise funds. They were taken down from the website after Yad L’Achim published them. Yad L’Achim further said that it brought to an end the center’s relationship to other youth centers around Jerusalem.
Culture/History
Hakol Politika, January 31, 2020
This was a piece about the history of Nazareth and its contemporary importance. It noted that Nazareth is traditionally associated with the Annunciation – where the Angel Gabriel informed Mary that she was going to have a baby. It is also the place where Jesus spent most of his life, until he was 30. In the Byzantine era, the city was developed and many churches were built. The city went into decline around the 13th century after the Mamluk conquest, but was somewhat restored again under the Ottomans. During the British mandate, it was turned into the capital of the Northern District. Now, Nazareth is the biggest Arab city in Israel, and has become an important cultural, historical, and political center for the Arabs of Israel. Nazareth receives many tourists and pilgrims every year, and is an especially magical place to visit around Christmas. Pope John Paul II visited the city in 2000, and Pope Benedict XVI visited in 2009, both causing an uptick in Christian tourism to the place, as well as renovations.