During the week covered by this review, we received 8 articles on the following subjects:
Political Issues
Archeology
Missionary Activity / Messianic Jews (individuals)
Christian sites / History
Political Issues
Maariv, June 15, 2020
This was an opinion piece by Israeli diplomat, Itzhak Levanon, who recounted the Lebanese annexation of territories around its borders 100 years ago. Prior to this annexation, the author argued, Lebanon was a country with a Christian majority. At the time, Christians celebrated the historic achievement of annexation. However, the annexation ultimately led to a loss of a Christian majority, and the population now fights for its survival. The author said that Israel needs to think twice about allowing that same reality to take place, and to think through whether in 100 years Israel will be a country without a Jewish majority due to annexation.
Archeology
The Jerusalem Post, June 15, 2020
This was another piece about research fellow and archeologist, Mitka R. Golub, who works at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. It was about Golub’s recent study, which compared names found in archeological artefacts and names found in the Bible in order to make a case for the accuracy and origin of certain biblical texts. In some cases, the spelling of names evolved between different periods and places, so Golub used these name trends to identify when certain biblical texts might have been written. Golub’s analysis has been used to vouch for the historicity of the book of Jeremiah.
Missionary Activity / Messianic Jews (individuals)
Various Articles
A number of articles reported again about the missionary incident that took place in a number of cities in the South of Israel. The incident involved a man who sent his four children to put up missionary posters in playgrounds. The man was identified as Andrew Scott Lewis, and is said to be a Messianic Jew who immigrated to Israel from Australia two years ago. Lewis was previously involved in other missionary activities, such as distributing New Testaments. He has been fined 5,000 shekels for this latest incident, as it is illegal to proselytize to minors. Yad L’Achim says it plans to put the pressure on the government to enforce prison time for those who try to convert minors.
Christian Sites / History
Kol Ha’Ir, June 19, 2020
This was a piece about the history of Christian Finnish involvement in Jerusalem. From the 19th century it became popular for European countries to gain a foothold in Jerusalem. The Finns did so in 1924, when the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Mission (FELM) purchased property outside the Old City walls. FELM was also given charge of an Anglican church right across the street, which was subsequently purchased in the 1950s. The buildings were turned into a boarding school for Jewish kids, called the “Finnish School”. But in 1968, there was pushback against the notion of Christian teachers in charge of Jewish children, and the school shifted to cater to the children of diplomats, as well as Arab students. FELM operates in over 30 countries worldwide, mostly engaged in relief work with disenfranchised communities. The Finns, said the article, have a deep connection to the Holy Land. Just 15 km outside of Jerusalem, there is another Finnish settlement, Yad Hashmona, which was established in 1971 by Finnish Lutheran Christians. They established their settlement to atone for the eight Jewish refugees who were handed over to the Nazis by the Finnish government during World War II. In 1979, Israeli Messianic Jews joined Yad Hashmona. According to the article, these are Israelis who serve in the military, keep kosher, and observe the Sabbath. They share with the Finnish founders a love for the Bible and the people of Israel. The author called Yad Hashmona a charming spot in the hills of Judea, with Scandinavian architecture and a guest house.