August 2 – 2020

During the week covered by this review, we received 7 articles on the following subjects:

 

Archeology

History

Christian Organizations

 

 

Archeology

 

Calcalist, July 28, 2020; Maariv, July 29, 2020; Haaretz, July 29, 2020

 

The first article reported that plans to build a new prison and evacuate the prison currently located in Megiddo have been halted by the government. In 2005, a Christian mosaic was found in the Megiddo prison. In 2007, it was decided to evacuate the prison, build a new facility and erect a tourist center for the Christian mosaic. However, the government has postponed the plan indefinitely. Representatives of the Greek Orthodox and Catholic churches have appealed to the government to proceed as planned, as they are worried the mosaic will be abandoned and go into a state of neglect.

 

The next two articles reported that a sixth-century Byzantine church was discovered in the Circassian village of Kafr Kama. The church may have served as a monastery. It is located close to Mount Tabor, where Jesus is said to have undergone the transfiguration.

 

 

History

 

Haaretz, July 30, 2020; Haaretz, July 30, 2020

 

The royal advisor to Henry VIII, Thomas Cromwell, is said to have intentionally altered the Bible presented to the king in order to promote himself. In the wake of the English reformation, every church was required to have an English translation of the Bible. A copy of the Bible was also made for King Henry VIII in 1539, which, when compared to the other Bibles distributed at the time, has two noteworthy differences. Henry’s Bible has an illustration of himself handing the Bible to the people, while the rest of the Bibles depict Cromwell as the one handing the Bible to simple people. Cromwell knew that his self-promotion could have angered the king, who was in any case skeptical about distributing the Bible publicly. A second illustration included in the king’s edition and missing from the other Bibles includes an image of a woman made to look like the king’s wife, Jane Seymour. Cromwell’s attempts to curry favor with the king were unsuccessful, however, and he was eventually declared a traitor and beheaded.

 

 

Christian Organizations

 

HaMevasser, July 31, 2020; The Jerusalem Post, July 31, 2020

 

The first article reported that a Christian hotel in Migdal, Magdala, was set to host a holiday bundle geared towards the Haredi community. The hotel belongs to a Christian church in Mexico. The holiday scheme has caused an uproar within the Haredi community, and Jews have been forbidden from attending despite the fact that the hotel has been certified as Kosher. Yad L’Achim expressed concern that the scheme is meant to strengthen ties between Christians and Jews. However, the manager of the tourist organization that planned this holiday said that the hotel contains no Christian images and is not involved in missions. In fact, it is said that the hotel is in proximity to an ancient synagogue. But Yad L’Achim said any money going to the hotel is, in effect, money given to the Church.

 

The second article was about Jerusalem Dateline, a weekly news report hosted by Chris Mitchell, the bureau chief of the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN). Mitchell has hosted the show from Jerusalem for nine years, and said that he utilizes his knowledge of the Bible and of world history to “help viewers understand what is happening in the region”. The show is geared toward Christians and is committed to Israel and the Jewish people. Viewers are especially interested in archeological reports which verify biblical accounts. Mitchell said the show is also an important source of information about the plight of Middle Eastern Christians who face persecution. CBN was founded by Pat Robertson.