During the week covered by this review, we received 11 articles on the following subjects:
Arab Believing Communities
Christians in Israel
Christian Organizations
Anti-Missionary Activity
Interfaith Relations
Arab Believing Communities
Haaretz, August 7, 2020; Haaretz, August 7, 2020
This was a piece (which appeared in both Hebrew and English, respectively) about the Golden Valley Church which, in 1995, broke away from the Brethren Church in the village of Abu Snan in the Galilee. The church is under the leadership of Fateen Yacob. In 2006, Yacob convinced five families to move to Brazil, where they were promised work, stability, housing, and a quiet life. Today the church has 100 members, many of whom sold what they had to move, and handed over their earnings to Yacob and his brother, who promised a “new Galilee” in Brazil. But the movement has begun to look and behave more like a cult. A number of members and ex-members interviewed for the article claimed that Yacob and his brother made false promises, brainwashed believers, controlled members and took advantage of them. Some members feel they cannot return to Israel because they sold all they had, resulting in rifts with family back home. The article noted that this is part of a larger pattern of immigration from the Arab world to Brazil, especially amongst Evangelical Christians.
Christians in Israel
Yedioth Ahronoth, August 7, 2020
This was an interview with a monk named Jason, who moved from Chile to live in St. Anna, an old Byzantine monastery in Zippori. Jason told how monks from Chile arrived at the abandoned monastery in 2002. They decided to fix up the monastery, which had been neglected since 1963. There are always two representatives from Chile staying on the premises. Jason said he loved living in Zippori, and that he was learning Hebrew, though he found the language difficult. Jason described an average day: He wakes up at 5 AM, prays until breakfast at 7:30 AM, after which he spends the morning volunteering with a local charity that helps to support 80 children, most of whom are Muslim. After lunch he prays until 3 PM, and then spends the rest of the afternoon studying Hebrew. When asked if he gets lonely, Jason said he does not, and that his love is devoted to God. Jason and the other monk do not get a salary, but instead receive a small monthly stipend that covers the electricity and water bills.
Christian Organizations
Yedioth Yerushalayim, August 7, 2020
The Friends of Israel Museum hosted a virtual conference to promote Israel’s relationship with Christian communities abroad. Participants included Prime Minister Netanyahu, Ambassador David Friedman, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Anti-Missionary Activity
Various Articles
One article reported again about the Magdala Hotel in the Galilee that offered a “kosher” Haredi holiday, causing an uproar in the Haredi community on account of the hotel’s affiliation with a church in Mexico. Various rabbis issued rulings banning Jews from going to the hotel.
In the city of Tsfat (Safed) a protest was organized against the opening of a new missionary center by a “well-known organization”.
Three articles reported that an Australian missionary has been forced to leave his house in the town of Otzem in the south of Israel, after Yad L’Achim mobilized the community against him. The missionary is said to have put up posters on the wall of a synagogue and to have used his children to put up posters in playgrounds. Yad L’Achim organized an event to raise awareness about his actions, after which pressure mounted for him to leave. One article said the missionary’s “villa” will now be used as a yeshiva.
Finally, the last article reported that dozens gathered to protest the Messianic Jewish non-profit “Ir Chaim” in Sderot, which is run by Michael Biner. Protestors say Biner draws Jews in by offering gifts, meals, and trips around the country. The article said that Messianic Judaism seeks to combine faith in Jesus, considered the son of God, with Jewish identity. Members consider themselves to still be Jewish and do not see themselves as converts. Biner’s organization has reportedly appealed to immigrants who cannot tell the difference between traditional and Messianic Judaism. In response to the accusations, Biner denied having offered gifts in exchange for conversion, asking, “What have we accomplished if we purchase a soul with money?” He further said that they provide help to people, but always by first explaining that they expect nothing in return.
Interfaith Relations
Haaretz, August 14, 2020
This was the same article reviewed last week, but in English, about the progress of interfaith relations between Catholicism and Judaism since the end of the Second Vatican Council in 1965.