During the week covered by this review, we received 7 articles on the following subjects:
The Pope and the Vatican
Missionary Activity
Christian Zionism / Christian Organizations
The Pope and the Vatican
Various Articles
Several articles followed Pope Francis’s historic visit to Iraq, the first ever papal visit to the country. Pope John Paul II planned to visit in 1999, but the trip was cancelled after he was attacked by a group of Iraqi intellectuals for not describing Abraham as the “first among Muslims”, and Saddam Hussein was pressured to call off the visit. During his trip, Pope Francis called on Iraqi Muslims to embrace their Christian neighbors as part of his ongoing attempt to protect Christian minorities in the Middle East. The pope also met with Iraqi Shiite leader, Ali al-Sistani, in the city of Najaf, marking the first time a pope has met with a grand ayatollah in Iraq. Pope Francis called on al-Sistani to protect the most persecuted and weakest of Iraqi populations – especially those who suffered under ISIS. The trip also included interfaith prayer. One article noted that no Jewish leaders were present for the interfaith prayer in Najaf, even though the Vatican said they had been invited. By contrast, in Erbil, the capital of the Kurdish region of Iraq, Jewish leaders were represented. There has been pressure for the pope to call on the Iraqi government to recognize the contributions of Jews to Iraqi history and to protect that particular minority.
While flying over Israeli airspace in an Alitalia flight, air traffic controllers in the north of Israel received a message from the pope by way of the pilot. The pope asked that President Reuven Rivlin be told: “Entering Israeli airspace on my Apostolic journey to Iraq, I send warm greetings to you and the people of the nation. Praying that Almighty God will bless you with His gifts of harmony and peace.”
Missionary Activity
HaMevasser, October 10, 2021
Or L’Achim received a complaint that teens from difficult socioeconomic backgrounds were being targeted by missionaries in the Musrara neighbourhood of Jerusalem. Or L’Achim volunteers distributed explanatory materials and warnings in the vicinity of the missionary center. In addition, a letter was sent to the Jerusalem Municipality requesting that more be done to stop missionaries. Or L’Achim has suggested building a community center to help these teens in order to prevent them from falling prey to missionaries.
Christian Zionism / Christian Organizations
Haaretz, March 9, 2021
Two thousand Falash Mura Ethiopians made Aliyah to Israel in December, an operation that was made possible through Evangelicals’ donations to the International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem (ICEJ). ICEJ agreed to donate $1,300 per passenger. However, most government announcements omitted this aspect of the operation. The article noted that the Jewish Agency is increasingly turning to Evangelicals for funding even as Jewish donations dwindle. These Christians consider themselves “Christian Zionists”, tend to be conservative, and believe that through their contributions they are participating in the fulfilment of biblical prophecy. They believe that the Jewish return to Zion is a condition for the return of the messiah, and also a condition for the coming of the war of Armageddon, where those who do not believe in Jesus will be wiped out. Such Christians started to support Aliyah with the breaking up of the USSR, when many Eastern European Jews immigrated to Israel. Today it is not just American or European Christians who fund Jewish Aliyah, but Christians hailing from places like China, the Philippines, or Indonesia. Not everyone is happy with this development. Some believe that if Jewish Aliyah is funded by Christians rather than Jews, this is tantamount to giving up on the Zionist project. Others also point to a recent scandal, in which volunteers from a Canadian “missionary” organization, Return Ministries, were accused of proselytizing in the north of Israel. The volunteers were operating as part of an agreement made between the Jewish Agency and Return Ministries, which allowed the volunteers to participate in ongoing support of Jewish immigrants to Israel. The Jewish Agency has since cut ties with the missionary organization.