During the week covered by this review, we received 11 articles on the following subjects:
Political Issues / Christian Zionism
Anti-Missionary Activity / Anti-Missionary Attitudes
Political Issues / Christian Zionism
Various Articles
Former Israeli ambassador to the US, Ron Dermer, has caused controversy by calling Evangelical Christians the “backbone” of American support for Israel, and by arguing that the State of Israel should invest more in Evangelical relations. One commentator came to Dermer’s defense, saying that Evangelicals are numerically significant, and their support for Israel is passionate. Dermer’s comments are not “post-Zionist”, but rather are a form of smart and pragmatic Zionism. Even so, the commentator acknowledged Dermer could have done a better job of clarifying that fostering relations with Evangelicals need not come at the expense of working towards strengthening Israel’s relations with the Jews of the diaspora.
Dermer’s comments, however, were challenged in another article that reported on a recent poll conducted amongst American Evangelicals aged 18-29 by a team at the University of North Carolina. The results showed a generational gap, insofar as younger Evangelicals are becoming less inclined to support Israel. 33.6% said they support Israel, while 24% support Palestinians, and 42% said they support neither side. Support for Israel in this demographic has dropped from 75% to 33% since 2018. Half of Evangelicals in that age group said they preferred Joe Biden to Donald Trump. 45% said they support establishing a Palestinian state alongside Israel, 35.1% were neutral, and 20.5% opposed the idea of a Palestinian state. 44% said their religious beliefs did not influence their opinions about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, while 38% said their beliefs caused them to support Israel, and 17.4% said their beliefs caused them to support the Palestinians. The researchers concluded that opinions amongst Evangelicals are much more varied than is often supposed.
Two articles reported about pro-Israel demonstrations – one in Germany and one in Los Angeles – and noted two Christian organizations that have declared their solidarity with Israel. The first is the International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem, and the second is Eagles’ Wings led by Robert Stearns.
Anti-Missionary Activity / Anti-Missionary Attitudes
Various Articles
One article reported that Michael Elk, who has been accused of being a missionary posing as an ultra-Orthodox mohel and scribe in the French Hill neighbourhood of Jerusalem, has been seen in non-Orthodox clothes looking for a house to move to in Beit Shemesh. Elk was forced to move once before from the neighbourhood of Nachlaot after being accused of being a covert missionary.
Several articles reported once again on Ami (Tim) Buckles and Boaz Michael, who have been accused of running a training center for missionaries disguised as a Jewish Bet Midrash called the “Bram Center”. They report that the school is intended for Messianic Jews who are otherwise not allowed to participate in Jewish yeshivot, offering them a “Torah Club”, while also “preparing the way for Jews to believe in Jesus”. The articles stated that the center is run by First Fruits of Zion, an organization established in the US in 1992, which has been accused of trying to make Christianity look like Judaism in order to win converts.
Yad L’Achim has criticized a law proposed by Knesset member Tamar Zandberg, which would outlaw Jewish proselytizing to Jewish minors. Yad L’Achim said it has been trying for many years to outlaw Christian missions, but that Zandberg had not joined their cause. A Yad L’Achim spokesperson asked how it could be legal to convert Jews to another religion, but illegal for Jews to teach other Jews about their religious tradition and heritage.