During the week covered by this review, we received 8 articles on the following subjects:
Archaeology
Anti-Missionary Attitudes
Missionary Activity
Jewish / Christian Relations
Anti-Missionary Activity
Christians and the Holocaust
Israeli / Jewish Attitudes Concerning Christians / Christianity
Archaeology
Haaretz, September 27, 2021
Archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) have uncovered the remains of a large Neolithic-period (ca. 2300 BCE) settlement near the modern town of Motza, west of Jerusalem. The researchers unearthed a number of large buildings, including rooms used as living quarters, as well as public facilities and places of worship. “At least 2,000-3,000 residents lived here — an order of magnitude that parallels a present-day city,” said IAA archaeologist Hamoudi Khalaily. “This is the first time such a large-scale settlement from the Neolithic period has been discovered in Israel.”
Anti-Missionary Attitudes
Israel Hayom, September 27, 2021
This was an article about Drew Sumrall, CEO of the Family Broadcasting Corporation (FBC) whose grandfather founded the Christian Middle East Television network (METV). During the ‘80s and ‘90s, METV was very popular in Israel due to the American sports events they broadcast, which were otherwise unavailable in Israel. METV also broadcast Christian shows, such as The 700 Club. During those years, Yad L’Achim protested against METV, and called on the government to stop the broadcasting, to no avail. Last year, FBC purchased the broadcasting rights of the Israeli basketball league for viewers in the US. Sumrall said that that the purpose of FBC is to “provide hope and inspiration to millions of viewers in the US and worldwide”.
Missionary Activity
Bakehila, September 14, 2021
The article reported that the residents of French Hill in Jerusalem were shocked to discover that a known Orthodox Jewish family from the neighborhood were Messianic missionaries who, they claimed, had been trying to convert Jews for years. The author of the article stated that he had investigated the issue, and discovered, to his amazement, that missionaries are very active in Israel, according to Yad L’Achim. Yad L’Achim also claimed that missionaries are employing new terminology, using expressions such as “Messianic Jew”, in order to trap more Israelis, and that the organization is working tirelessly to expose and stop them.
Jewish / Christian Relations
Maariv, September 29, 2021; Maariv Mekomonim, October 1, 2021
Senior Israeli leaders opened the International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem (ICEJ) Feast of Tabernacles celebrations with video greetings as the massive annual gathering went online due to the pandemic. “Your passion for Israel is an uncompromising statement of support for the Jewish State, for its people, and for our destiny,” said Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, calling the ICEJ “a center of pro-Israel activism by our many Christian friends in the Holy Land and around the world.” President Isaac Herzog, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and Defense Minister Benny Gantz also expressed similar sentiments. ICEJ President Jürgen Bühler said the organization was “especially excited about the new Israeli government’s outreach to the Christian world”.
Anti-Missionary Activity
HaShavua BeHolon, September 17, 2021
For the fourth week in a row, Or L’Achim was again reported as having claimed that a few hours before the beginning of Rosh Hashanah, missionaries distributed booklets and flyers to apartments in Uman. The organization collected all the material and destroyed it.
Christians and the Holocaust
Yated Neeman, October 1, 2021
As reported in last week’s review, this was again the story of a Holocaust survivor from France who had heard about an ancient Torah scroll hidden in a church during WWII, to protect it from the Nazis. She made arrangements to retrieve the scroll, which was written around 1750, and recently immigrated to Israel with the precious scroll. Despite its age, the scroll is in relatively good condition.
Israeli / Jewish attitudes concerning Christians / Christianity
HaShavua BeAshdod, October 1, 2021
A woman from Ashdod had visited the local cemetery and was reportedly appalled at encountering the gravestone of a Messianic Jew, which was inscribed with John 11:25. She contacted the local Rabbi who promised to take care of the matter after the Holiday, since a “Christian Jew” should not be buried together with Jews.