During the week covered by this review, we received 8 articles on the following subjects:
Culture/History
Anti-Semitism/Judaism/Israelism
Jewish-Christian Relations
Anti-missionary Activities
Political Issues
Israeli/Jewish Attitudes concerning Christians/Christianity
Book Reviews
Culture/History
Segula, August 12, 2022
This article viewed the 1929 Palestine Riots through the diary of Dennis Gilmore, a British student who happened to be visiting Israel at the time with a group from Wycliffe Hall, a theological college in Oxford University, United Kingdom. The article described the background leading to the riots. During a period of instability a year earlier while the British High Commissioner was being replaced, the police, by order of the deputy governor of the Jerusalem district, had stormed the Western Wall on Yom Kippur, interrupting prayers, and removed a portable partition because of a complaint made by Muslim institutions. Gilmore described in his diary how all British citizens, including his group, were called to volunteer and help restore peace, as the few British policemen who were stationed there were unable to contain the violence. The local Arab policemen were unhelpful at best, and the Jewish policemen had been disarmed by the Acting High Commissioner. Gilmore’s descriptions provide important details and insight into some of the events that unfolded. He did not express sympathy for either side, and even expressed condescension at times. The article concluded by stating that “it appears that Dennis Gilmore was not very fond of Jews, but many Jews owe him and his friends their lives, which were saved due to their courage, and due to their willingness to sacrifice their lives for the sake of the helpless.”
Anti-Semitism/Judaism/Israelism
Hamevaser, August 16, 2022; Hamodia, August 16, 2022
These two articles examined why more and more Jews seem to be leaving France. According to the articles, for almost 10 years, the number of anti-Semitic acts in France has shown an almost constant increase, proving a link between the resurgence of anti-Jewish acts and the number of Jews leaving. According to official figures from the French government: 1,659 anti-religious acts were recorded in 2021. Of these, 589 incidents targeted Jews, 857 were against Christians, and 213 were against Muslims.
Jewish–Christian Relations
Kehala Kadisha, August 9, 2022
As mentioned in previous reviews, a large monument containing the Messianic symbol of the fish and a verse from the New Testament that was placed at the national heritage site of Ein Keshatot by Curt Landry Ministries in conjunction with the Golan Regional Council, was covered in advance of having it removed, following actions taken by Yad L’Achim, who claimed it was “idolatry” and demanded its removal.
Anti-missionary Activities
Kol Hair Bnei Brak, August 17, 2022
According to this article, since the beginning of the war in the Ukraine, Kiryat Yam has become one of the cities in Israel to receive the highest number of refugees, and thus, the target of missionaries, who “take advantage of the physical and existential crisis of Jews, in order to penetrate their hearts, to deceive them… until they convert.” In retaliation, Yad L’Achim recruited additional activists and organized an event, including a concert and activities for the children, which introduced the local religious school to the Ukrainian refugees.
Political Issues
Kol Hair Bnei Brak, August 17, 2022
As mentioned in a previous review, the diplomatic row between Israel and Russia spread as the Chabad Hasidic movement announced that it would launch unprecedented legal proceedings against Russia, to demand the return of the Schneerson library archives, containing approximately 12,000 books and original manuscripts collected and preserved since the end of the 18th century. The Association of Chabad Chassidim in the US has appealed to Israel’s Attorney-General to freeze proceedings to transfer ownership of land in Jerusalem to Russia, specifically the Alexander Courtyard church compound in the Old City in Jerusalem, and requested that any land transfer to Russia would be conditioned on the return of the archives, which, according to Chabad, were illegally confiscated by Russian authorities.
Israeli/Jewish Attitudes concerning Christians/Christianity
Haaretz, August 19, 2022
This was a letter to the editor, concerning another letter mentioned in a previous review regarding anti-Semitism and the Catholic Church. The author of this letter voiced the opinion that “the [Catholic] Church’s new position toward the Jews, which was formulated under the leadership of Pope Paul VI in 1965, came, by a completely unsurprising coincidence, a short time in relation to a history of about 2000 years, after two events of significance in this regard: the extermination of the majority of the Jewish people in Europe and the establishment of the State of Israel. The Catholic Church is suspected, at the very least, of the unfortunate timing of the u-turn it took in relation to the Jews.”
Book Reviews
Makor Rishon, August 19, 2022
This article introduced The Traveler’s Bible – a special travel guide published in Hebrew by Koren Publishers, including itineraries and information on plants, animals and findings from the biblical period, all with references to the places where they are mentioned in the Bible. The book “allows one to plunge into the intricacies … that have been absent from the interpretations of the Bible until now,” stated the article, adding that although the immediate target market was limited, the project’s founder has predicted it would reach additional audiences around the world.