During the week covered by this review, we received 6 articles on the following subjects:
Anti-missionary Activities
Christian Zionism, Zionists
Interfaith Relations/Dialogue
Jewish-Christian Relations
Anti-missionary Activities
Hidabroot, November 13, 2022
“It is no longer a secret that in recent years the Christian Mission has increased its activity in the land of Israel, and is trying to convert innocent Jews to Christianity,” exclaimed this article. “Although for the vast majority of Jews it sounds far-fetched to convert to Christianity, the head missionaries are aware of this, and therefore, they employ methods of deceit and deception – such as presenting Christianity in the guise of Judaism… and exploiting young and weak populations.” American Rabbi Tovia Singer, founder and director of Outreach Judaism, and “a world expert on Christianity,” according to the article, “fiercely fights this difficult phenomenon, and helps Jews to get out of the darkness of Christianity back into the bosom of Judaism.” Singer is also active in preventing missionaries from coming to Israel for the purpose of “establishing television channels in Israel, converting Ethiopian Jews and infiltrating innocent Jewish communities.” He works in collaboration with the Beyneynu organization, which was founded by a “former Christian missionary who acted to convert Jews to Christianity, discovered the truth – and converted to Judaism.”
Kfar Chabad, November 17, 2022
“The great battle between Russia and the Ukraine led to a frontal and difficult war on the borders, and even here in Israel, for tens of thousands of Jewish souls,” according to Yad L’Achim. This anti-missionary organization has “embarked on an uncompromising heroic struggle against the missionary cults, who work with all their might to trap the souls of refugees, who are in distress and in immediate danger.” Yad L’Achim announced that “it is true that the war against those organizations is based on fighting the Messianic ideas and their dangerous attempts to undermine the Jewish identity and assimilate other beliefs among disadvantaged populations, but the tools and the way to deal with them are actually on the economic level,” by providing the refugees with financial support.
Christian Zionism, Zionists
Ma’ariv, November 8, 2022
This article was written to express “personal thanks to the Evangelicals, the Zionist Christians… who came to Israel from all over the world to express their love for Israel … on the Feast of Tabernacles.” The writer participated in one of the conferences during the Feast in Jerusalem, where “the hall was overflowing with love for Israel that it was impossible not to be emotionally overwhelmed by it yourself.” The writer spoke with admiration regarding some of the speakers and guests, and concluded by announcing that: “If I could, I would get up and walk past all the chairs in this huge stadium, and shake the hands of each of these men and women who came from all over the world, and say to each of them: ‘Thank you.’ And emphasize to each of them how important their love for Israel is to me, how much I appreciate it. … If the Evangelical institutions help me convey these words that are written here in the newspaper to each of the participants, I would be happy. However, this is not at all sufficient. I wish at least 2,200 Israelis would enter the hall, pass by and shake the hands of each of these 2,200 Zionist Christians who love Israel, who made a huge personal effort and came to Israel to express their love for us and their admiration for the country that the Jews have built in this land of our ancestors.”
Interfaith Relations/Dialogue
Maariv – Zman Mekomi, November 18, 2022; Maariv – Zman Tsafon, November 18, 2022
Dozens of religious leaders from Egypt, the USA, Israel, India, Spain and Great Britain gathered in London, Sharm el-Sheikh, Jerusalem and other locations around the world for a “groundbreaking Climate Repentance Ceremony,” calling for people to repent and change their destructive lifestyles and systems in order to save the planet, and for world leaders to act according to the ten universal principles on climate. The principles include ideas such as: We are stewards of this world; Creation manifests divinity; Do no harm; Repent and return. James Sternlicht, founder of the Peace Department and co-initiator of the event stated that: “The ceremonies around the world are a milestone for a global coordination system, where we will prove that religion and science, and ultimately politics, can work together to guide humanity toward a brighter future.”
Jewish-Christian Relations
Jerusalem Post, November 18, 2022
According to this article, there is evidence to confirm that Georgians have lived in the Holy Land since the 5th century CE, and although the Embassy of Georgia is located in Tel Aviv, Georgian Ambassador Lasha Zhvania, who resides in Jerusalem, is convinced that the day will come when the embassy will also move to Israel’s capital. Because Georgia has such deep roots in Jerusalem, the Georgian Embassy has joined forces with Yad Yitzhak Ben Zvi – the institution in memory of the second President of Israel, which is devoted to research and education of the history of Israel and Jewish communities in the East – to co-host a morning seminar to introduce both the Christian and Jewish Georgian communities and their relationship to Zion.