During the week covered by this review, we received 7 articles on the following subjects:
Missionary Activity
Christians in Israel
Christian Zionism
Christian Sacraments
Pope and the Vatican
Christian Sites
Culture/History
Missionary Activity
HaShabbat BeNetanya, March 1, 2013
The Central Charity Bank refused a donation of 100,000 ILS from the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews because the source of the gift is the Evangelical Christian community in the United States. Even though the founder of IFCJ is an orthodox Jew (Rabbi Eckstein), the organization has received a lot of criticism from religious Jews because “it promotes missionary activity.” Many rabbis have ruled that it is unlawful to receive donations from IFCJ, even for charity purposes, since this money is “tainted.”
Christians in Israel
Haaretz, March 8, 2013
Grace Covenant Gospel Church, located on the fourth floor of a “dilapidated” building in south Tel Aviv, has not been able to procure the exemption from paying the municipal property tax which is granted to all places of worship in Israel. As a result, the church will probably not be able to keep its doors open. The church, run by Pastor Solomon Tetteh, is comprised mostly of migrant workers from Africa, and the municipality claims that the premises is being used for purposes other than worship because migrant workers sleep there on occasion. City officials visited the church last year and found “mattresses, clothing and cooking equipment.” In response, Tetteh said “that he occasionally allows new arrivals to the country to stay at the church, but only for a day or two, ‘to get themselves organized.’”
Sigal Rozen, who is the public policy coordinator at the Hotline for Migrant Workers, told Haaretz that “churches that cater to migrants have faced increased scrutiny of late because the city is trying to crack down on boarding houses that pose as churches in order to evade taxes.” However, Rozen explained that “they are putting their energy in the wrong places” and that “instead of battling those places that are really making a profit and not paying arnona, the municipality is picking on places like Pastor Solomon’s church that do what they do out of charity.”
Tetteh’s church has been going through a hard time in recent months, as several of its members were recently arrested and deported by immigration authorities. “Israel is the foundation of Christianity,” says Tetteh, but that is no guarantee that Grace Covenant Gospel church will be able “to function as a real church here.”
Christian Zionism
The Jerusalem Post, March 5, 2013
Claude Jewett, an Evangelical Christian from the United States, pledged his life insurance money to Kaplan hospital for the purchase of advanced medical equipment. Jewett has been in Israel “for three weeks as part of the Friends of Israel organization” and is “voluntarily renovating the pediatric pavilion” at the hospital. The paper reports that all seven of Jewett’s children are pleased with their father’s decision.
Christian Sacraments
Aliton, March 1, 2013
This snippet gives a very brief explanation of the origins of the Last Supper in Christianity. “According to the Christian tradition, Jesus took leave of his disciples during the Passover meal . . . It was Jesus’ last meal before he was executed by crucifixion on account of being a rebel . . . During the meal, Jesus gave each one of his disciples a piece of bread and blessed the wine. He said the bread was his body, and the wine was his blood. During this ceremony, Jesus desired to pass on to his disciples his body and blood in a symbolic manner so that they might continue in his footsteps. The ritual of eating the bread and drinking the wine became one of the most important ceremonies in Christianity.”
Pope and the Vatican
Mazav HaRuach, March 1, 2013
Rabbi Sha’ar Yeshuv Cohen speaks of his relationship with Benedict XVI on the eve of the Pope’s resignation. “Benedict was less of a spiritual leader and more of a political leader. He made an effort to be good to the Jews.” The rabbi emphasizes how important it is for Jews and Christians to maintain a good relationship after the new pope is elected, “so that the new pope will carry on in [Benedict’s] ways.”
In the final paragraph of this three-page article, the rabbi is asked how Jews should respond to Evangelical Christians. Rabbi Cohen’s answer is that one should be able to distinguish between Israel-loving Christians and missionary activity. “We need to make sure that our friendship with them does not, heaven forbid, become an activity that promotes conversion. This is no simple problem, and we are looking for ways to set clear boundaries between friendship with Israel and the desire to convert Jews to Christianity. This is the narrow road we must try to walk on.”
Christian Sites
Yediot Aharonot, March 6, 2013
If you are visiting Jerusalem, says this article, be sure to stop by the pastoral village of Ein Kerem. The article goes on to give a brief description of places worth visiting, including a handful of churches and monasteries. Of interest are the short historical summaries relating to the churches, all of which commemorate Mary’s visit to her cousin Elizabeth described in the New Testament. “John was the son of Zechariah and Elizabeth, an elderly and barren couple of priestly heritage. According to Christian tradition, Elizabeth conceived in some miraculous way, as did her cousin, Mary, the mother of Jesus. Mary, who heard that her cousin was pregnant, journeyed all the way to Ein Kerem. The Church of the Visitation is named after that visit. Mary had her son in a cave in Bethlehem and named him Jesus. Elizabeth had her son in a cave in Ein Kerem, which can now be seen within the church. She named him John – God has pardoned – and over the years he became known as a charismatic leader by the name of the John the Baptist.”
Culture/History
Zman Yerushalayim, March 1, 2013
This four-page article explores the life and times of King Herod in light of the exhibition currently taking place in Jerusalem (see third Media Review for February).