During the week covered by this review, we received 26 articles on the following subjects:
Political Issues
Christian Holidays
Conversion to Judaism
Anti-Missionary Activity
The Pope and the Vatican
Israel
Christianity
Israeli/Jewish Attitudes Concerning Jesus
Art
Television
Book Reviews
Archaeology
Political Issues
Haaretz, April 9, 2015
The mutilated body of a young Israeli man was recently found in the ruins of the Franciscan church in Berlin, adjacent to the Alexanderplatz. A passport found in his pocket was used for identification. German police are investigating the murder. “The reason for the murder is not yet known, but all angles are being investigated, including nationalistic, anti-Semitic and criminal,” said Eyal Siso, the Israeli consul in Berlin.
Christian Holidays
Haaretz; The Jerusalem Post, April 6, 2015
On Sunday, April 5, many Christian denominations celebrated Easter, while some will do so on April 12.
Thousands of pilgrims come to Jerusalem at this time of year, and many report a deeply meaningful experience. Some pray for the persecuted Christians all over the Middle East; others are inspired by Mount Zion’s “proximity to biblical prophecies”; others are awed at the thought of celebrating the holiday “where it all took place”; and still others are pleasantly surprised to find that “safety concerns were overblown,” contrary to what their home news services had led them to believe.
Conversion to Judaism
Yediot Rishon; Yediot Holon, April 3, 2015
Hiam, from a Christian Arab background, and Maria, a Catholic caregiver from the Philippines, are both students at the Ami Conversion Institute in Rishon Letzion, studying for conversion to Judaism.
Hiam, a 36-year-old mother of two, was drawn to Judaism when questions began arising in her mind, particularly regarding the difference in ritual between Christianity and Judaism. She eventually decided to convert, and has since suffered animosity from her family on the subject and is being divorced by her husband.
Maria met her Israeli husband, Arik, at age 37, when she was caring for an elderly man at the Assaf HaRofeh Hospital and Arik was a volunteer there. She always knew she wanted to be Jewish, and since the Christian holidays gradually lost meaning for her and she received her Israeli citizenship, she has started her conversion process.
Anti-Missionary Activity
Kol Ha’Ir Bnei Brak, April 1; BeSheva Yerushalayim; BeSheva Bnei Brak; BeSheva Darom; BeSheva Tzafon; HaShavua B’Elad; HaShavua B’Beit Shemesh; HaShavua B’Rehovot, April 2; HaShavua B’Petah Tikva, April 3, 2015
These articles reiterate the story from last week’s review according to which IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot’s bureau, having received a letter from Yad L’Achim complaining formally about missionary activity during an International Christian Embassy (ICEJ) event honoring soldiers who fought in Operation Protective Edge, responded that the incident is being investigated “in order to prevent its recurrence.” However, Yad L’Achim emphasizes the lack of response to other incidents mentioned in the letter, particularly the activities of the “infamous missionary” Yaakov Damkani, who “preaches to soldiers without anyone stopping him.”
The Pope and the Vatican
The Jerusalem Post, April 6, 2015
In this article, Peter Wehner contrasts the attitudes and rhetoric of Rev. Franklin Graham with Pope Francis, saying that Pope Francis’ example is the one evangelicals should follow.
Wehner states that Graham and those who agree with him, in pronouncements such as that America has “turned its back on God” and that “the tide of immorality has risen to new heights,” are “obsessing on some issues while ignoring others” and “speaking with stridency rather than mercy,” “thereby creating a distorted impression of Christianity” and presenting the church “as a sentencing court.” However, when Pope Francis meets with gay, transgender, and HIV-positive prisoners in Naples, washes the feet of two women and two Muslims in juvenile detention, and criticizes the church for “ignoring the weak and vulnerable,” he is in fact presenting a better reflection of Christ’s example” and presenting the church as “a field hospital after battle.”
Israel
Haaretz, April 9, 2015
The op-ed article is responding to the article titled “Iconoclasm Now” by B. Michael, published by Haaretzon April 3.
Prof. Yaakov Amir states that in contrast to Michael’s opinion, the Jewish people was formed here some 3,500 years ago. As stated in the Merneptah Stele, “Israel was destroyed, she has no seed,” which means that Israel would have had to already been a separate ethnic group by that time. The facts that the Jewish people were able to preserve their national identity, the State of Israel was reestablished, and the Hebrew language was resurrected all “have no historical precedent.”
Christianity
The Jerusalem Post, April 9, 2015
Frank Bruni, responding to the Indiana religious freedom law controversy, is of the opinion that “homosexuality and devout Christianity in fact don’t need to be forces in fierce collision.” He states that viewing the LGBT community as sinners is a product of ossified belief, resulting from misinterpretation and an ignorance of scientific advancements, among other things, “elevating unthinking obeisance over intelligent observance.” A debate about religious freedom “should include a conversation about freeing religions and religious people from prejudices that they needn’t cling to and can indeed jettison.”
Bruni cites David Gushee, who said that “human understanding of what is sinful has changed over time,” and Jimmy Creech, who said that US Christianity has “abandoned the idea that women are second-class, inferior and subordinate to men, although the Bible clearly teaches this.” Gushee has also said, “Conservative Christian religion is the last bulwark against full acceptance of LGBT people.” Bruni ends by saying, “All of us, no matter our religious traditions, should know better than to tell gay people that they’re an offense.”
Israeli/Jewish Attitudes Concerning Jesus
Haaretz, April 6; The Jerusalem Post, April 7, 2015
Geologist Dr. Arieh Shimron and film maker-journalist Simha Jacobovici, having conducted further analysis on Second Temple-era ossuaries found in Jerusalem’s Armon HaNatziv neighborhood and on the James Ossuary, are convinced that their findings support the theory that Jesus was buried there and had a wife and child. Although the authenticity of the James Ossuary continues to be contested, Shimron’s analysis is aiming to prove that it was taken out of the Armon HaNatziv burial cave before the excavation began (the cave has a unique chemical stamp). Contenders against Shimron and Jacobovici state that the ossuary is obviously forged, especially since the cave had been completely blocked before excavation.
Art
Yediot Ahronot, April 5, 2015
A film clip recently released by IS (the Islamic State) shows the systematic destruction of the old city at Khatra in northern Iraq. Khatra, one of the country’s most important sites, was declared a World Heritage Site in 1985, as it had been part of the Parthian Empire. The clip was released under the name “Destroying the Idols.”
Television
The Jerusalem Post, April 8, 2015
CNN’s Believer, set to air in 2016, will be a series featuring scholar Reza Aslan, who wrote the controversial book Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth. The program aims to present “the complexity of faith” rather than aligning with one ideological side or the other. Aslan is also known for the cool demeanor he displayed during an interview with Fox News’ Lauren Green. “I talk about religion and faith for a living, and I myself am a person of faith. I’ve never been that kind of scholar, or thinker, who is interested in attacking or deflating other people’s faith,” says Aslan.
Book Reviews
Haaretz, April 3, 2015
In this article, Fred Kaplan reviews Jonathan D. Sarna and Benjamin Shapell’s book Lincoln and the Jews: A History, recently published by Thomas Dunne Books.
According to the authors, President Lincoln “did not have an anti-Semitic bone in his body” but rather “believed that Jews were neither bad nor good on the basis of birth and affiliation.” He “courted ethnic group voters”; for example, it was during his administration that Rabbi Benjamin Szold of Baltimore (father of Henrietta Szold, who would later found the Hadassah organization) became the first Jewish chaplain in the US Army, “albeit unofficially.” He made no distinction between Jewish and Christian owned businesses, and employed a Jewish podiatrist. However, “the source of Lincoln’s graciousness toward and respect for Jews remains a mystery.”
Haaretz, April 6, 2015
In this article, Robert Chazan reviews Sara Lipton’s book Dark Mirror: The Medieval Origins of Anti-Jewish Iconography, recently published by Metropolitan Books.
Organized in six chronological chapters, the book discusses and analyzes the way Jews are portrayed in medieval works of art. Lipton bases her analysis on a rich trove of Christian art, and supports some well-known theories while questioning others, saying particularly that while the medieval European concept of Jews was often dark and hostile, the art does not necessarily reflect either “the prevailing Christian attitude or the actual Jewish status.”
Chazan calls Lipton’s book “an excellent study” in which the “important subject” is treated with “complexity and sophistication.”
Archaeology
The Jerusalem Post, April 3, 2015
This week, April 5-8, the Old City’s Davidson Center will be holding a special Passover program for visitors, who will be given a map and will meet characters from the past, giving clues as to what happened next on the spot.
Kol Israel, April 3, 2015
An excavation at Kibbutz Lahav in the Negev has revealed 3,400-year-old Egyptian artifacts. These include some 300 pottery articles, some still complete, jewelry, seals, and cosmetic tools. Although most of the articles are typical of the area, some of the seals are engraved with a scarab, and some are made from semi-precious stones originally from Egypt or the Sinai. Some of the seals bear names of Egyptian kings who ruled between the years 1504 and 1349 BCE; archaeologists therefore surmise that the seals were brought to Canaan by Israelites or by merchants, or were made by local inhabitants who wished to imitate Egyptian culture, which was dominant in the area at the time.
Haaretz, April 6, 2015
Some 102 Neolithic ritual sites have been discovered in a 12-square-meter area in the Eilat mountains, indicating an organized religion in the area some 9,000 years ago, “before the beginning of agriculture and cattle grazing in the area.” The artifacts from the sites include standing stones, pierced stones, stone bowls, and human figurines used for fertility rites and ancestor worship. The sites have not yet been excavated, but Neolithic-era flint articles, as well as copper ore, were collected from the surface, along with bones from animal sacrifices. The absence of potsherds has led archaeologists to date the sites as earlier than the 5th millennium BCE. As the location is not suitable for habitation, “these sites are the earliest evidence of pilgrimage.”