During the week covered by this review, we received 5 articles on the following subjects:
Interfaith Relations
Anti-Missionary Activity
Christians in Israel
Messianic Jewish Congregations
Christianity
Interfaith Relations
The Jerusalem Post, March 24, 2019
According to a poll conducted by the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, 82% of American Evangelicals said they would feel more favorable towards Muslim nations that developed “bilateral strategic and economic relations with Israel”. 72% of Muslims agreed. The author of the article, who is also the director for the same foundation, argued that strengthening Evangelical Christian-Muslim relations could be key to achieving peace between Israel, Palestinians, and the larger Muslim world. The same poll showed that Evangelicals are generally unaware that there already are Muslims countries – Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, and Azerbaijan – that support Israel. If Evangelicals were more aware of positive relations, they may also let go of some of their anti-Muslim biases. The director, Marc Schneier, recently led a mission of Evangelical leaders to Azerbaijan to meet with the president. One of the participants said: “For the first time, I realized that not all Muslims are hostile to Judeo-Christian values.”
Anti-Missionary Activity
Kfar Chabad, March 21, 2019
This article reported about the organization from Australia, “Re’echa” (“Thy Neighbor”) that is said to masquerade as a charity, but in fact has been sending missionaries to work in different areas of need in Israel (such as a retirement home in Jerusalem). In response, Yad L’Achim plans to publish large ads (in newspapers and in neighborhoods) warning the public about the organization.
Christians in Israel
Kochav Tzafon, March 15, 2019
A group of Evangelical Christians from Belgium arrived last week to dedicate a new forest. The relationship with the group began in 2012, when Evangelicals donated towards forest rehabilitation in Israel. About 180 participated in the event – including Evangelical leaders and rabbis. One pastor from Belgium said: “Today we are here to express our love for the State of Israel. We, in the Evangelical community, will be ambassadors for you. Wherever there is anti-Semitism, we will be there, displaying our love for Israel in order to fight the phenomenon.”
Messianic Jewish Congregations
Kol Hair Bnei Brak, March 27, 2019
The number seven ranked politician in Avigdor Lieberman’s right-wing Yisrael Beiteinu party, Alex Kushnir, was seen attending an event at the Messianic Jewish congregation in Ashdod, Beit Hallel. The congregation is known for its missionary activity, as well as for holding events for children and youth. At the end of the night, participants of this particular event were seen leaving with baskets of food. The article stated that there needs to be an investigation as to whether this was legal, as it is considered illegal to tempt conversion with goods. Kushnir’s presence at the event, it is said, proves how strong the ties are between missionaries and politicians.
Christianity
Calcalist, March 28, 2019
This was a feature about the Hillsong denomination, as representative of a contemporary controversial form of Evangelical Christianity. Hillsong is popular amongst millennials, and boasts celebrity attendants like Justin Bieber and the Kardashians. The denomination also has pastors who model and have large Instagram followings. Pastor Carl Lentz, for example, has 627,000 followers, and models for a men’s clothing brand. Miami Pastor, Rich Wilkerson, has 571,000 followers, and became famous after marrying Kim Kardashian and Kanye West. Hillsong markets itself as “hip,” but underneath the appearances it is actually quite conservative due to a literalistic reading of the Bible, its emphasis on living a holy life, and its tendency towards nationalism. The founder of Hillsong, Frank Houston, was accused of molesting young boys, and paid hush money to at least one of his victims, it is reported. Hillsong has recently invested in opening a branch in Israel, with pastor Catrina Henderson at the helm. Henderson has said her goals are to establish a network of Christian churches in Israel, to do charity work, and to advance a culture of belief through Bible study, media, and spiritual direction.