During the week covered by this review, we received 6 articles on the following subjects:
Political Issues / Missionary Activity / Messianic Judaism
Missionary Activity
Christian Zionism / Christian Organizations / Political Issues
History / Christianity
Political Issues / Missionary Activity / Messianic Judaism
Shabbaton, June 24, 2021; BaKehila, June 24, 2021
Two articles again reported that the Supreme Court of Israel (Bagatz) overturned a prior decision by the Knesset Finance Committee, which had barred donors to Messianic Jewish organization “Yachad Ramat HaSharon” from receiving tax benefits. One of the articles gave its account of how the Messianic Jewish identity came to be in the first place. The author claimed that it was the brainchild of Pastor Martin “Moishe” Rosen, who recognized the importance of marketing, and as such returned to his Jewish name, “Moishe”, started wearing a kippah and a tallit, and took down all Christian symbols in his church and replaced them with Stars of David. Rosen understood that Jews are “allergic” to Christian symbolism, and thus tried to rebrand Christianity, arguing that Messianics were the “real” Jews.
Missionary Activity
Kol Ha’Ir Bnei Brak, June 23, 2021
This article reported that a woman named Jan Como, who worked as a gentile driver on the Sabbath for Haredi midwives, has been evangelizing women she has come in contact with. Como, an American Christian, has also presented herself to Haredi women as an expert in trauma healing. One husband reported Como to Yad L’Achim after he noticed that something was wrong with his wife, and then found out his wife was planning on converting to Christianity on account of Como. The husband said Como had taken advantage of the woman’s distress due to a trauma in her past.
Christian Zionism / Christian Organizations / Political Issues
Haaretz, June 18, 2021; The Jerusalem Post, June 20, 2021
The first article was about the rise of Christian Zionism in Taiwan, where Christians represent 4-5% of the population, of which one half are actively pro-Israel. Christian Zionist influence is a growing phenomenon, and some megachurches observe Jewish holidays and customs. The rise in Christian Zionism is credited to organizations such as the International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem, which has an office in Taipei. ICEJ Taiwan has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars in support of aliyah and other initiatives. In 2020, it raised $240,000.
The second article reported that 80 Christian leaders of different denominations – Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox – signed a letter to Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, to let him know they were praying for his wisdom and strength. The letter was initiated by the Philos Project, an American non-profit “promoting Christian engagement in the Near East”. The signatories said that what unites them is a “love for – and strong defense of – a sovereign Jewish state with Jerusalem as its capital.” The letter further said: “We want to thank you in advance for protecting our shared values as they apply to Israel’s citizens, whether Jews, Christians, Muslims, or Druze; for guarding the holy sites and welcoming religious pilgrims from around the world to discover the birthplace of their faith…”
History / Christianity
Haaretz, June 18, 2021
This was a piece about the Madaba Map, a mosaic depicting the Holy Land, which dates back to the 6th century, and which was unearthed in the 19th century in Jordan. The portion of the map found is about 10 meters long and would have originally been 20 meters long. The map shows holy sites, documents places where events took place in the life of Jesus, and marks the burial places of martyrs. The map’s intention is to show how the life of Jesus fulfils prophecies in the Old Testament. The map locates the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in its center, whilst the Temple Mount is missing altogether – thus omitting any hint of the city’s Jewish past. The map does not include any roads, and the author speculates that the reason for the omission is that the map was not made for the purpose of wayfinding, but as a pilgrimage map, with the goal of promoting the Christian identity.