During the week covered by this review, we received 4 articles on the following subjects:
Jewish/Christian Relations
Anti-Missionary Activity
Christian Sites
Jewish / Christian Relations
The Jerusalem Post, September 6, 2021
This article was about two of the Jerusalem Post’s “50 Most Influential Jews”: Shari Dollinger, co-executive director of Christians United for Israel (CUFI), and Yael Eckstein, CEO of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ). Both of these women have devoted the majority of their adult lives to creating bridges between the Christian community and Israel.
Shari Dollinger grew up as a Christian within a close-knit Jewish community. She was CUFI’s third full-time hire and played a strategic role in its growth. Today, CUFI has millions of supporters who actively stand up for the Jewish people and Israel, and is combating the rise in anti-Semitism in the USA. “If the link to Israel is through scripture, once you are rooted, you cannot walk away,” Dollinger stated.
Yael Eckstein, daughter of the late Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, who founded IFCJ, grew up in Chicago and moved to Israel in 2005. She began working for IFCJ doing basic office work. During the Second Lebanon War, she became a spokesperson for the organization, gaining much support from Christians for Israel during a time of need. When her father died suddenly in 2019, she was selected to be the next president of the Fellowship. Today, IFCJ is the largest philanthropic organization in Israel. “As a religious woman, I am in such a privileged position,” she said. “I help people make Aliyah, provide food to the hungry, and I have a platform to teach Christians more about the roots of their faith.”
Anti-Missionary Activity
Shacharit, September 9, 2021
Or L’Achim claimed that a few hours before the beginning of Rosh Hashanah, missionaries distributed booklets and flyers to various apartments in Uman. The organization collected all the material.
Hamodia, September 9, 2021
Or L’Achim contacted the Tel Aviv municipality and they removed a “missionary advertisement”.
Christian Sites
Sgulah, September 6, 2021
This article was about an ancient Jewish tradition, a ceremony of Hakafot that took place on the Mount of Olives on the seventh day of the Feast of Tabernacles to commemorate the departure of the Holy Spirit from the city. According to tradition, a certain rock was the place where the Holy Spirit was last seen. For many years, the location of the ceremony was unknown. The only clue was a manuscript from the 13th century which described a church that was built on top of that rock, but kept collapsing. This fits the description of what happened to the Church of the Ascension, which is now believed to be the true location. According to Christian tradition, it is the place where Jesus ascended into heaven, and some believe it is also the place of his transfiguration.