During the week covered by this review, we received 11 articles on the following subjects:
Israel
Anti-Missionary Activity
Christians in Israel
The Pope and the Vatican
Jewish Attitudes Concerning Jesus
Archaeology
Israel
Olam Katan, January 1, 2016
Dr. Omer Salem, an Egyptian Muslim sheikh and lecturer at Haifa University, has recently gained notoriety for his controversial view that Jews have the right to a state in the land of Israel, and that the Koran supports this. He has headed the interfaith dialogue International Organization for Peace in the past, published a book on the Arab-Israeli conflict called The Peace That Is Lacking, and spoke to the US Senate on religion’s role in the conflict. “Jews want to live in peace and want to allow their neighbors to live in peace. They need to have a state; they cannot rely on others.” Speaking to Olam Katan, Salem stated that Islam does not see orthodox Jews as infidels, and that a country functioning according to Jewish law would show Muslims that Jews have not forsaken the law of Moses, and that Jews should rule the area north of Beer-Sheva and Muslims the area south of it, as this would allow them to reach Mecca by land, as the Koran commands. Stating that jihad is a political Muslim concept, rather than a religious Muslim concept, Salem added that Muslims should “aspire to the big jihad of words,” which is peace, rather than “the small jihad” of swords.
Maariv, January 4, 2016
Amiram Ben-Uliel of Geulat Zion was indicted on January 3rd in the district court in Lod for the murder of Sa’ad, Riham, and Ali Dawabsheh in July. The indictment describes the way in which Ben-Uliel committed the crime in Kfar Duma, and indicts him for six other counts of arson and a variety of hate and religious offense crimes as well.
According to the Shabak [the domestic Israeli intelligence organization] Ben-Uliel confessed his crime and reconstructed it, but his family insists that the confession was gained under torture, is therefore inadmissible in court, and that Ben-Uliel is in fact innocent.
Haaretz, January 6, 2016
This article reports that Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon has recently allowed 40 dunams of land to be added to the Gush Etzion district jurisdiction. It describes how the land was bought by right-wing financier Irwin Moskowitz through a Swedish front organization, and that the relevant IDF commander has added his permission to Ya’alon’s. The article is convinced that the area is intended for a new settlement, but the holders of the land have stated that it is intended for an interfaith hostel. The IDF’s COGAT [Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories] unit has stated as well that “the adding of the compound to Gush Etzion’s jurisdiction was planned according to the criteria set by the professional entities, approved at the state level, and executed according to law.”
Anti-Missionary Activity
BaKehila, January 7, 2016
Missionaries have recently attempted to distribute flyers with the Jerusalem municipality symbol on them. The anti-missionary activist organization Yad L’Achim took care to alert the municipality attorney’s office, which required the missionary in question to cease and desist at once. “Again it has been proven that the missionaries will use any method to catch innocent Jews and deceive them,” stated Yad L’Achim.
Christians in Israel
Index HaEmek VeHaGalil, January 1, 2016
Christian Israeli veterans of the IDF recently sent a letter to the Vice-Defense Minister MK Rabbi Eli Ben-Dahan as he toured Nazareth Ilit during the third weekend in December. The letter expressed the veterans’ opposition to the far-left organization Breaking the Silence, accusing this organization and others of incitement, dissemination of lies, and witch-hunting against IDF soldiers, “having been sent to do so by foreign governments.” The letter also calls upon those who testified to the organization “to be brave enough” to give their testimonies to the army, and to be put on trial if necessary.
The Pope and the Vatican
The Jerusalem Post, January 7, 2016
This article opposes the popular view that the recent Vatican declaration regarding the Jews constitutes a complete reversal of policy towards them. Rather, the writer is of the opinion that the Catholic Church still sees Jesus as “the only path to salvation,” and that Christians are still supposed to “witness to their faith to all people—including Jews.” The difference is that now mission work should be done with sensitivity and respect. Jews should be ready to dialogue with “respectful acceptance,” and “should not seek to turn Christians into some image of what we want them to be,” since rejection of all forms of mission work would “turn Christianity into something it is not.”
Jewish Attitudes Concerning Jesus
Chadashot HaGalil, January 1, 2016
This article quotes a number of derogatory opinions historically held by orthodox Judaism regarding Jesus, ranging from illegitimacy to immodesty to witchcraft. The article quotes the Talmud to support it, and says that these negative things were intentionally hidden by Christians in order to preserve a positive image.
Archaeology
Haaretz, January 6, 2016
This article opines that the real importance of the bulla found in December and inscribed “Of Hezekiah son of Ahaz, king of Judah” is in the fact that it was found in a large administrative building, thus strengthening the theory that Jerusalem in Hezekiah’s time “was not just a hilltop village, but the administrative center of the Judahite kingdom.” The article also analyzes the presence of the ankh and winged sun on the bulla, and concludes that a partial reason may have been the strong ties Judah had with Egypt at the time, or that Hezekiah’s religious reforms may not have been as complete as has been supposed.
Israel Hayom; Maariv, January 7, 2016
A 3,400-year-old Canaanite fortress has been found on a building site in Nahariya. Human and animal figurines, weapons, and imported pottery have also been found on the site, leading archaeologists to surmise that the fortress served as a maritime administration center. The remains will be incorporated into the building to be built above it, and put on display for residents and visitors in the building’s basement.
Yediot Eilat, January 8, 2016
An aqueduct has recently been uncovered at “Biblical Tamar,” near Ein Hatzeva in southern Israel. The aqueduct is believed to be Roman and to have been an irrigation channel, strengthening the supposition that agriculture in the area has been going on for more than a thousand years.