During the week covered by this review, we received 15 articles on the following subjects:
Anti-Semitism
The Pope and the Vatican
Christian Tourism
Christianity
Film
Jerusalem
Status of Holy Sites
Conversion to Judaism
Miscellaneous
Archaeology
Anti-Semitism
Israel Hayom, June 7; Haaretz, June 12, 2015
This article details the course and resolutions of a conference against BDS, held in Las Vegas by Dr. Miriam and Sheldon Adelson over the weekend of June 5-6. Some 50 pro-Israel organizations such as Stand with Us, Hillel, and Christians United for Israel (CUFI) were present. Also present was Kasim Hafiz, a Muslim of Pakistani descent who joined CUFI after realizing to what degree the attackers of Israel “are telling fairy tales.” He has suffered animosity from other Muslim university students who consider him a traitor, and is currently estranged from his family because of his views.
“We are losing the war against the boycott because this war cannot be fought alone,” said Adelson. “The time has come to take initiative, and not just react.” He envisions a three-part plan of action, consisting of the philanthropists who will finance the activity, the activists in the field, and the research organizations who will provide the necessary information. According to information on college students, for instance, presented by Frank Lunz, the noted American researcher, 37% of Jewish American college students “have experienced anti-Semitism,” 28% of all American students are “of the opinion that the US should support Israel,” and 53% of Democratic college students think that “the Palestinians are more interested in peace than Israel is.”
Peter Beinart, writing for Haaretz, gives no support to Adelson’s recent conference. In his view, the clear presence of right-wing organizations at the conference testifies that Adelson is “taking advantage of the present struggle as a pretext to increase his power and advance his right-wing goals” as “he has been trying to take over Jewish politics in Israel and the US both, for years,” and that through his newspaper, Israel Hayom, Adelson “has become a kingmaker” in Israeli politics. “Israel Hayom is pushing Israelis to the right,” and by so doing may in fact be sentencing the action against BDS to failure.
Christian Tourism
Ha’Ir Kol Ha’Ir, June 5; The Jerusalem Post, June 12, 2015
This list of current exhibitions includes the Wohl Museum of Archaeology, the Yad VaShem Museum, the Skirball Museum of Archaeology, and the Tower of David Museum.
The Jerusalem Post, June 9, 2015
The tourism industry is still recovering from the aftereffects of Operation Protective Edge, says this article from The Jerusalem Post. This appears to be largely due to Christian pilgrim group cancellations, as Christian pilgrims make up some 53% of tourists to Israel.
Christianity
Haaretz, June 12, 2015
Christian domestic discipline (CDD) is a phenomenon present in certain places in the United States. In CDD, the husband administers physical punishment to his wife in instances such as forgetting household tasks or texting while driving. This phenomenon has recently drawn media attention due to an article on the website The Daily Beast surveying it.
Women in CDD households “regularly deny” that CDD is an offshoot of BDSM, saying rather that the punishment is intended to improve them as human beings and preserve their submission, and has no erotic meaning. It seems, as well, that even if the women complain about the punishments, “they are quick to add that the punishments ‘are their fault’ and that ‘they deserved them.’”
Film
The Jerusalem Post, June 9, 2015
Simcha Jacobovici’s The Lost Tomb of Jesus (2007), theorizing that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene, had children, and was buried, has recently been the subject of court proceedings in the Lod District Court, as a result of which Jacobovici “has been awarded NIS 829,500 in damages for having been defamed by critic Joe Zias.” Jacobovici had filed against Zias in 2011, claiming that Zias had “gone beyond the bounds of legitimate debate,” “had defamed him with a wide array of false accusations,” and had worked to directly sabotage him.
The court ruling does not state any conclusions about whether Jacobovici’s theories are correct or not, but “does not accept Zias’s overall narrative that Jacobovici’s work was intentionally framed in a way to mislead the public.”
Jerusalem
Haaretz, June 12, 2015
This article surveys the history of the conflict over Jerusalem’s international status since the United Nations’ Resolution 303 on the subject, and in particular the United States’ stand that this status must be decided upon through negotiation, according to President Reagan’s statement in 1982. However, Reagan’s statement does not specify whether East or West Jerusalem is at issue; the article’s main point is that Israel’s failure to narrow the negotiation down to East Jerusalem is “the greatest political failure in its history.”
Status of Holy Sites
The Jerusalem Post, June 9, 2015
This article surveys the history of the contested David’s Tomb/Cenacle structure on Mount Zion, and concludes that it does not in fact contain David’s tomb, as the area was “uninhabited and far outside the city walls” at the time. Apparently, the originators of the legend were Crusaders, who made a geographical mistake. The author recognizes that centuries of history cannot be erased, but that “due to aggressive haredi [ultra-Orthodox] colonization of the site” there should be a prominent sign at the entrance detailing the history of the site’s name.
Conversion to Judaism
Olam Katan, May 22, 2015
Nechama and Shirel are two close friends from the United States, who were born to devout Christian families. They began gradually getting interested in Judaism and keeping more and more of the Jewish law. They both came to Israel a few times, but in 2003 they met each other and decided to move to Israel together. They planned to come by air, but were persuaded to come by sea instead; however, the man they thought was a retired ship’s captain proved to be an escaped criminal. Nechama and Shirel remained at sea for the next two years, until they managed to find a buyer for their boat, at which point they booked a flight to Israel. They decided to convert to Judaism a short time after arriving.
Olam Katan, May 22, 2015
Frank and Adina (Charlotte) Mecklenburg, originally from the United States, have recently decided to convert to Judaism from Christianity. This decision comes about as a result of a lifelong interest in Judaism, beginning while the couple were living in the Papua New Guinea jungle and working with the Summer Institute of Linguistics.
Miscellaneous
Yediot Ahronot, June 11, 2015
Tzvika Levy and Father Gabriel Naddaf have both recently been awarded Rotary Israel’s highest honor – Levy for his work with lone soldiers in the Kibbutz Movement, and Naddaf for his work encouraging Christian Israelis to join the IDF.
Archaeology
The Jerusalem Post, June 11, 2015
A Byzantine-era way station has recently been discovered near the village of Beit Nekofa. The excavation revealed that the station had been built near a spring, and that its church had white mosaic floors. Lamps, coins, and glass vessels were also found on the site.