During the week covered by this review, we received 12 articles on the following subjects:
The Pope and the Vatican
Anti-Missionary Activity
Anti-Semitism
Political Issues
Christians in Israel
Jewish-Christian Relations
Film
Conversion to Judaism
The Pope and the Vatican
Haaretz, June 6; The Jerusalem Post, June 7, 2016
On Sunday, June 5, Pope Francis canonized Swedish former nurse Mary Elizabeth Hesselblad. Hesselblad is noted for having saved at least 12 Jews during World War II by concealing them for six months in the convent where she was the mother superior. She was recognized for this as one of the Righteous Among the Nations in 2004 by Yad VaShem.
Hesselblad is Sweden’s first saint since Saint Bridget was canonized 625 years ago.
The Jerusalem Post, June 10, 2016
Pope Francis, traveling to Poland in July for “a gathering of Catholic youth,” will visit Auschwitz-Birkenau on July 29th. In this he follows his predecessors Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI, both of whom visited Auschwitz during their pontificates.
In December 2015, the Vatican issued a document saying that “Catholics should not try to convert Jews,” and in January Pope Francis “appealed to Catholics to reject anti-Semitism” and said that “the Holocaust should remind everyone that human rights should be defended with ‘maximum vigilance.’”
Anti-Missionary Activity
HaMevaser, June 8, 2016
D, a resident of Modi’in, took a photo of missionaries giving material to an ultra-Orthodox Jewish boy. D alerted the boy’s mother, who disposed of the material, and D then sent the photo to the anti-missionary activist organization Yad L’Achim. They, in turn, recommended that the boy’s family file a complaint with the police, which they did, as it is illegal to proselytize minors. Adv. Moshe Morgenstern of Yad L’Achim’s legal branch stated, “We call upon the police to use the full extent of the law with the missionary lawbreakers.”
Anti-Semitism
Haaretz, June 9; HaMevaser, June 10, 2016
These two articles present opposing views of the BDS (Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions) movement.
The first article is in favor of BDS, saying that since Israel has “broken international law” by “stealing land,” as well as by enacting sanctions against other entities, there is no basis for objecting to BDS, which consists of “using legitimate means to fight the conquest.”
The second article presents the opposing view, focusing specifically on details regarding foreign investments made in Israel, various advocacy tools one may use in fighting BDS, and the cyber attacks BDS servers appear to be suffering. It concludes that although BDS has suffered setbacks, it is far too early for Israel to “rest on her laurels.”
Political Issues
Makor Rishon, June 10, 2016
This six-page article is a biography and interview of Heinz-Christian Strache, leader of the Freedom Party of Austria since 2005, who is known for having changed the party’s line from the anti-Semitism of the previous leader, pro-Nazi Jörg Haider, to support for Israel.
Among the questions covered was the reason for which Strache changed the party’s policies, to which he answered that if Israel sinks so will Europe, and that what is at stake is values and the common origin of Judaism and Christianity. When asked whether one can still find anti-Semitism in the party, Strache answered that he has no knowledge of anyone who holds that view. Strache is aware that Israel is still cautious of his party, but admitted that this is merely the current situation and that time is needed to build trust. He objects to the marking of products from Judea and Samaria; when asked about the two-state solution, Strache asked in return whether this would work; when asked about Muslim immigration to Austria he stated that if elected to the government or as chancellor he would not allow unmonitored immigration; and when asked about Vienna mayor Michael Häupl’s visit to Iran he said that it is completely understandable that Israel would feel threatened by Iran’s nuclear project.
Jewish opinion regarding Strache remains divided. Some say that his pro-Israel statements are motivated by self-interest, some say that he is a true friend who “is being mistreated by not being welcomed,” and still other says that he should be treated like the Italian politician Gianfranco Fini, who was given a “road map” for “proving himself to Israel.”
Christians in Israel
The Jerusalem Post, June 10, 2016
This article tells the story of Elias (not his real name), a Franciscan monk from Aleppo, presently living in the Church of Saint John the Baptist in Jerusalem’s Ein Kerem neighborhood. Elias was originally drawn to the Franciscan life in 2008, while taking part in a Franciscan march, but it wasn’t until 2011 that he decided to begin religious study in the Monastery of St. Anthony the Great in Lebanon. However, shortly after he left, the Arab Spring reached Syria, and now “the only members of his family left in Aleppo are Elias’ aunt, uncle and maternal grandmother,” who don’t know he is in Israel. When asked whether God exists, since there is great suffering in the world, Elias replies that “the bigger challenge is understanding the true meaning of being free and the real sense of what God is, and this is what brings you to the truth.”
Jewish-Christian Relations
Haaretz, June 10, 2016
Bar-Ilan University will be hosting a study evening arranged by its Program for Conflict and Negotiation Management and Resolution, and the Jerusalem Center for Jewish-Christian Relations, on the subject of “Relations between Jews and Christians in Our Time.” This event marks the one-year anniversary of the arson at the Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes at Tabgha. Rabbi David Rosen of the Jewish-American Committee will speak on “50 years to Nostra Aetate,” and Father Gregory Collins, abbot of Dormition Abbey, will speak on “A Personal View of the Changes in the Catholic Church and on the Lives of Christians in the Jewish State.”
The event will take place on June 14th in the Weissfeld Hall, Building 301, Bar Ilan University, from 19:00-21:00. Reservations can be made by contacting p.confl@mail.biu.ac.il. Lectures will take place in Hebrew and English.
Film
The Jerusalem Post, June 10, 2016
This article is an interview with Igal Hecht on the subject of his new film My Home, which attempts to provide insight into the lives of Muslim, Christian, Druze, and Bedouin “as they interact with the Jewish majority.” Saying that the film “should be required viewing for all Israelis as a first step towards improved understanding and coexistence,” the interview covers such subjects as Hecht’s personal standpoint, to which he replies that “he looks as objectively as he can, as an outsider,” and that the point of the film “is to give a voice to those who have never been given a platform, not just the extremists.” Hecht says that “the film shatters the narratives” that say, on the one hand, that Arabs have no rights, and on the other, that all Arabs want to kill all Jews; when asked whether he was right-wing, Hecht said that it depends on the issue, but that “democracy is the true strength of Israel” and that “he believes anti-Zionism to be anti-Semitism.”
Maariv, June 10, 2016
This article reviews the TV documentary The Patriarch, screened on Channel 1 on June 4.
The film covers the life of Greek Orthodox Patriarch Irenaeus, “who was ousted from his position in 2005 for having sold some of the church’s Old City property to settlers.” Irenaeus stated at the time that someone close to him had carried out the sale without his knowledge or permission, but no one believed him, and he has either gone into seclusion or been incarcerated in his room for the past 11 years. The film seeks to discover the hidden parts of the story, and director Danae Elon “handles the subject with humanity, gentleness and compassion.”
Conversion to Judaism
Nashim, June 10, 2016
This article chronicles the conversion stories of Ronalle, Malka, and Esther to Judaism. Although their backgrounds are different—they are from South Africa, the US, and Russia respectively—they all say that during their adolescent years they were intrigued by Judaism and began to investigate it further. After a long process of learning to keep the laws, they came to the realization that Christianity did not satisfy them spiritually, and decided that they needed to become Jewish.