Caspari Center Media Review – January 18, 2012
During the week covered by this review, we received 11 articles on the following subjects:
Attitudes towards Christianity
Anti-missionary activities
Christian Zionism
Christians in the Holocaust
Archaeology
This week’s review included several responses to the publication of Shmuley Boteach’s book Kosher Jesus.
Attitudes towards Christianity
Jerusalem Post, January 17, 20 (x 2), 2012
Under the headline “A charitable approach,” Yocheved Miriam Russo looked at Shmuley Boteach’s Kosher Jesus (Jerusalem Post, January 20): “During the week of December 25, one of those ubiquitous Facebook aphorisms circled the globe: ‘As we celebrate Jesus’ birth,’ it read, ‘remember that Jesus would have celebrated Chanukah.’ The following week, Gefen Publishing released Rabbi Shmuley Boteach’s Kosher Jesus. Clearly, the time for consideration of Jesus as Jew has arrived. It wasn’t always so. Boteach recalls how, in many Jewish communities, any discussion of Jesus was taboo. His name was not even pronounced in Orthodox homes or synagogues. ‘We understand Jesus as a foreign deity … the Jew who had rebelled against his people … instigating countless cruelties’ against them. Jesus was thought to have ‘abrogated the law and said the Torah was now mostly abolished.’ Boteach does not reveal what sparked his 20-year study of the New Testament, only that it resulted in a radical change of mind. He concluded that, far from a pariah, Jesus was a genuine patriot, an observant Jew who gave his life defending his people … Kosher Jesus is a finely argued, intensely readable account of the life of Jesus of Nazareth extracted from the pages of the Christian scriptures, supplemented by learned commentary from a variety of other sources. By providing historical context combined with Jesus’s own words and stories, Boteach turns Christian scriptures upside-down, offering a very different perspective than that usually gleaned from the writings of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John … The heart of the book lies in Boteach’s exegesis of the Gospel text, isolating the true story, weeding out elements that were added later for political reasons. To separate truth from fiction, Boteach employs several systems of examination. Sometimes it is as simple as referring to known history, other times by referencing Jewish law, showing what Jews would – and would not – have done. On occasion he reveals mistranslations in the text, where overzealous Christian authors relied on a poorly translated Greek version of the Hebrew scriptures … Given Boteach’s heavy reliance on the falsity of the ‘additions’ to the original story of Jesus’s life, Kosher Jesus would have benefited from a short discussion on just who these ‘editors’ were, and when and where they operated.”
A second response came from David Parsons, although not from a Jewish perspective, Parsons being media director of the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem: “Kosher Jesus fails to deliver the goods. Instead, it is essentially the Orthodox Jewish side of a classic medieval disputation on Jesus’s Messianic credentials, of the sort usually thrust upon Jews but this time initiated by a rabbi. The resulting book is both overconfident in tone and underwhelming in its marshaling of credible scholarship to back the author’s positions … Sadly, Boteach’s book is not a very positive contribution to these worthwhile efforts [at improving Jewish-Christian relations]. He does provide some good examples of Jesus as an archetypal Pharisaic rabbi, but these are mainly borrowed from much better and far less contaminated sources elsewhere. By the time Boteach embraces Jesus, he has been radically reduced to just another patriotic Jewish agitator against Roman oppression, an ultra-nationalist rabbi cruelly slain by the enemies of his nation and only later deified by a misguided pseudo-Jew named Paul. Yet this crafting of a Bar-Kochba Jesus is no less distorted than the Aryan Jesus, Black Jesus or Palestinian Jesus … Boteach’s assault on the integrity of the New Testament is not the disciplined science of textual criticism, where ancient parchments are carefully dated, translated and studied for linguistic differences. Rather, this is a wholesale shredding of the New Testament, based on pure conjecture and an agenda-driven imagination. First of all, if one does not want to take the Gospels at face value when they maintain that Jesus himself claimed divine ‘oneness’ with God, there is solid, widely accepted Jewish scholarship available today that has determined his brother James was head of a Messianic Jewish movement in Jerusalem which worshiped Jesus as God long before Paul appeared on the scene. As for whitewashing the Romans of their cruelty, the Gospels give vivid accounts of Roman tyranny … Boteach concedes these passages exist, but insists they somehow missed the editors’ pen … This just begins to touch on the deep flaws in Kosher Jesus. Instead, I would strongly recommend the much more respectful and measured approach of [David] Flusser – a winner of the Israel Prize in Literature and the leading Orthodox scholar in his field … Flusser has already proven to be a much better bridge for encouraging dialogue between Christians and Jews, and a much fairer guide for those seeking to ‘discover the authentic story of Jesus of Nazareth.’”
Shmuley Boteach responded to some of the “backlash over my latest book” – which has “spun out of control and lost any sense of proportion” (Jerusalem Post, January 17). Although the thrust of the article was directed towards the vicious attacks on Boteach from Jewish sources, it also addresses some of the substantive issues: “Kosher Jesus is the true story of Jesus’ Jewish life – culled from early Christian and Jewish sources – that portrays Jesus as a Torah-observant teacher who instructed his followers to keep every letter of the Law, whose teachings quoted extensively from the Bible and rabbinical writings, who fought Roman paganism and persecution of the Jewish people, and was killed by Pontius Pilate for his rebellion against Rome, the Jews having had nothing whatsoever to do with his murder. Though a revolutionary theory, Publisher’s Weekly has just glowingly reviewed the book as an ‘informed and cogent primer on Jesus of Nazareth. … a brave stab at re-evaluating Jesus through an intensive look at the New Testament and historical documents … and a well-researched analysis that will certainly reopen intra-faith and interfaith dialogue.’ But the book’s announcement has led to a vicious assault against me by religious Jewish extremists who have described Kosher Jesus as heretical and sure to open Jewish doors to Christian missionaries, even though the book does precisely the opposite by educating both Christians and Jews in the source materials of why Jesus could not have been divine or the Jewish Messiah. The book grants immunity from missionary encroachment.”
Anti-missionary activities
Chadashot Hadera, January 13; Yediot HaNegev, January 20; Yediot HaKibbutz, January 20, 2012
Yediot HaNegev (January 20) and Yediot HaKibbutz (January 20) both printed Andrew Lewis’ account of the “Important Information” leaflet (see recent Reviews), while Chadashot Hadera (January 13) noted their distribution.
Christian Zionism
Jerusalem Post, January 18; Zman Ma’alei, January 5; Makor Rishon, January 19, 2012
“To honor the victims and survivors [of the Holocaust on International Holocaust Remembrance Day], the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem in partnership with Yad Vashem and the Helping Hands Coalition has organized several commemorative events … High-ranking representatives of German and Austrian Protestant churches and Christian organizations will meet Holocaust survivors and lay commemorative wreaths at Yad Vashem. Participants include: Minister for Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs Yuli Edelstein; executive director of the International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem Jurgen Bugler; director of the German Branch International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem Gottfried Buhler; director of the Austrian Branch International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem Karl Klanner; board member of Initiative 27 January Christians for Israel- Germany, Dietmar Kern; businessman and author Martin Baron; chairman of the Pentecostal European Fellowship Rev. Ingolf Ellsell; European Director of Christ for all Nations Rev. Siegfried Tomaszewski; President of the International Chamber of Commerce Germany Claus Philippin; coordinator of the Women’s Branch of the European and German Pentecostal Fellowship Hannelore Illgen; and board member and director of Bible College Bad Gandersheim Rev. Gerry Klein” (Jerusalem Post, January 18). A similar note in Zman Ma’alei (January 3) reported that the ICEJ heads recently visited the museum of the Good Samaritan in Ma’aei Adumim in the company of the city’s mayor, who discussed with them the possibility of holding one of the annual Feast of Tabernacles’ events there or in one of the municipal parks.
The religious paper Makor Rishon (January 19) printed a lengthy feature entitled “My supper with the archbishop” – i.e., Daniel Williams, the founding primate of the Christian Communion International. Williams was recently recognized by the Knesset Christian Allies Caucus for his support of Israel – particularly his work with the “Teen Mania” organization he established and under whose framework he brings youth to Israel for two-week to month-long trips. On requesting a personal interview, Tzvika Klein acknowledged that “In truth, I was somewhat apprehensive about talking with a clergyman whom, to the best of my knowledge, believes that the Christian religion has replaced the Jewish religion in God’s affections” – promptly being surprised by Williams immediate repudiation of Replacement Theology. Asked whether he had ever converted Jews to Christianity, the archbishop replied: “‘We have converted a number of Jews, not many. There was a family who moved to the area and asked to convert. I’m obligated to preach the teaching of Yeshu and I expect you to do the same in your religion.’”
Christians in the Holocaust
Jerusalem Post, January 20, 2012
According to this report, “The question asked of Johan Van Hulst on the morning of June 19, 1943, was short but potentially fateful: ‘Are those Jewish children?’ With SS soldiers within earshot, it may well have been the last question he would hear. His interlocutor, Inspector Fieringa, was an Education Ministry official sent to oversee the matriculation exams at the Protestant seminary which Professor Van Hulst – who will turn 101 this month – was running. Van Hulst used the seminary to dispatch hundreds of Jewish children to safe houses across German- occupied Holland. ‘You don’t really expect me to answer that, do you?’ He finally replied. On Thursday, Van Hulst met with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in the Dutch parliament and received from the visiting Israeli prime minister a copy of the Bible as a token of gratitude for saving more than 500 children from the Holocaust … Netanyahu asked Van Hulst what made him decide to risk execution and help the children to safe houses across Holland. ‘There was only one way to escape from the crèche, and that was from the seminary. And I – and not only I but students from the University of Amsterdam and from Utrecht – saved more than 500 children, but less than a thousand’ … In an interview with The Jerusalem Post, Van Hulst – who after the war became a senior politician – said he could not have done it if not for ‘the help of God and people like Inspector Fieringa.’ Upon discovering Van Hulst’s secret, the inspector shook the professor’s hand and quietly told him: ‘In God’s name, be careful’ … Last week, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced amid a heated public debate that he would not apologize for the perceived indifference of the Dutch government in exile to the murder of over 100,000 Dutch Jews … During World War II, the German occupation forces in the Netherlands relied heavily on the collaborationist Dutch Nazi party (NSB) to administer daily life and facilitate the extermination of more than 80 percent of Dutch Jewry. Queen Wilhelmina, who was together with her government in exile in London, devoted five sentences to the fate of her Jewish subjects over five years of frequent radio broadcasts. ‘My opinion is that I do not wish to judge,’ Van Hulst said. ‘The Dutch government in exile knew nothing of what was happening here. I do not wish for an apology. There was such great suffering.’ Those in favor of an apology, including the Dutch-Israeli scholar on anti-Semitism Dr. Manfred Gerstenfeld and a former deputy premier, alleged the Queen and her government remained relatively silent because they did not regard Jews as real Dutchmen. Holland’s foremost research institution on World War II, the NIOD, took the position that no apology was necessary as did some scholars from the University of Amsterdam. The Jewish community and the Center for Information and Documentation on Israel – Holland’s watchdog on anti-Semitism – say an apology is ‘due’ but have refrained from demanding one. Van Hulst believes apologies are due for the treatment of Jews after the war. ‘The Jews who returned were not welcomed,’ he said. ‘Some Jews who returned from the camps were not compensated for their property and some were even required to pay city tax and utility bills for their time in the camps.’ Collaborationism (or treason, as Van Hulst calls it) was also rife, he said. ‘Safe houses in Amsterdam were impossible to find. There were many German sympathizers. The chance of betrayal was enormous’ … Yad Vashem recognized him as a Righteous Among the Nations in 1972. One of the most difficult days in Van Hulst’s life, he said, was the day the crèche was closed down and all 80 children there were to be sent to the camps. ‘Taking in 80 children was impossible. I had to choose. But who? I chose 12 children, all of them five to twelve years old. They could walk – and fast if necessary.’ Van Hulst said he has no regrets, but wishes he could have saved more.”
Archaeology
Shopping Mekomi – Beit Shemesh, January 12, 2011
This piece covered the recent discovery of a 1600-year-old bathing pool in Moshav Tarom.