During the week covered by this review, we received 4 articles on the following subjects:
Anti-missionary Attitudes
Israeli/Jewish Attitudes Concerning Christians/Christianity
Anti-missionary Attitudes
Yated Ne’eman, June 21, 2022; Mekomi Dati, June 21, 2022
As reported in our previous review, following the decision of Israel’s Ministry of Finance to include “missionary associations” in its budget, namely Covid grants and tax benefits given to non-profit organizations in Israel, Or L’Achim wrote a letter to Finance Minister, Avigdor Lieberman, requesting that the ministry exclude from its budget those non-profit organizations “that use state funds to destroy it from within.” Rabbi Moshe Gafni, leader of the United Torah Judaism party who has been fighting against this inclusion, announced that, “when this government passes from the world soon, we will do the same to this legislation.”
Israeli/Jewish Attitudes Concerning Christians/Christianity
Jerusalem Post, June 23, 2022
This is an opinion piece, written by a sociologist at the Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI) in Jerusalem. A year ago, then Israeli Ambassador to Washington, Ron Dermer, suggested that Israel should prioritize the “passionate and unequivocal” support of Evangelical Christians over that of American Jews. However, the article argued, the degree to which Evangelical support is unequivocal is increasingly open to question. Recent studies found that support for Israel among Evangelical Christians has declined. The article suggested that many do not understand the nature of the Christian relationship to Jews and Israel. Religious groups are commonly viewed by the secular public as irrational, rigid and dogmatic, and unswayed by evidence. Evangelical support for Israel is considered unequivocal precisely because it is thought to rest upon these dogmatic and “irrational” foundations. However, studies have shown that this understanding is mistaken. If Israel wishes to maintain Evangelical support, we need to offer a different, more adequate conceptualization of this support. This will allow us to formulate more adequate policies. Evangelical Christian Zionism and support for Israel is a multi-layered phenomenon. Separating out the various layers is crucial for effective policy. Evangelical support for Israel cannot be taken for granted, and must be cultivated and nurtured.
Haaretz, June 26,2022
This article is based on the author’s impressions from her trip to Oberammergau in Germany, to watch its famous Passion Play. According to local tradition, the play has been performed every ten years since 1634, because of a vow made by the surviving inhabitants of the village during the bubonic plague that swept the region. The play is a staging of Jesus’ passion, covering the short period of his life from his visit to Jerusalem and leading to his execution by crucifixion. The Oberammergau production is the grandest passion play in Europe, with a cast of 1,800 actors and singers, including half the village population, with actors ranging in age from 3 years old to 90 years of age. The play is performed for one month, and recently was shortened from seven to five hours in length. The article claims that most passion plays are riddled with anti-semitism. However, in recent years, efforts have been made, mostly by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), to reduce anti-semitic content in the play. This year, the producers have promised to revise the play. But since it was all done in German, the author said the audience had no way of knowing if this was true, but felt that the Jews were still portrayed as the “bad guys.”