During the week covered by this review, we received 3 articles on the following subjects:
Anti-Missionary Activity
Anti-Semitism
Archaeology
Anti-Missionary Activity
Hamekomon Kiryat Gat, August 10, 2018
Lawyer Guy Ofir sued Google after his daughters were exposed to religious missionary advertisements while watching cartoons on YouTube. The two parties came to a settlement, according to which Google will restrict such material to audiences older than 18. It is reported that a 10-year-old boy was exposed to an ad that included visuals of the crucifixion of Jesus while watching YouTube. The ad showed the hammering of nails into the hands of Jesus and the pouring out of blood. The boy’s father said: “My son was in great distress. He returned time and again to the images and his mental state was troubled. It took us a while to recover.” Furthermore, two children from Ashkelon who were exposed to the material were convinced to go to the beach to get baptized. Their parents have filed an official complaint with the police and the incident is being investigated. These ads were produced by www.igod.co.il, a missionary organization with the goal of spreading the Christian Bible and faith. The ads included graphic illustrations, intentionally tempting young children who do not know how to click away.
Anti-Semitism
Miskar, July 31, 2018
Over 1,000 leaders and religious personnel have signed a petition calling United States Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, to man the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat anti-Semitism – an office which former Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, had emptied of all personnel. The petition read: “Violent attacks are increasing worldwide, some of them even lethal, against Jews and Jewish institutions.” Amongst the petition’s signatories were rabbis from all streams of Judaism, hundreds of Christian leaders, including Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the Archbishop of New York. The petition is meant to remind the current Secretary of State that monitoring anti-Semitism was approved by Congress and is required by law.
Archaeology
Haaretz, August 16, 2018
The Caesarea port “is undergoing a surge of development, the likes of which haven’t been seen since King Herod’s days.” The Baroness Ariane de Rothchild has personally overseen the development of the site, with the goal of making it “one of the leading sites for historical tourism.” The article gave a history of Caesarea, detailing its various phases of occupation, and reported that with 700,000 visitors a year, the site currently ranks alongside Masada as the most popular tourist destination requiring a fee. Vered Sarig, director of the port, is of the opinion that the number will only increase. She also claimed that next year, upon completion of the work, “we will be able to compete with the Acropolis in Athens.” The restoration plan contains 26 points of interest, including the aqueduct, the Herodian wall, and the vaults. The exposed site visitors see today encompasses only 6% of the ancient city. The other 94% remains underground, and includes a massive theatre which seats 25,000 people, “dwarfing the current amphitheater with its 3,000 seats.”