On the Shabbat of May 3rd, Jews of all persuasions attended a prayer vigil in protest of a Jehovah's Witnesses event being held at a sports arena in Ra’anana. After attempts to stop the event failed in an Israeli court, it was reported that thousands of demonstrators, religious and secular alike, staged a mass protest to voice their opposition to the proselytizing sect's activities.
The "Witnesses" are a christ-centered missionary sect
with many millions of adherents world-wide.
The anti- assimilation organizationYad l'Achim told JewishIsrael that
of the estimated 2500 Jehovah's Witnesses adherents residing in Israel,
approximately half of those are Jewish Israelis who were converted to
Christianity by the sect. As of two years ago, the "Witnesses"
claimed to have grown to 23 congregations in Israel.
The press
reports leading up to the event, including accounts of the various decisions
rendered in the Israeli courts, were a source of confusion. Some articles
placed an emphasis on concerns of baptisms, proselytizing and offending Jewish sensitivities,
while others placed a focus on the matters of "freedom of religion and ritual" and contractual obligations.
JewishIsrael investigated
the background behind the provocative missionary group and their activities in
Israel and conducted interviews with Yad L'Achim, as well as community
activists and concerned citizens who were present at the protest.....more
5 comments:
To add to the tzoros, the leftist Birthright group has added a new addition called 'Christian Birthright' trips. How low can they go?
a, who's funding it?
Ellen, thanks so much for including Shiloh Musings in your important campaign.
Anonymous, The "Christian Birthright" development is not associated with Taglit Birthright, although the organizers claim to have drawn their inspiration from that movement (this according to press reports). It is a program being sponsored by evangelicals and not affiliated with the political left.
Thank you, Batya. But JewishIsrael is not my campaign. I work with a great team of concerned Jews including activists, educators, rabbis and former missionaries
I think we need to change semantics. Everyone speaks about Xtians "converting Jews". There are those from VOI who bluntly ask this question and those Xtians will reply this isn't so. In Their semantics this is true. As with Jewish texts they have changed the meaning and intent of the word "Conversion". No longer does it have the meaning of "believer". Now it has the connotation of force, such as in times past. They will admit they cannot "convert anyone". Instead the person has to come to it themselves. They are still aggressive in their pursuit for Jews to "accept Jsus as their savior", but Not by conversion. They would consider Conversion as something that is abandoned, and Now Xtianity is "supposed" to be 'Judaism enhanced'.
Therefore, the terminology needs to conform to bring honesty in Xtian dialog. When a host asks a Xtian leader if his aim is to "convert Jews" he is allowing the Xtian to be devious in his answer. All one has to do is look at the comments By Xtians and they will say "we don't want to [convert] Jews".
I'm unsure what the best method of asking would be but using the word "conversion" should be eliminated from the vocabulary. This should include Not only in direct conversations but also in the written word, articles or whatever. Maybe a question such as "Are you lending support or making efforts to [lead] Jews to Xhrist". Since they DO use the words "to lead" it may have some impact. In other words WE NEED to FORCE them to be honest.
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