Rabbi Riskin Breaks Theological Ground in Jerusalem

Posted by Jewish Israel

Today and Tomorrow, Ohr Torah Stone’s Center for Jewish Christian Understanding and Cooperation (CJCUC) in Efrat is sponsoring an interfaith theological conference and exploring the subjects of, “Covenant, Mission and Conversion” at the Van Leer Institute in Jerusalem.

While it's being billed as a "first" international conference which introduces "groundbreaking material" and "new research", Rabbi Riskin previously sponsored an identical conference at Yale last year, with the same speakers and papers being used. Jewish Israel's reports about that conference are available in both English and Hebrew and are certainly worth reviewing at this time.

Representatives from Jewish Israel will be at the Van Leer conference today and tomorrow and we will keep our readership informed of developments… more

Rabbi Riskin on messianics and Tisha b' Av with CUFI

Posted by Jewish Israel

Now there arose new rabbis in Israel who knew not the Rav…Part 1:
The guidelines pertaining to interfaith discussions, dialogue, debate and worship which Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik set forth some 46 years ago remain relevant today, and still stand as the halacha on interfaith relations for the Modern Orthodox world. And yet a number of Orthodox rabbis and Torah observant leaders are engaging in interfaith activities (including worship), and forging theologically-based alliances which appear to be challenging basic Jewish tradition and are out sync with those guidelines set by Rabbi Soloveitchik.

Jewish Israel reviews recent unsettling events - like Tisha b'Av worship with CUFI and interfaith dialogue on the trinity - and asks, “would the Rav approve?”...more

Are messianics missionaries? We asked the experts:
The August print edition of the Jerusalem Post Christian Edition has an article by Rabbi Shlomo Riskin entitled “the Messianic movement”. Rabbi Riskin seems to feel that messianic Christians, for the most part, do not have a missionizing agenda and want to “practice their faith” in peace.

Jewish Israel showed a number of counter-missionary professionals excerpts from Rabbi Riskin’s article and drew quite a response...more

A kosher alert about a treif product
In their latest creative campaign the Baltimore chapter of Jews for Judaism exposes the hypocrisy of the messianic movement in an animation posted on YouTube which asks, “In this day and age…can pigs EVER be kosher?” The cartoon pig is depicted as cute and friendly and the overall presentation is thoughtful and clearly educational in a very Jewish way.

But in today’s world even generic and benign cartoons can inflame passions and illicit strong reactions. So Jewish Israel asked Jews for Judaism’s Ruth Guggenheim if the organization expected any flak from the PC crowd over this presentation?...more

And you thought replacement theology was dead:
Maoz Israel is a $2,500,000 plus enterprise based in Israel which targets Jews for conversion, propagates "messianic judaism", and has an incredible disdain for Orthodox Jewry. This past Tisha b’Av, their blog encouraged "friends" not to fast with the Jewish people but for them...

(Excerpt): "Many Jews will be fasting, as a sign of mourning over the destructionof the Temples. But we at Maoz encourage our friends around the world, to fast not with the Israeli people, but for them. To fast that the nation would see that we are the Temple of God! We are the Body of Messiah, the LORD now lives in us!...":

[Note: MaozIsrael programs are endorsed by several evangelical leaders who serve as regional directors and executive board members of CUFI (Christians United for Israel)....more

Jewish Israel gives presentation at Jerusalem Rabbinic Conference

Posted by Jewish Israel


On February 11th, Jewish Israel participated in a rabbinic conference held in Jerusalem on the topic of “Activities of Christian organizations and Evangelicals in Israel”.

The conference was organized by Rabbis Elchanan Bin Nun of Shiloh, Gidon Perl of Alon Shevut, and Elyakim Levanon of Elon Moreh. A wide range of rabbinic leaders from across Israel attended the conference, and a number of representatives from the Council of Young Israel and the Rabbinical Council of America were also present.

The aim of the conference was to present the rabbinic establishment with an overview of the challenges we face as a result of the burgeoning Israel-evangelical relationship. The ultimate goal is to strengthen halachic guidelines and to set clear and accountable boundaries vis a vis Israel’s dealings with the Gentile community.

The conference was closed to the press per the organizer’s request.

Jewish Israel’s Rabbinic Director Rabbi Dr. Sholom Gold and our Rabbinic and Academic Advisor Rabbi Dr. Jeffrey Woolf were among the featured speakers.

Jewish Israel’s Public Relations Director Shulamit Leibler gave a comprehensive powerpoint presentation which illustrated the magnitude and complexity of the challenges we face due to growing evangelical influence in every sector of Israeli society...more

ALSO...

Missionary Stearns to participate in 7th Annual Jerusalem Conference: Rev. Dr. Robert Stearns – an evangelical who is actively promoting a messianic Christian revival in Israel and is supporting missionaries in Israel – has been invited as a panelist for a plenary session scheduled for Wednesday February 17th as part of the 7th Annual Jerusalem Conference. Israeli members of government, Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon and Minister of Science and Technology Daniel Hershkowitz , are among those sitting on the panel with Stearns. Jewish Israel gives an overview of some of Robert Stearns' evangelistic activities directed at the Jewish State …more

AND...

COMING SOON: Jewish Israel Reviews Rabbi Riskin’s Lecture
Recently Rabbi Shlomo Riskin of Efrat gave lectures in Jerusalem and Efrat respectively on the topic of "Jewish-Christian Dialogue, is it permissible? If so, is it desirable?". Representatives from Jewish Israel attended the lecture held in Jerusalem and took notes. We received an unedited audio tape and have forwarded that along with our initial impressions to our rabbinic director and academic advisors for their review. We should be posting our full commentary in the coming days...more

Statement from Rabbi Shlomo Riskin and Reaction by Rabbi Sholom Gold

Posted by Jewish Israel

BREAKING NEWS : A response by Rabbi Riskin now on YouTube

Earlier today Jewish Israel received an email from Elie Klein of the public relations agency Ruder Finn Israel.

The email entitled: STATEMENT FROM RABBI SHLOMO RISKIN REGARDING YOUTUBE VIDEO - DECEMBER 30, 2009 can be read here.

Ruder Finn Israel is “the leading full-service strategic marketing consultancy and public relations agency in Israel” and their current and past clients include leading government agencies, Hi-Tech companies, and such organizations and institutions as Yeshiva University, Nefesh B’Nefesh, the International Christian Embassy (ICEJ), the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews(IFCJ), and Global Evangelism Television (Pastor John Hagee).

Jewish Israel’s Rabbinic Advisor viewed the YouTube video and read Rabbi Riskin’s statement. Rabbi Gold had this to say:

“While recent clarification from Rabbi Riskin is welcome on this matter, I remain concerned. Rabbi Riskin’s consistently radical statements and ambiguous positions on interfaith dialogue and endeavors can be misinterpreted by both Jews and Christians and manipulated and twisted to fit the agendas of those who are trying to undermine the foundations of the Jewish faith and wreak confusion among our people.

Furthermore, it would be advisable for Rabbi Riskin to steer clear of mixing politics, history and Christian theological issues together with what is clearly a halachic matter. I imagine Rabbi Riskin’s revered teacher Rav Yoseph B. Soloveitchik, z”l would have been greatly distressed over the crossing of theological lines between faith communities which is currently taking place under the pretense of an Israel-evangelical alliance.” ----Rabbi Dr. Sholom Gold

Jewish Israel will continue to keep our readership posted on this issue...more

No Christmas War in Israel

Posted by Jewish Israel

No Christmas War in Israel:
While “the War on Christmas” rages in America, secular Israelis – on a government level – have no problem stepping on Jewish sensitivities in the Jewish State. Official declarations of “Merry Christmas”, “Season’s Greetings”, and “Happy New Year “ are ringing forth from Jerusalem, and all of the state’s apparatchiks seem to be getting into the act this season.

But it’s not just a problem with secular officials, as the Torah observant are no longer shunning the subject and Jesus and Christmas. Jewish Israel notes that the Aish.com site appears to have been hacked by Santa’s elves and we’ve just posted yet another rather “christmassy” video of Rabbi Riskin.

Take a look at how secular and religious Jews in Israel ring in the season…more

Guide for Those Perplexed over ICEJ’s Feast

Posted by Jewish Israel
“Israel's largest annual tourism event” may be a virtual “Feast” for Jewish eyes, but it’s a full blown Jesus Fest for its evangelical participants – and that presents the Jewish state with a very real problem.

Can we welcome evangelizing Christian Pilgrims and allow them to worship here without contravening the halacha and compromising our very souls?

Also, Jewish Israel has posted an excerpt of a new related video with Rabbi Riskin.
Is Rabbi Riskin suggesting that G-d's Brit Bein He'Betarim (Covenant Between the Parts) between G-d and Abraham had the Christians in mind from the outset?

Read Jewish Israel's report and members can participate in our forum on this issue...more

The Kosher Christian Controversy

Posted by Jewish Israel
a half-baked case:
Should a Jewish convert to Christianity be trusted with matters of kashrut? The Chief Rabbinate said “no”. The secular Supreme Court of Israel – which in recent years, has been telling the Israeli Rabbinate how to keep kosher - said “yes”.
This issue of apostasy is sure to cause major controversy and confusion as halachic authorities and the secular courts clash. Rabbi Tovia Singer of Outreach Judaism gave Jewish Israel – and the media - a hand in defining just who is not a Jew...more

An update on the Rabbi Riskin report

A day after Jewish Israel posted a controversial video clip of Rabbi Riskin, and filed a report on some of his contentious interfaith theological endeavors, Israel National News asked Rabbi Riskin for a response.

Jewish Israel would like to thank INN’s Hillel Fendel for taking the initiative to follow-up on our concerns and findings with his own very thorough report on Arutz 7’s English site. And we are pleased that Rabbi Riskin took the time to respond and expound on his positions. We also appreciate Rabbi Riskin’s retraction of the term “resurrect” and his admission that, “It was definitely the wrong choice of words and I should have not said it.”

Rabbi Riskin’s explanation not only validates Jewish Israel’s concerns, but it also prompts further questions - and it leaves a lot of issues unresolved. Jewish Israel will continue to report on this matter and will keep you informed of developments.

The full version of the ICEJ Ministry of Comfort video can be seen online in a number of locations – including the ICEJ site.