We’ve got mail – from missionary Shani Ferguson

Posted by Jewish Israel

Last Friday, Jewish Israel received an email response from Shani Sorko Ram Ferguson of yeshuaisrael.com in reaction to our posting, “The Anti-Semitic "Messianic" Apple doesn’t Fall Far from the Tree”. In that posting we link to an excerpt of one of Shani’s video blog postings which smears Orthodox Jewry.

Shani is the daughter of Tel Aviv missionaries Ari and Shira Sorko Ram of Maoz Israel, and the granddaughter of the late Pentecostal evangelist leader, Gordon Lindsay of Christ for the Nations.

You can read what Shani wrote to us, followed by Jewish Israel’s response....more

“Pray for Larry Derfner”: Israel’s ambassador for Jesus

Posted by Jewish Israel

The lawsuit filed by the Nachalat Yeshua Messianic congregation against Beersheba Chief Rabbi Yehuda Deri and counter-missionary organization Yad L'Achim, went to trial on June 10th.

With the messianic community seemingly short on evidence, calls and abundant prayers went out to Larry Derfner -the Jerusalem Post columnist who brought us Jesus for Jews in a feature article four months ago.

Jewish Israel reports on how Larry Derfner has become a major cog in the messianic persecution PR machine. Last Friday the Jerusalem Post’s Up Front magazine had a two-page spread by Derfner on missionary Eddie Beckford from Arad. Beckford is under house arrest for a brutal assault against a Jewish man. A video of the beating, which also includes Beckford’s attempt to run over Jewish protestors, can be viewed here. Derfner elevates a thug awaiting trial, and transforms him into a victim and a hero.

What drives Larry – an atheist – to collaborate with missionaries? This is a must read report

UPDATE: The last week in June (just prior to his Jerusalem Post feature),Larry Derfner made the cover of The Messianic Times . The interview has since been taken offline. The introductory paragraphs of the feature story seem to indicate that Larry had "changed his mind" about messianics....hmmmm...(or perhaps "duh!" is more appropriate under the circumstances)

Praying To A non-god

I'm already pooped out on the pope's visit here. Israel's Chanel One TV has been showing the Catholic pope and Eurovision ad nauseum. So this afternoon, I put my copy of The Sting in the DVD. After that I popped out to the local movie club* and watched Sunset Boulevard. Maybe tomorrow I should watch our Star Wars Trilogy.

I'm a Jew and I worship only One G-d, HaKodesh Baruch Hu. It's the first mitzvah of the Ten Commandments.

"I am the Lord your G-d, Who has taken you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery"
"You shall have no other gods but me"
"You shall not take the name of your Lord in vain"

No confusion. What amazes me is the excitement the visit this goyishe religious leader has caused. Davka Roman Catholics? Since when have they done anything for the Jews?

I think I'm going to take a sabbatical from the news for the week. All one hears about here is pope, pope, pope and more pope.

I found Rabbi Lau's complaint rather ironic:

"A few points were missing in the pope's address," said Lau. "There was no mention of the Germans, or Nazis, who carried out the massacre. There was not a word of sharing the grief or of compassion or pain for the six million victims."
"Instead of the word 'murdered,' as the previous pope John Paul II used," Lau continued, Benedict XVI used the word 'killed.' There is a very clear difference between the two verbs," the former chief rabbi stressed.

How can he complain about the pope's words and ignore the terminology used in Yad Veshem? "Perished" is even worse than "killed."

I'm going to have to work hard to keep myself entertained this week, since Jerusalem is all jammed up, so that the roads will be empty for the pope. Now, I'm curious. Does any other country do this to its innocent civilians?

*a small group of friends