T. Belman. I happened to sit next to one such missionary at the King David. He was not the only such person there. . He proudly introduced himself as Jew who found Jesus 30 years ago. I told him that it is his right to switch religions but I didn’t want to hear about it. Needless to say that ended the conversation. I am surprised to learn that there are in excess of 30,000 of them in Jerusalem
Arieh King referred them as “Messianic Jews”. For my part they no longer have the right to be called Jews.
The focus of missionary activity in Israel, although forbidden by law, is Jerusalem.
By Adina Kutnicki, INN 5.7.23
In the Biblical book of Ecclesiastes (one of the Ketuvim), Kohelet in Hebrew, many pearls of wisdom from King Solomon are to be found. For time immemorial.
One such gem is as relevant today, as it was when composed.
“What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing new under the sun.”
For centuries, Christian Missionaries have been (and still are) waging a spiritual battle for Jewish souls; engaging in a non-stop campaign to target as many Jews (worldwide) as possible for conversion to a Messianic form of Christianity. They view it as their ultimate ‘divine’ mission.
Akin to all matters of maximum, intrinsic value, there is always a central locus point – a power center, if you will. As such, for Christian Missionaries, the be all and end all is Jerusalem, namely, Holy Zion.
In light of the above statutory crime against the Jewish people, it must be asserted, here and now, for the record:
In Israel it’s legal to express a person’s world view, including religious beliefs, even if they are not accepted by the majority of the public. The exception to this rule is what is known in Israel as the “Missionary Law”. The “law” is actually composed of two separate sections of the Israeli criminal code; the first, section 174 of the Penal Code – 1977, forbids a person to proselytize another to change his religion by means of material benefit. The second, section 368 of the Penal Code, forbids persuading or encouraging a minor (under the age of 18) to change his religion. This law also forbids to conduct any ceremony for a minor to change religion, without the consent of both parents.
In this regard, the following (recent) report continues to send shivers up this spine – just like a toxic bout of deja vu.
As excerpted (June 27, 2023) within “Missionaries target Orthodox Jews in Jerusalem and meet success, says deputy Mayor“:
The Christian missionaries operate not only among assimilated Jews, but also within the religious communities, King said, adding that over 30,000 Israelis were converted.
In an interview with Israel National News (INN), Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem Arieh King discussed Christian missionaries’ claims of success in converting tens of thousands of Jewish Israelis to believers in Christ, including from the religious Zionist community.
King said that at the Pentecost 2023 event that took place outside the Temple Mount on May 28, he and some others who were with him spoke to a man named Chad Holland, a Messianic Jew in Jerusalem, who said that there are approximately 20-30,000 others like him in Israel.
“He added that there are many more who have not revealed that they accepted Jesus as their leader and as their idol, and they do it in hiding,” King told INN.
“He also said that they operate within the religious communities in Jerusalem. This is something that was revealed to us for the first time.”
The urgent question becomes: How can this be, most especially, under the enshrined criminal code against Messianic (Islamic, too) soul-snatching?
Not only that, in reference to the opening Solomonic proverb, as well as to the “we will get to that” messaging, consider the following as prima facie evidence of what transpires when the authorities turn deaf, dumb, and blind to this ‘crime of all crimes’, penal codes, be damned.
Back in 2014, when recruited to investigate the scourge of pedophilia plaguing Jerusalem (and surrounding communities…exposed and analyzed in devastating detail within, “The silent threat to haredi children’s safety in Israel” and related pieces), what was supposed to last a few months in duration morphed into a six-year long investigation! Betwixt and between, there were successes and failures. Highs and lows. But it was within this pendulum of wreckage that an additional layer of criminality emerged and was unveiled.
As excerpted within, “Israel’s Missionary Problem: Its Nexus to Pedophilia“:
Much to this writer’s shock and horror, it was after many months of ‘hunting and digging’ that a main nexus emerged within the developed information and the intelligence gleaned: The (once) hidden crime of pedophilia in Israel is immeasurably and inextricably linked to Missionary activities – most tellingly, within Jerusalem!
……
Apart from a barely spoken about Missionary crisis within Israel, there are deeply hidden secrets within several ‘schools’, and they are plagued with sexual abuse…those who ran the program are themselves ‘former’ Missionaries, supposedly, living as Jews in Israel. A straight-line nexus.
More specifically, the female head of the (now defunct) ‘conversion’ program is a so-called ‘convert’ to Judaism and a ‘former’ Missionary from Mississippi……
When will this madness end? This discomfiting, sickening feeling is not so much directed against the Missionaries – for they view themselves as “soldiers for Jesus” and will never stop, that is, unless thrown out of the country with the gates permanently shut for re-entry after a lengthy stint in a padded cell. It is aimed towards a monstrous failure of leadership in the political-security arenas, whereby, both sides have a sworn duty to safeguard and preserve Jewish existence in our Homeland.
On the one hand, Islamic jihadis send their “love notes” via explosions – here, there, and everywhere in between. Not hard to miss. But just as incendiary are the stealthy spiritual bombs targeting Jews for their souls; a no less deadly weapon. For once the Jewish soul is extinguished, more than likely, it is lost forever, and stuck in the darkness for eternity.
To reiterate, as many times as it takes: What are our leaders going to do, if anything, about the many thousands of Missionaries who operate with impunity and out in the open, in legal parlance, in plain view – thus, giving the authorities no credence, daring them to execute their legal and moral duties!?
No time to lose.
Adina Kutnicki is an investigative journalist, living in Israel since 2008. Her work concentrates on militant Islamic jihad and its western knock-on effects as well as uncovering missionary efforts and pedophilia in Israel. She is the co-author of BANNED: How Facebook Enables Militant Islamic Jihad, She blogs at: Adina Kutnicki, A Zionist & Conservative Blog (www.adinakutnicki.com).
I would rather have peaceful “Jews for Jesus” in my country than Muslims. One will try to inform you that Jesus came to save our souls and that God loves us and the other just wants our heads chopped off and our women raped.
No brainer.
I agree with Ted. As a matter of common courtesy, no one should inflict their views, beliefs, or dogmas on anyone else without at least first obtaining tacit approval to proceed. “The Great Commission” doesn’t give Christians the right to be obnoxious.
Now, about “missionaries”… The word applies to someone who is not native to the country where they are actively proselytizing. In this context, the country that they have entered has the right, if not the responsibility, to grant or deny entry, based on the proposed activity. Since proselytizing, is a sensitive issue, the government of Israel should have strict policies to regulate entry for such activities. I’d be surprised if they didn’t.
If, on the other hand, the “missionaries” spoken of here are actually native-born, naturalized citizens, or legal residents, then the proper term to apply is actually “evangelist”. Since Israel is a democracy which grants a wide range of individual freedoms to all of its citizens, it is hard to see how evangelical activities could be lawfully curtailed. Laws against evangelical proselytizing would have to apply to everyone, of all faiths, equally.
As a practical matter, proselytizers should, above all, observe laws of common courtesy. Keep it to yourself unless the person or the situation calls for it. Ted’s reply (above) was perfect.
Indeed, “There is nothing new under the sun”. In 30 AD, Jesus was convicted by the religious authorities of, essentially, “spreading disinformation”. Now, 2000 years later, his followers are being persecuted for the same offense.
A friend of my daughter recently was released by his Muslim captors, after 6½ years of captivity and torture. His crime? He was a Christian and an aid worker. His kidnappers went into a neighboring country to abduct him. Hundreds of miles away, my niece, meanwhile, in an unrelated incident, died of a fever in primitive conditions and was buried thousands of miles from home, leaving a husband and two very young children, while translating the Bible to be read by their neighbors in their own language. In Israel, of course, this would be called a “crime”.
Jesus was crucified for his “crime”, and we are completing his work.
Shalom shalom.
Jews should not have to worry about missionaries if they were have as active teaching Jews about their Jewish faith. Instead of worrying about losing your soul, which is probably not an outcome of listening to missionaries, let this be a message from above that maybe we’re not doing enough to make Judaism inviting and spiritually uplifting. I was never told about the Torah promise to Jews in which Hashem promises we will have eternal life. That’s the main gimic the missionaries use, that JC promises eternal life. How many jews know the Torah promise? Sunday school for me was extremely horrifying and depressing as my main takeaway, after years in elementary Sunday School, was that we have always been tortured, subjugated and genocided. That’s what being a Jew meant to me and I got mad and quit Sunday School. The only fun part I remember was Purim. Please, can we do a better job passing along the faith and not make it a faith based on previous suffering and now a matter of learning a bunch of laws one needs to follow?
The criminality forbidden by the missionary laws should remain as an actively criminal offense. The lack of interest in prohibiting missionaries within the state is very disturbing.