HOLY LAND - Israeli Jews finding Jesus the Messiah
24/05/05 Messianic Jews receive support from their neighbours, despite opposition from anti-missionary groups
Messianic Jews are a tiny 0.1% of the population in Israel, but they are causing enough of a stir that the Haredi (extreme Orthodox Jews) are pushing through anti-conversion laws banning the preaching of the Gospel of Yeshua ha-Mashiakh (Jesus the Messiah).
Discovering Yeshua ha-Mashiakh has given many immigrants, mostly from Russia, a sense of identity and belonging and an understanding of their Jewish heritage – much of which had been discarded and buried under communist rule.
Lydia said: “I was despised and ostracised for being a Jew when I was growing up in Russia. Then I came here to Israel, and Christians were honouring me and wanting me to pray for and bless them – just because I was a Jew. I could hardly believe it! It made me search out the claims of Yeshua ha-Mashiakh, and He has changed my life.”
Meanwhile, the minority population of ultra-orthodox Jews – who hold considerable power in government – is also growing, in part because of the large number of children they tend to have.
Unable to push anti-conversion laws through the Knesset so far, some ultra-orthodox Jews do all they can to prevent the Gospel of Yeshua as the Messiah being preached. Some have formed an anti-missionary league known as Yad Lachim whose purpose is to battle Christian evangelistic activity in the land. Messianic Jews have lost their homes, had difficulty finding employment, been heckled by mobs and have been on the receiving end of public campaigns warning people against them.
Maala, a Messianic believer, explained however that the average Israeli is supportive and wants them to be able to practise their faith in peace. She relates: “When we moved house, our neighbours were upset because they had enjoyed our monthly open-air services so much. They even used to invite friends over to come and watch our meetings.”
Marianna’s photograph was put on posters across the city by members of Yad Lachim, warning people against her. However, she received a lot of support from neighbours following the incident:
“The posters warned people against me and said, ‘Don’t talk to her: she is a missionary’. One lady was so upset for me, that she went around with a file scraping the posters away. I have had a sea of support from neighbours, people I meet in the shops etc.”
“I am not an evangelist or a missionary, and I never make the first move to talk to others about my faith; but since the poster campaign, many people have asked what I believe and what I do. It has given me a lot of opportunities to share my faith.”
Maala concurred: “We had people from Yad Lachim outside our home taking photographs and shouting abuse. After that, we received many invitations to coffee and dinner because people wanted to know what it was all about.
“We also often get spies in the congregation, paid by Yad Lachim to visit; but I am delighted for them to come and hear the Word of the Lord.”
However, others go through a much tougher time, as Marianna explained:
“One family in our congregation used to have a house-group in their home. Yad Lachim sent spies to the house-group and reported them to the Ministry of the Interior who then reversed their citizenship. They consider that if you are a Messianic Jew you are no longer Jewish: you have converted and are therefore ineligible to settle in Israel.
“The husband has been stuck in a refugee camp in Germany for three years now, unable to get citizenship. The family have suffered terribly.”
However, Maala explained that, despite these experiences, they are not in general experiencing the difficulties that many congregations in Israel suffer from: “As a congregation we have a lot of freedom and opportunities, but things could change very quickly. Once we start our outreach campaign, members of the congregation could have their tyres slashed or be evicted from their rented homes. We will very likely get adverse press publicity.”
Maala also explained that it is illegal to share Christian beliefs with children and teenagers. The web of terror that entraps much of the Jewish population is two-fold: one is the fear of losing their lives to suicide bombers, and the other is a fear of Christians who want to ‘steal their souls’ and the souls of their children. Much of this fear is rooted in their deep awareness of past persecution by ‘Christians’ in the Crusades, the ‘pogroms’ in Russia, and the Holocaust.
For this reason, Maala’s congregation want their Christianity to have a Jewish flavour. Maala explains: “We don’t celebrate Christmas, although individuals may well do. We also don’t have any crosses in our building or call ourselves ‘Christians’.
“Seventy per cent of our congregation are Russian immigrants who were Jewish in name only as they weren’t allowed to practise their faith under the communist regime. So we encourage them to learn more about their Jewish roots.
“We celebrate Shabbat [the Saturday Sabbath], teach people how to conduct Passover celebrations, practise circumcision, and celebrate the important rites of passage such as bat and bar mitzvahs. Our weddings are Jewish in style, with the couple getting married under a canopy – the khuppah.”
The congregation also have a strong focus on reconciliation whether it is between Jew and Gentile or Jews and Arabs. They work closely with Musalaha, a well-established reconciliation ministry based in Jerusalem:
“If God has called you to be a part of His people, it doesn’t mean you have to forget who you are – whether you are a Jew or an Arab. We want to support each other, build relationships with Arab brothers and sisters – both Israeli and Palestinian Arabs – and affirm them in who they are.”
Open Doors resources and supports Christians under pressure throughout the world, and they work closely with Messianic Jews and with Palestinian and Israeli Arab Christians, by supplying Bibles, providing vocational and pastoral training and fostering reconciliation.
For more information, call Open Doors on 01993 885400, email info@opendoorsuk.org or go to the UK website at www.opendoorsuk.org.
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Open Doors strengthens persecuted Christians in over 45 countries across the world by
1. Training Church leaders and Christian workers
2. Supplying Bibles, hymnals, Sunday School materials and other Christian literature
3. Providing livelihood training and self-help opportunities
4. Visiting, comforting and encouraging those who are suffering
5. Raising awareness of the difficulties persecuted Christians face and mobilising prayer for them throughout the western world.
For other articles/press releases on the Persecuted Church, go to:
http://www.opendoorsuk.org.uk/press/articles/
http://www.opendoorsuk.org.uk/press/releases/
http://www.opendoorsuk.org/media_photos/world_watch_list_pics/html/index.htm