Sunday, June 22, 2008

"Messianic Jews" In Israel: The Right To Convert Jews

In an article about an attempt to use a bomb in a package to kill a "Messianic Jew", it is apparent that matters are only going to get worse.

On the one hand, open attempts to convert Jews would seem to be discouraged:
Proselytizing is strongly discouraged in Israel, a state that was established for a people that suffered centuries of persecution for not accepting Jesus and has little tolerance for missionary work.

At the same time, Israel has warm relations with U.S. evangelical groups, which strongly support its cause, but these generally refrain from proselytizing inside Israel. Even the Mormon church, which has mission work at its core worldwide, agreed when it opened a campus in Jerusalem to refrain from missionary activity.
On the other hand, converting Jews is seen by some as their right:
Lawyer Dan Yakir of the Association for Civil Rights in Israel says the law allows missionaries to preach provided they don't offer gifts or money or go after minors.

"It is their right according to freedom of religion to maintain their religious lifestyle and disseminate their beliefs, including through literature," he said.
Apparently, someone forgot about the rights of the other guy.

Technorati Tag: .

at

2 comments:

  1. Anonymous2:55 AM

    Inaccurate title for your post here, since (1) Christians do not believe people can convert anyone (only that the God can), we just can only share the message and pray, (2) "proselytizing" (evangelism) is only sharing the message, i.e., speech.

    People talk to us about ideas we're not interested in all the time, and we have the right to not listen, to rebut, to say thanks but no thanks, to ignore, etc. The reaction to this bombing is very disappointing, sickening really.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Daled Amos9:40 AM

    Cindy,

    You are right. I was basing myself on the word 'disseminate', which is a neutral word.

    By the same token, in the context of spreading word about their religion among Jews who have been the target of forced conversions by the Church through history--disseminating information among Jews shows a high degree of insensitivity to say the least.

    The lawyer is right--they do have the right to disseminate, just as the Nazis had the right to march through Skokie, and to a Jew, the 2 are not altogether dissimilar.

    Also, let us not kid ourselves, there are Christian groups who take a special interest in converting Jews and there are cases of attempts to approach elderly people or others who are especially susceptible.

    That the bombing is wrong goes without saying. I imagine there are many that are torn between the heinous nature of the bombing and the threat and unease caused by people who call themselves Messianic 'Jews'

    ReplyDelete

Comments on Daled Amos are not moderated, but if they are exceedingly long, abusive, or are carbon copies that appear over half the blogosphere, they will be removed.