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MaozIsrael
r e p o r t
September 2008
Elul - Tishrei 5768
Since 1976
Founded by Ari & Shira Sorko-Ram
The headline reads,
“Baptizing Cult”. The
darkened picture is meant
to portray us as weird
and secretive.
Israeli Journalist Infiltrates
Tiferet Yeshua Congregation
By Shira Sorko-Ram
L
ast May, an Israeli journalist was handed a flyer in
Tel Aviv about Yeshua the
Messiah of Israel. Jews for Jesus conducted a major campaign with many IsBy mail: Maoz Ministries
By phone:
raelis and foreign volunteers spreading
out across the country to give Israelis a
chance to ask questions about faith in
Yeshua.
Today, the number of Israeli Messianic Jews is increasing at a much faster
rate than ever before. In fact, many
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favorable articles have been written at
face value concerning the presence and
lives of the Messianic Community in
Israel. (See page 10)
However, the editors of Yediot Aharonot, Israel’s largest paper, fighting to
keep its readership, is always looking for
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MaozIsrael Report september 2008
weird, repulsive and frightening stories. Yediot has remained
in first place by evolving into a full-blown tabloid; its number
one goal is to sell newspapers at all costs. With that in mind, their journalist Tehiya Barak set off
with a goal to infiltrate a Messianic Jewish congregation in
Tel Aviv. She picked our congregation, Tiferet Yeshua.
She arrived while Ari and I were in Germany, and began
making friends among the congregation’s young people. She
attended a number of times until a few days ago, when Ari
received a rather unpleasant phone call from one of the editors at Yediot. He began by accusing us of “converting to
Christianity” under-age kids without their parent’s permission – illegal in Israel.
Three days later, (on 08.08.08), a vicious, twisted article
of nine solid pages (24 type-written pages) came out in their
weekend magazine which has very wide coverage. The article was designed to scare the public – to prove that Messianic Jews are dangerous, law-breaking, mystical misfits.
(Thirteen years ago this same paper wrote an even uglier
article about a national youth conference we held at a kibbutz in the north of Israel. It claimed we were abducting
children without their parents’ knowledge and attempting to
convince them to leave their Jewish heritage and convert to
Christianity – an accusation which could have brought a jail
sentence. Several times we showed the police the permission slips that each parent had signed to allow his or her
child to attend the conference, and the police closed the case.
We took the newspaper to court and after three years they
settled out of court by writing a letter of apology that the
things they accused us of were inaccurate.)
This newspaper uses the same hate-filled rhetoric that
Hamas uses against the Jewish people, that anti-Semites
use against Jews. It caricaturizes the believers in a way that
makes us appear all-bad with no redeeming value.
So as Ari and I began our one week Maoz business trip and
two week vacation in Germany this summer, the journalist
attended her first service at Tiferet Yeshua. She was to continue her visits until the first week of August.
The tabloid cover showed a leader in our congregation
praying for a young lady. Blazened across the darkened,
eerie greenish picture (though taken in broad daylight) was
the title “The Baptizing Cult.“ We cannot reprint the whole
nine pages, but here are excerpts from her article which she
called “The Messianic Code” (Like the Bible Code).
May 25th: Penetrating the Messianic Cult
My name is Tehiya Barak [tehiya means “resurrection”],
a journalist, 28 years old, a Jew. During the past two and a
half months I wore different clothing. A flyer, one of thouNewspaper journalist (center) posing as a Messianic
Jewish believer. She brought a “friend” along who
took this picture for her newspaper.
sands that were distributed on the streets of Israel in the
framework of a campaign run by “Jews for Jesus” sent me
on a long-term journalistic mission: to infiltrate a Messianic
Jewish congregation as a sister among the minyan [group].
Because of her mindset and her mission to write a salacious article, she viewed and described everything as mystical, abnormal, occultish. She wrote about our faith as a ridiculous assortment of rituals and she spells Yeshua’s name
as “Yeshu”, the way non-believers pronounce the Messiah’s
name in Hebrew. (Yeshua’s name means “Salvation;” Yeshu
means “may his name be obliterated,” although when Israelis
use this pronunciation, they do not usually know the meaning of this acronym given by rabbinical authorities centuries
september 2008 MaozIsrael Report
ago who did not want to call him “Salvation.”)
Tehiya continues: For the duration of several long weeks
I was thrown into a parallel universe. I turned into a fervent
member of an ancient cult that combines a concoction of
faiths, symbols, and messages from various religions. Our
father Abraham with Yeshu, Old Testament with New Testament, prayer shawl with baptism, Israeli festivals with holy
bread [the Lord’s supper, editor], and also a threatening satan, who lurks at every corner and appears in the form of
man, jellyfish or evil inclination.
Much of Tehiya’s article focuses on what she calls “missionary” work, one of the most hated words in the Hebrew
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language. In the mind of the typical Israeli, a missionary is
one who lives to destroy the Jewish nation. How? By converting Jews into non-Jews, thus slowly decreasing the number of Jews in the world. For most Jews, it is still beyond
their imagination how a Jew can remain a Jew and believe
in Yeshua the Messiah. Only Christians can be a follower of
Yeshua, not Jews, in their thinking. So her constant reference
to missionary activities are buzz words which cause great
concern among the Israeli public.
Also, when journalists speak about missionary work, they
virtually always claim that the people the “missionaries” are
able to reach are those who are oppressed and downtrodden
– and thus easy catches for the missionaries. Messi-
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MaozIsrael Report september 2008
anic believers, on the other hand, will reply that only God
can change a person’s heart and make him into a new creature. People can fake it for a while, perhaps thinking they
are going to receive some material help. But when that does
not appear, the fake seeker soon goes his own way. Furthermore, the Messianic Jews of Israel stress over and
over again that Yeshua has given them the power and the
guidance to be Jews in every sense of the word, living lives
Top Left: Ari and youth leader Motti with new believer as
he is immersed in the Mediterranean Sea. bottom Left: Ari
speaking with Tehiya after the immersion. At the time she
was posing as a new believer. right: Yacov Damkani takes his
Christian volunteers to sing to the soldiers in army camps.
devoted to the God of Israel who created the Jewish people
for His own purposes. Yeshua makes it possible to fulfill
that purpose. Nevertheless, Tehiya’s descriptions are sure to
bring fear to the hearts of many. She continues:
My Sabbaths were spent in ecstatic, long prayers, and the
rest of the weekdays I dedicated to aggressive missionary
activities and internal social events of the congregation. I
won their trust, and they – slowly but surely – embraced me
into their world.
Little by little a Messianic-spiritual world was exposed
to me, which at its core lies a closed [closed?? That is an
interesting observation! editor] and embracing congregation, at times mesmerizing, which forms a warm and sheltering home with not so few people who found it difficult to
september 2008 MaozIsrael Report
find their place in Israeli society – and a moment before they
were crushed in its margins, found refuge in the bosom of Yeshu; despairing youth who had descended into crime, ultraOrthodox Jews who left their way and suffered alienation by
their families, lone soldiers, immigrants, foreign workers.
Tehiya relates that one of the Jews for Jesus members
“connects me to a congregation, ‘Tiferet Yeshua’ in southern
Tel Aviv that belongs to the ‘body of Messiah.’ The Messianic
cults have been active in Israel since the last century and
include thousands. Even though the Messianics view themselves as Jews, experts define them as a cult from the Christian world. They, from their side, maintain close connections
with Christian congregations worldwide.
Tehiya woo told by her Jews for Jesus: “this is a large
congregation, with a lot of young people and a lot of the Holy
Spirit. I am certain that you will be
happy there.” And so, within a moment, my journey begins, which by
its end I am sentenced to find myself confused and divided – Judas
Iscariot woman that I am.
Tehiya describes her first impressions of the Sabbath service at
Tiferet Yeshua Congregation: May 31st: To come apart in religious ecstasy
“Welcome, Yeshua, we invite you
to come.” I enter into the prayer hall
Left top: Tehiya passing out flyers
as she pretends to be a believer.
Left bottom: Congregants praying
together. right: Yacov Damkani
with soldiers.
5
as this song is sung in a powerful voice. On the stage there
is a keyboardist, a guitarist, three singers, a trumpeter and a
drummer. The Messianics are standing on their feet; some of
them are dancing. Everyone is singing in one accord, in religious ecstasy, with burning faith. Their hands are spread out
upwards. The words are displayed on a large screen; however, no one needs to refer to them.
All this occurs at the outskirts of the industrial area of
southern Tel Aviv. The entrance is in between two peeling
buildings. On the entrance floor is a small kiosk and adjacent to that is a gas station. In the area, such is told to
me by one of the brothers, there is also a casino and other
dubious businesses.
However, the staircase is sparkling clean. A few of the
youth in the congregation come early in the morning every
Saturday, and sweep the filth – cigarettes, syringes, hard
liquor bottles. At one stage, when passersby and members
of an ultra-Orthodox organization harassed the Messianics,
there was a security guard at the entrance. At present day,
for discretion purposes, there is not even a sign.
When one enters, the filth disappears from sight. From the
sparkling marble floor up to the ceiling, everything points to
prestige. The congregation rents the second and third floors
of the building.
I … do not know where to look first. At the elderly believer
who is dancing with great fervor, at the singer who breaks
down in the middle of the song in front of all to see weeping
bitterly, or at the barefooted, long haired youth who is closing
his eyes and singing in somewhat of a sensual intoxication.
“I want to lie at your feet, Yeshua,” implores the singer. “Allow us to feel You.”
The spiritual shepherd of the congregation, Ari Sorko-Ram,
a veteran immigrant from the U.S.A., is presently abroad. In
his absence Motti, his ‘spiritual’ son, takes front stage. He is
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MaozIsrael Report september 2008
dressed in jeans and sneakers, upon his cheek is a microphone. “Yeshua, open our eyes so that we may see You, and
our ears so that we may hear You. Allow us to feel You, here,
now, in this room,” he calls with shut eyes.
Tehiya adds: Over the course of my mission, I meet quite
a number of Messianic soldiers, some of whom arrive at the
top: A young man, once himself a drug addict, has opened a
home in downtown Tel Aviv for addicted prostitutes. The
pictures on the floor are of the prostitutes and are points
of prayer. bottom: Believers talking to soldiers.
congregation meeting in their uniforms.
Tehiya tells how she advanced her deception, sitting in
our fellowship room after our Sabbath meeting, talking to
evangelist Yacov Damkani.
For several weeks I have been attending the Messianic
congregation as one of the believers. I am in command of
the secrets of prayer, am present at the
social events, am in good contact with
most of the brothers. “To be saved, to
be evangelized, God has placed a message on my heart,” have become a part
of my vocabulary. I proved my dedication; I won the trust of the members.
Now I want to join the secret missionary assignments reserved for the
faithful.
…At the conclusion of the Sabbath prayer, I sat opposite [Yacov
Damkani] on a couch in the congregation of Messianic Jews named,
“Tiferet Yeshua” in Tel Aviv, asking
with a shaky voice to join the most
important and spiritual mission in
the eyes of believers in the cult:
evangelism of Yeshu throughout
Israel…
Damkani hesitates. He fixes an
extended look at me, penetrating,
and then proceeds with a series of
questions.
Tehiya then narrarates her madeup story to Damkani. She adds, “It
is not every day that a young Israeli requests to join the mission
field, considered horrendous in
the eyes of most residents of the
State of Israel. I find it hard to
breathe under his gaze: what will
happen if my cover story should
collapse?
She emphasizes again and
again our outreach to the lost
and she portrays it in a most
negative way.
One cannot separate the compassion of the congregation from
their objective: the spreading of
the faith, under every condition, among as many people as
possible. The Messianic representatives reach neglected
corners, at times unseen, to which the Israeli society does
not bother to direct its gaze: they distribute foodstuffs to the
poor, to terror victims and Holocaust survivors, who do not
know what they will eat tomorrow, and they speak to them
september 2008 MaozIsrael Report
7
about Yeshu; they wrap in love and holy songs drug addicted
prostitutes in a shelter for the needy which they established
in the heart of Tel Aviv; diminish the loneliness of soldiers
in training fields, with the help of songs, candies, literature,
and volunteers from abroad. The possibility of adding new
people to the faith increases amazingly after you show them
kindness.
Tehiya talks about the lifestyle of the young believers:
In the event that you are a member in the Messianic cult,
your daily routine is full. Long prayer times, gatherings that
continue long into the night, communal ‘praise’ songs, picnics, ball games on the beach.
The meeting takes place on the third floor of the building,
in a room that belongs to the youth of the congregation. On
the red wall appear large letters that the youth wrote: “Thank
you, Lord Yeshua.”
The Messianics are standing on their feet, some of them
are dancing. Everyone is singing in one accord, in religious
ecstasy. Their hands are spread out upwards. All of a sudden
the singer bursts into tears and cries, “I want to lie at your
feet, Yeshua!”
Tehiya then talks about the persecution of the believers in
Israel. She, of course, ignores the fact that articles such as
hers can cause fanatical Orthodox Jews to target the believers with violence. Thank God, there is a growing number
of fearless believers, soldiers, young people, elderly people,
lawyers, doctors, scientists, and simple beautiful citizens of
Israel who are ready to face the persecution that comes with
serving the One who gave His all to us. Here is her summary of some of the incidents of persecution that have taken
place lately:
These days are not easy for the Messianic Jews. From
time immemorial the believers have suffered harassment,
however, during the past year, they have a growing sense
that the satanic circle is closing in on them and getting
stronger. During this past March, an explosion caused severe injury to the son of a Messianic family in Ariel; two
months thereafter, in a large bonfire, recorded on photographs which shocked many, New Testament books that
were distributed by Messianic Jews were burned in Or Yehuda [translates Light of Judah]; In the meantime, the call
to cancel the traditional, annual Bible Quiz [on Israel’s day
of Independence] was on account of the participation of a
con’t. next page
young Messianic girl. [See page 10]
WHAT TEHIYA DIDN’T SAY ABOUT US !
government of Israel, although willing to take government
grants.
In a nation that suffers from severe corruption in the
government, ultra-Orthodox politicians headed up by
rabbinical authorities have been role models of corruption
in every area of public and governmental service.
Think of it! In Israel, drug dealers, mafia, pimps, criminals
and perverts are accepted as Jews. Gurus, witches and
transvestites are part of the Jewish people.
But Messianic Jews, whose contribution to society is
almost always positive, are despised and rejected by the
establishment, and told they are not Jews.
Messianic Jews pray for their enemies.
The Orthodox curse their enemies.
Messianic Jews are being continuously persecuted,
especially in Beersheva and Arad, and the police are doing
nothing. In fact, after five months, the police have not even
talked to the witnesses that have agreed to testify in behalf of
Ami Ortiz, the youth who was bombed by ultra-Orthodox
terrorists in Ariel because his father David is a Messianic
pastor.
As one honest ultra-Orthodox man told David:
“Mohammed doesn’t bother us. Buddha and Confucius do
not bother us. No other religion really bothers us. But
Yeshua bothers us. In fact he bothers us so much that one
of our own was ready to kill you and your family.”
Although Messianic Jews are far from perfect, the accepted
theological base for our faith is that without love we are but
sounding brass and a clanging cymbal.
On the other hand, the state religion of Israel, Orthodox
Judaism, teaches its adherents to love those who are similar
in religion and to hate those who are different.
Lying, cheating, stealing and violent behavior is not
acceptable to any congregation of Messianic Jews and those
who are found doing so are seen as outside the fold.
In Orthodoxy, lying, cheating, stealing and violent behavior
are acceptable if the goal is “worthy.”
One does not need to be a statistical genius to point
out that Messianic Jews have the lowest crime rate of any
community in Israel, including all other religious groups. A
moral lifestyle is central to a Messianic believer.
Messianic Jews are encouraged to study at universities or
learn a profession and work for a living and pay taxes.
A majority of ultra-Orthodox men do not work and do
not pay taxes. On the contrary, their politicians agree to join
government coalitions mainly in return for handouts from
the taxpayer’s pocket to support their own non-working
population.
Messianic Jews serve with pride in the Israeli Defense
Forces, knowing we have a duty to protect our nation.
Ultra-Orthodox refuse to serve in the army, and some
branches even refuse to recognize the legitimacy of the
Shira Sorko-Ram
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MaozIsrael Report september 2008
con’t. from page 7 From her preconceived ideas of a cult, Tehiya has created
a false image of the Messianic believers in general, and our
congregation in particular. We are portrayed throughout the
article as scheming, secretive, manipulating cultists. That
is often how persecutors portray believers throughout the
world. We are no exception.
At the end of the article, the editor who called Ari a couple of
days before it went to press, quoted three sentences from their
telephone conversation – in order, I am sure the editor thought –
to make the article “fair and balanced.” This is the quote:
The Messianic Jews: We are Jews and our activities are
legal. Ari Sorko-Ram, the spiritual leader: “We are Jews who
believe in biblical Judaism; it is the right of every Jew to explain his Judaism. We do this among acquaintances, friends,
top: Another prayer meeting at Tiferet Yeshua.
family, and whoever wants to know. We are permitted by law
to explain our faith.
We cannot end this article without stating our earnest desire to draw closer to our Lord and receive divine discernment concerning those who join our congregation. In no
way do we wish to be suspicious of newcomers, for that is
what the enemy would want. But we do ask from our Heavenly Father wisdom to stand against the wiles of those who
are working to harm and persecute the Body of Messiah in
Israel. Your prayers for us and all of the Messianic leaders
of Israel will make a difference.
An added column written by Danit Keren,
general manager of the Israel Center for
Cult Victims, adds a few paragraphs with the purpose of
warning people to flee from Messianic Jews:
“The members of the congregation undergo tremendous pressure to participate in as many activities and
meetings as possible, while neglecting everything that
is outside of the faith: family, friends, work and studies,
for the reason that they ‘belong to this dark world’ and
to ‘satan’s control.’ Since the belief in satan is so strong
and tangible in the life of a believer, there is a great fear of
leaving.” [These paragraphs may be true in reference to cults,
but certainly have no accuracy concerning Israel’s Messianic
community. editor.]
Keren continues: “A Messianic believer is not allowed to
marry someone who is not a believer. There is a prohibition among the community members to study material that
denies the Messianic faith, since this is within the realms
of a stumbling-block and may raise heretical thoughts,
such as Darwinist scientific books, among others. There
is also a very strong mystical element, and a certain contempt towards education, science and logic.”
“Treating homosexuality as a serious disease which
one needs to be cured from, making strange sounds,
seeing hallucinations and visions, as well as speaking in
tongues (trance-gibberish speaking) – constitute a characteristic of development/growth of the faith of a community member and raises their position.”
Our reply is that our congregants are normal, wonderful
believers, part of the family of God that is world-wide. Our theology is Biblically based, we would say, normal, middle of the
road. But the way the newspaper describes us, (cult like) as
those who make it very difficult to leave the congregation, gives
the reader the impression of a bonafide cult. In fact, all who are
believers know that when a Jewish person comes to the faith,
the leaders, throughout the land, encourage and instruct these
young believers to strengthen their ties with their families and to
be exemplary in their work place and/or in their studies.
August 2008 MaozIsrael Report
9
United we stand...
and grow stronger!
We have been greatly encouraged by
the phone calls and messages of support
we have received from leaders and
pastors of the Messianic community in
Israel. It is just one more proof that the
Messianic Jews of Israel are growing in
number, in confidence and in love.
Dear Brothers,
I would like to take a moment to encourage our
brothers from Tiferet Yeshua who were highlighted in
the recent Yediot article I just now read.
Of course the article was very negative, and
probably you could have had more discernment, and we
all need to learn from this kind of thing.
However, I was very encouraged to read about your
congregations activities, the way you are reaching out
to Israelis, the way you are following up on those that
visit, your commitment to fasting and prayer and the
devotion you have to caring for the poor and needy. In
many ways I saw this article to be a powerful testimony
to Yeshua, in spite of the harmful and destructive
motives from which it was written.
The thing about persecutions is that it groups us all
together. Persecution is no respecter of persons. We are
all in it together, whether we like it or not.
Today I was approached by a friend of mine about
the article who knows that I am a follower of Yeshua.
Because he knows us quite well he understood
that much of what was written was intentionally
put in a negative light. I told him that though I don’t
always agree with what Damkani, Sorko-Ram or other
Messianics always do, that I was very proud of the way
they are standing up for what they believe .
And I want to say that to you as well, my brothers.
I am proud to stand with you and your congregation,
even though it my mean suffering or loss for the sake of
my Messiah.
God bless you,
David Lazarus
Senior Pastor Beit Immanuel
Jaffa
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Dear Brothers,
The recent Yediot article has sparked some
very good discussion with our neighbors, close
friends, and family members.
We love Ari, Shira and family - and Yacov. It
is a great privilege to stand with them. ‘Chazak
v’Amatz’!! [Be strong and courageous!] Glor
y be
to God!
Love and blessings,
Richard ‘Ayal’ and Yardena Frieden
Founder/Director
Jerusalem Street Production/JAMM
Brothers and Sisters,
I also want to express my solidarity with the
Tiferet Yeshua congregation who have recently
been the target of a very negative newspaper
article in the Yediot.
Like David Lazarus, we had non-believing
friends that called us to express their support
and sadness that the article was so obviously
and intentionally negative. I see this as part of
a national strategy by those that hate us and
our beliefs and is an attempt to influence the
Beersheva court case.
I do suspect that it will have the effect of creating
curiosity and you will see people drawn to the
Lord and his people.
Stand strong and peace be with you,
Evan Thomas
Pastor
Beit Asaph
Netanya
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As the Messianic movement grows in Israel with many fine examples of strong believers who are healthy active citizens
of Israel, there has also been favorable media concerning believers. Our friends Martin and Norma have written about this
fairly new phenomenon in Israel. Ari & Shira
NEW EXPOSURE FOR ISRAEL’S
MESSIANIC JEWISH COMMUNITY
By Martin and Norma Sarvis
“Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants
that with all boldness they may speak Your word, by stretching
out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done
through the name of Your holy Servant Yeshua” (Acts 4:29-30).
Not long ago the English language Jerusalem Post
carried a story on its front page, “Messianic Jews to Protest
‘Discriminatory’ Immigration Policies”. The article focused
on the concerns of a visiting group of 300 members of a large
union of Messianic Jews in the United States. Within the same
paper was an entirely separate article entitled, “Local Messianic
Jews Say They Face Increasing Fear of Attack”. This article
was bordered, highlighted in a different color, and bore a picture
of Ami Ortiz, the young Jewish believer terribly wounded when
opening a booby-trapped gift basket left on his doorstep during
the Feast of Purim.
One remarkable thing about these headlines is the presence
within them of the words “Messianic Jews”. This name (in its
Hebrew form, Yehudim Meshihim) within the past few months
has also begun appearing in the mainstream Hebrew-language
press. Messianic Jews are Jews by birth who believe that
Yeshua/Jesus is the promised Messiah, but who do not believe
that their faith in His saving work cancels out their inheritance
as descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Until recently, their presence as an entity within Israel
was considered negligible if at all. Most Israelis had never
heard of them—equating Christianity with Gentiles and
Roman Catholicism. The highly regarded and in many ways
enlightening book, The Israelis, by Donna Rosenthal (2005,
paperback updated edition) bears no listing of “Messianic
Jews” in its index, nor is there mention of them in the chapter,
“The Christians: Uneasy in the Land of Jesus.” Part of this is
undoubtedly related to the fact that Israelis Jews, religious or
secular, are taught from childhood that it is impossible to be a
Jew and to believe in Jesus.
Jews may be Orthodox, or secular or into New Age or most
anything else—still they remain Jews and are allowed citizenship
under the Law of Return. But believing in Yeshua supposedly
cuts one off from the faith and even the race of the Fathers. And
so, for the past thirty years the presence of a Messianic Jewish
community here within Israel has gone largely ignored.
When mentioned at all in the media, there has been a strong
reluctance to include the word “Jew” in any title given to these
Bat-El Levi, a 11th grader messianic jew, won this year’s nationa
finalists from Israel competing for the International Bible Quiz
people, or to use the Hebrew name “Yeshua” to describe the
Lord they serve. But recently this has begun to change—and
it’s doing so quickly.
In several newspaper articles of recent weeks, Messianics
have actually been allowed to describe their beliefs, in
some cases without the usual “equal time” comments of an
“anti-missionary” representative from the ultra-Orthodox
community.
New exposure is also being made during the past summer
on television talk shows and in the entertainment arena. On a
recent Friday, a Jewish believer was interviewed on Channel
2’s “Good Morning Israel” show. The evening of the same
day the rival Channel 1 carried a segment on the family of the
young man injured in the Purim bombing. Part of the program
took place in the lad’s bedroom, his mother sitting next to him
singing softly in Hebrew over him the words of Romans 8—“I
am persuaded that neither life nor death…shall separate me
from the love of God which is in Messiah Yeshua our Lord—
Yeshua is Lord!”
It was one thing when Messianic Jews were seen as a tiny
fringe group or “cult”, made up mostly of new immigrants.
Now they appear to be in an almost phenomenal way rising
into the public awareness as something integral within the
culture, made up of thousands, many of whom are native
“sabra” Israelis. (Even such a negative article in Yediot
Aharonot raises awareness!)
Of course, the evil one is not taking this “exposure”
lying down; the anti-Messiah (i.e. anti-Christ) spirit which
al Bible quiz for state schools and was one of four
z Championship on Independence Day.
operates powerfully in the religious community appears to be
manifesting itself in a growing campaign of acts to intimidate
Jewish believers and to foment adverse discrimination
against them. In some cases, the new media coverage is
causing such tactics to backfire.
An assistant mayor of a city in which New Covenants (New
Testaments) had been recently disseminated, in an act ironically
and alarmingly reminiscent of scenes perpetrated by the Nazis
70 years ago, organized a “book burning” in which volunteers
went door to door gathering the materials for the bonfire. This
resulted, however, in an outcry regarding religious freedom in
Israel, with one of the popular newspapers featuring a color
spread on the incident.
An attempt during the nation’s celebration of our 60th year of
independence by the Orthodox to disqualify a Messianic Jewish
teenager from the annual International Bible Quiz for Jewish
youth was rejected, and the incident was sympathetically
covered in the media.
There has always been oppression by elements within the
religious Jewish community of modern Israel against Jewish
believers—in some cases accompanied by violence. With this
oppression appearing to have now advanced into the area of
attempts to maim or murder, there is a serious question as to
what this portends for the future.
Even with the growing media exposure and coverage
mentioned above, incidents appear to be on the increase, not
always making it into the news. Nor is the news coverage
itself always resulting in blessing. We spoke with a young
pastor recently who was ready to “sign” on a new meeting
place for his congregation. The owner was aware it would be
an organization of Jewish believers in Yeshua, but assured
him that it made no difference.
Then he read the articles about the bombing in Ariel, with
the strong implication that it had been perpetrated by Orthodox
Jews against Messianic Jews, and he backed down—the fear that
the presence of Messianics might bring similar acts of violence
adversely affecting businesses in his area was too great.
Lately, leaflets appeared in a southern-Jerusalem neighbor
-hood with pictures of several Messianic pastors, and bearing in
Hebrew the words, “These people are members of a cult called
“Messianic Jews”. The Supreme Court ruled regarding this cult
that ‘Judaism vomited them out” BEWARE OF THEM !!!”
This kind of harrassment is common enough – but these leaflets
also included the home addresses beneath the pictures of each
of the Believers.
PLEASE PRAY:
* That accurate testimony regarding the existence of
Messianic Jews in Israel and of their beliefs would continue to
be released through the Israeli media.
* That the believing Jewish community in Israel would
continue like their Master “increasing in wisdom and stature,
and in favor with God and men” (Luke 2:52).
* That Israeli believers in Yeshua would permeate the
marketplace, the arts, the military, and the government.
* For love, courage, endurance and vision for those who are
beginning to experience persecution for their faith.
* For special protection for those targeted by satan, that
angels would keep violence from coming to their doors. That
they would move in strong spiritual discernment regarding
those who might knock on their doors.
* That God will work in the hearts of those bound up
in traditional religion, using the very plans of the enemy to
awaken a curiosity which might lead them to the Truth. We
know former ultra-Orthodox who have come to faith because
they had questions which their rabbis couldn’t answer—and
they contacted those which their media had warned them to
stay away from. It is interesting that even the threats have
begun to use the words “Messianic Jew”—implying that
these really are Jews who are choosing to follow Yeshua as
Messiah and Savior!
Martin and Norma Sarvis serve on leadership of Succat
Hallel, a 24/7 worship-intercession ministry in Jerusalem.
Want to know how to
effectively pray for Israel?
Request our weekly prayer letter via e-mail
Please e-mail us at maozisrael@maozisrael.org
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We have a beautiful Jewish calendar for you, our partner with
Maoz Israel Ministries and Congregation Tiferet Yeshua. The
16 month calendar (September 2008 – December 2009) has
simply gorgeous paintings by famous Messianic Israeli
artist, Pamula Suran.
This year’s Jewish New Year begins on the evening of September 29.
Our New Year Gift to you!