ISRAEL'S INCREASING ANTI-CHRISTIANITY
By Rev. Ted Pike
30 Dec 09
The period of the Great Crusades saw the forces of the Christian west and Muslim east engage in futile military efforts to decide who would control Palestine, with power to exclude others. After millions died, the exhausted combatants finally reached a compromise that has proved amicable for nearly a millennium: Each of the three great religions claiming special kinship to Israel—Christians, Jews and Muslims— would have freedom as pilgrims and even residents to worship in the sacred places of the Holy Land.
Yet, with return of Jews to Israel in the 20 th century, a different mentality emerged, one shared by Christian evangelicals. The Jews returned to a land they considered entirely and unconditionally theirs—a land in which Jewish worship, customs and laws enjoyed a Biblical right to predominate.
Now Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox rabbinical authorities in Israel increasingly assert that Israel has the right to actually exclude Christians and Muslims from full participation in the religious life of the nation.
Although Israel’s population is largely secular, the official religious position of the state is Orthodox. The Encyclopedia Judaica: “There are very few Reform or Conservative congregations in the State of Israel. Orthodoxy is the official religious position in Israel with the majority of rabbis belonging to the old school of Talmudic jurists.” [1] The Grand Rabbinate in Jerusalem determines what is “halakah,” or binding Jewish law, not only to lesser rabbinic authorities but in every level of the nation’s life and commerce—even in the military.
Unlike in America, there is no separation of synagogue and state in Israel. And, unlike in America, which was founded largely on respect for the Bible, Orthodoxy in Israel is established squarely on the teachings of the ancient Pharisees as embodied in their Babylonian Talmud and its mystical/revolutionary companion, the Zohar or Kabbalah. [2]
Both Talmud and Zohar are vehemently anti-Christian. The Talmud views Christ as the bastard son of Mary, a loose woman. He was also a false prophet who led Israel into apostasy. It says Jewish leaders righteously had Him crucified and He now languishes in hell, writhing in boiling semen. (See actual pages from the Talmud confirming this at the end of this article.) Considering such anti-Christian animus from Israel’s highest religious authority, it is understandable why Christian inhabitants of Palestine have fared poorly over the last century. The Encyclopedia of the Palestine Problem documents hundreds of acts of discrimination and persecution against Christians almost since the beginning of the Zionist experiment. [3] These include profanation of Christian churches and holy places as well as a general program of unpublicized harassment and discrimination. Much of the energy behind such anti-Christianity has emerged from the Grand Rabbinate in Jerusalem and the many Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox rabbis under its influence. (Ultra-Orthodox haredim differ from Orthodox primarily in their exaltation of the authority of the Zohar above the Talmud.)
At the turn of the 20 th century, upwards of 20 percent of the inhabitants of Palestine were Christian; but as a result of incessant, long-term discrimination, only 2 percent are Christian today – and that number is shrinking.
Rabbinic War on Christmas
Recent events in Israel leading up to Christmas confirm efforts by the Grand Rabbinate and lesser rabbinic councils to exclude Christianity from Palestine. A recent Ha’aretz article says the Rabbinate stands behind the “'Lobby for Jewish Values" in its attempts to eradicate Christian symbols from Jerusalem, especially during Christmas. They are “condemning the holiday and inciting the public to boycott restaurants and hotels that sell or put up Christmas trees and other ‘foolish’ Christian symbols…” Their intention is to revoke kosher certification for any business that allows a Christian symbol to be displayed, thus probably ruining them. (See Rabbis versus Christmas: Religious rivalry in Jerusalem benefits no one)
Such behavior reflects a deep loathing for Christianity within Talmudic Orthodoxy. WorldNetDaily recently published Ha’aretz’s article “Christians in Jerusalem Want Jews to Stop Spitting on Them.” It begins: “A few weeks ago, a senior Greek Orthodox clergyman in Israel attended a meeting…When he returned to his car, an elderly man wearing a skullcap came and knocked at the window. As the clergyman let the window down, the passerby spat in his face.
"The clergyman preferred not to lodge a complaint with police and told an acquaintance that he was used to being spat at by Jews. Many Jerusalem clergy have been subjected to abuse of this kind.”
“According to Daniel Rossing, former advisor to the Religious Affairs Ministry on Christian Affairs…there has been an increase in the number of such incidents recently, ‘…as part of a general atmosphere of lack of tolerance in the country,’” particularly during the Purim holiday (which celebrates Israel’s bloody revenge on Gentile persecutors in the book of Esther). Rossing said, “I know Christians who lock themselves indoors during the entire Purim holiday.”
Dr. Israel Shahak, an Israeli citizen, former WWII concentration camp inmate and founder of Israel's Human Rights League, says, "Dishonoring Christian religious symbols is an old religious duty in Judaism. Spitting on the cross, and especially on the crucifix, and spitting when a Jew passes a church, has been obligatory from around 200 AD for pious Jews… The increasing strength of the Jewish nation has caused these customs to become more open again but there should be no mistake: the spitting on the cross for converts from Christianity to Judaism, organized in Kibbutz Sa'ad and financed by the Israeli government, is an act of traditional Jewish piety." [4]
Much of the spitting is indulged in by Yeshiva students immersed in study of the Talmud, says former advisor on Christian affairs to the mayor, Shmuel Evyatar. He says the “rabbis of yeshivas ignore or even encourage it.” Police and courts are usually lax in punishment.
Such increasing intolerance in Israel also manifests itself as advice and authoritative decrees from Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox rabbinic courts, sanctioning discrimination, harassment, and even violence against Christians and Palestinians. The Talmud encourages not only deception of and theft from the “goyim” (Gentiles) but murder if such can be performed indirectly or through trickery. It is vital that Jew get away with it without causing shame to Israel. Otherwise, he causes “profanation of God’s holy name.” [5] One of a number of Talmudic passages often cited by rabbinical courts as they define halachic law to Israel’s military forces or to settlers is that of Simon ben Yohai, one of Israel’s most highly esteemed sages, who said “the best of the Gentiles deserve to be killed.” [6] So enormous is esteem for ben Yohai that every year in Meron in southern Israel (ben Yohai’s birthplace) tens of thousands of Kabalistic Jews (ultra-Orthodox haredim) sing and dance for a week in honor of his memory.
Confirming the above, online article “Israeli Rabbi Approves Murder of Non-Jews” by the National Newspaper says, “A book published this week by a radical Jewish rabbi…endorsed by prominent religious right-wing figures, suggests killing any non-Jew including children and babies who pose a threat to Israel. [The book] reflects a growing antipathy toward Palestinians among Jews living in the occupied territory…Michael Warschawsky, the founder of the Jerusalem-based Alternative Information Centre, said the book went public with a concept that was already being promoted in a quieter way by dozens of settler rabbis…”
The King’s Torah is described by the mass-selling Israeli newspaper Maariv as “a guide to whoever is deliberating if and when it is necessary and permissible to take the life of someone who is not Jewish.”
“According to Israeli press reports that provided excerpts of the book, the rabbis do not shy away from calling for the killing of any non-Jew who may threaten the state of Israel. They write: ‘In any place that the presence of a gentile endangers the existence of Israel, it is allowed to kill him…also, if he is completely not to blame for the situation that has been created.’…Children, the authors insist, should not be exempt from this fate. They add: ‘There is a reasonable explanation for killing infants if it is clear that they will grow up to hurt us – and in this situation, the strike should be directed at them.’ According to the book, the children of a non-Jewish leader may be targeted as a means of applying pressure. The authors say that even innocent people are allowed to be killed if they belong to a state that Israel considers an enemy. The rabbis added that non-Jews could also be killed if they ‘violate…commandments’ such as the prohibition against…idol-worshipping.” (See Israeli Rabbi Approves Murder of Non-Jews)
Christians, the Talmud repeatedly emphasizes, are the most dangerous kind of idol worshippers – devotees of the false prophet Jesus. The Talmud says brotherly love need not extend to Christians; rather, they may legally be thrown into a pit to die. [7]
Speech Crime Laws Prevail in Israel
Although it touts itself the only democracy in the Middle East, Israel, under influence of Orthodoxy, has created “speech crimes” laws that outlaw any effective witness of Christians to Jews. On December 26, 1977, Knesset passed Israel’s anti-missionary law which imposes up to a five-year prison term for anyone who attempts to convert an Israeli with assistance of any material inducement such as a gospel tract or even a cup of coffee. All witnessing to Israeli youth under 18 is illegal, while any “conspicuous” witnessing to a Jewish person is against the law. While Israel, largely dependent on Christian evangelical tourist dollars, is loathe to generate bad publicity by imprisoning Christian evangelists, it is not reluctant to discreetly arrest and deport them (See Christian Deported From Israel).
In the West Bank and central Israel, the anti-Christian dictums of haredi rabbis are particularly unrestrained, bringing many years of incessant persecution upon messianic Jewish citizens. In Arad, the messianic Jewish community is led by Lura Maimon Beckford and her husband. They reveal through articles and videos on their website (http://kingsmenarad.com/) the unending harassment this community of Jewish Christians endures under the dominant ultra-Orthodox. In collusion with local police, judges and rabbis, such persecution has continued for at least the past six years while the government of Israel does nothing. (See Christians in Israel: An Endangered Species)
Beckford, with foreboding, asks in her latest alert, "Please pray for us. Christmas time is here again!” She says, "….on Christian high holy days, like Christmas, Easter, and Passover, the Pharisees (ultra-Orthodox) and anti-missionary inflammatory groups… are apt to wage a barrage of hate crimes against Believers, our places, and things. Ironically, we don't have any problem with Israeli Arabs and Palestinians because they view Jesus as a Holy Prophet and respect Him." She says, " Israel passed its anti-mission law (five- to seven-year jail term for witnessing to anyone under 18) on Christmas Day 1977." On "Christmas Eve 2005, a huge mob of Pharisees (ultra-Orthodox) entered the Beersheva congregation throwing the pastor into the baptismal pool, slapping some of the old women around, and wrecking the place. YouTube video: click here."
Calev Myers, founder and chief counsel of The Jerusalem Institute, which provides legal advice and representation to persecuted Messianic Jews, says: " Israel is only Western country where basic freedom of religion is denied."
Evangelicals Fund Persecutors
Anti-Christianity in Israel is not only fueled by the Orthodox establishment but, incredibly, by evangelical Christians themselves. The Jerusalem Post (Oct 23, 2009) says that evangelicals have donated $70 million a year to Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein’s “International Fellowship of Christians and Jews,” one of a number of Israeli charities accepting millions annually from Christians. But Eckstein admits now that much of it has gone toward support of the very Orthodox and haredi groups most responsible for harassment and persecution of Christians in Israel today! The Post says, “Various haredi organizations in Israel and abroad receive money from the IFCJ or have received support in the past.” Part of the evangelical millions, according to Eckstein, goes to fund orthodox and ultra-orthodox rabbinical organizations as far away as the Ukraine and Morocco, including the Rabbinate in Turkey. (See Christian donor to out haredi recipients)
Every Christian is bound by Scripture to donate first to “those of the household of faith” (Galatians 6:10) i.e. Christian churches, missionaries and charities. “Israel-first” evangelicals have no justification for this ungodly drain on Christian resources to assist the persecutors of their brethren. Like the church of Laodicea in the Book of Revelation, which thought itself both rich and wise, such evangelicals may be wealthy in worldly goods. Yet they fulfill Christ’s prophecy that in the end times “even the very elect if possible will be deceived.” (Matthew 24:24) They are blind where it really matters—in wisdom and caution concerning those whom Christ repeatedly called “the synagogue of Satan” and of whom He warned us to beware.
Footnotes:
- “Judaism.” Encyclopedia Judaica, p. 396.
- The accepted English translation of the Talmud throughout much of the 20 th century has been the Soncino edition, published by Soncino Press Ltd., London.
- “Destruction and Desecration of Christian Holy Places and the Violation of Christian Religious Rights.” The Encyclopedia of the Palestine Problem. Volume 1, p. 397-412. Intercontinental Books, New York. 1991. This definitive, two-volume work, edited by Christian Palestinian lawyer and diplomat Dr. Issa Nakhleh, is available in most university libraries.
- From statement by Dr. Israel Shahak, quoted in The Encyclopedia of the Palestine Problem, Vol. 1, pg. 403.
- Talmudic passages endorsing murder of both Gentiles and Christians include Choschen Hamishpat, 425, 5, Iore Dea 158, Hilcoth Akum X1, X7, Abodah Zarah 26b, and Sanhedrin 58a, b.
- Abodah Zarah 26b.
- The Soncino Talmud’s footnote to AZ 16b (pg. 84) says that “minuth” (plural, “minim”) refers to “heresy with special reference to Christianity.” “Minim, informers, and apostates may be cast in [to a pit to die] and need not be brought up.”
Here is the Talmud’s description of Christ’s gruesome death, Sanhedrin 106a-106b.
Here is the Talmud’s description of Christ in hell, Gittin 56b-57a
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