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 literal
interpretations of the teachings of the ancient Pharisees as embodied
in their Babylonian Talmud and its mystical/revolutionary companion,
the Zohar or Kabbalah. [2] There is little tolerance from Orthodoxy
in Israel for the liberal (secular) viewpoints of Conservative and
Reform Judaism.
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.’” It
has occurred 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 murder of Gentiles
("goyim") if such can be performed indirectly or through trickery.
It is vital that the 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 Simeon 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 Kabbalistic
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 as 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 the 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. The Jewish Encyclopedia in its
article "Balaam," pg 469, says the pseudonym Balaam "is given to Jesus
in Sanh. 106b and Git. 57a."
Here is the Talmud’s description of Christ in
hell, Gittin 56b-57a
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