Best President for Israel

Which candidate is best for Israel?

There are many other candidates that the panel would say are generally "good for Israel." But none of them enjoys the same widespread approbation as former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani.

How about the best president for the US?

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Othodox Man Rewarded for Violence

JERUSALEM POST, MARCH 12:

Yehuda Meshi-Zahav, chairman of ZAKA and former operations officer for the Ultra-Orthodox community, hit the Jewish man who kissed Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, it was reported on Monday. The violent incident occurred last Friday in Poland during a mass visit of Orthodox Jews to the country in order to honor Hassidic Rabbi Elimelech of Lizhensk.

When the visitors arrived at Lizhensk on Friday morning, they heard that Moshe Arye Freedman, a member of the fanatic anti-Israel group Neturei Karta, was present as well. Freedman recently made headlines when he was photographed kissing Ahmadinejad during the Holocaust denial conference in Teheran three months ago. Meshi-Zahav, along with another ZAKA member, quickly located Freedman and set upon him, punching the man, kicking him and breaking his glasses.

The fight was dispersed when local police arrived at the scene.

As an act of appreciation, Meshi-Zahav was called up to read the Torah in synagogue.

Jews for Jesus Attacked Physically in Israel

by Erin Roach

Baptist Press | Mar 14, 2007

BEER SHEVA, Israel (BP)--The arrest of a Messianic Jewish evangelist in Israel reflects the strife that often confronts Messianic Jews despite Israel’s guarantees of religious liberty and without any repercussion from law enforcement officials, the leader of a Messianic congregation told Baptist Press. Messianic evangelist Eddie Beckford was arrested outside his business, the Chess and Bible Shop in Arad, after a mob of ultra-Orthodox Haradim Jews surrounded his van in the parking lot and beat him Feb. 25.

“In general over the years here in the south in the Negev, in Arad and in Beer Sheva, there has been some form of harassment or persecution,” Howard Bass, leader of the Nahalat Yeshua congregation in Beer Sheva, said.

Groups of ultra-Orthodox Jews seem to have a difficult time accepting the fact that some Jews would believe that Jesus is the Messiah and that they would want to evangelize other Jews, Bass said. So those anti-Messianic groups work to stop the people they consider “missionaries” through various degrees of persecution. “In Arad, for instance, for almost three years they have been hounding the believers there at their services, in front of their homes,” Bass, an American Jew with Israeli citizenship, said.

Beckford’s arrest followed a call to police when the confrontation with the ultra-Orthodox mob broke out. The Haradim complained that Beckford attacked them, according to an e-mail from Beckford’s wife Lura. “[The police] blame us for the disturbances the Haredim cause,” Lura Beckford wrote in a message posted at israelprayer.com. “They tell us, ‘If you weren’t here, we wouldn’t have to deal with this trouble.’

“So, they arrested Eddie and put him in leg irons and took him to jail. They completely ignored the Bedouin’s testimony that Eddie did nothing and the Haredim attacked him. He spent the night in a small filthy cell with five other men, and in the middle of the night they transferred him to another filthy cell,” Lura added. Beckford, an American, was arraigned before a judge in Beer Sheva Feb. 28 and was offered a plea bargain of spending 45 days in jail or agreeing not to return to Arad for 45 days. He chose to stay with friends outside Arad rather than serve a prison sentence, and his wife was trying to retrieve his identification card which was confiscated by police in Arad.

“This is a culmination of a week of horror as far as the Haredim are concerned. Just this week, ‘A’ was harassed by them four different times. They blocked his car and pounded on it, etc. ‘R’ has been harassed while walking her child from school by these grown men,” Lura wrote, using initials in place of names. “She and I have been harassed several times in public areas while walking. All of us have put in complaints with the police on assault charges.

“I had the privilege of being hit by the chief rabbi of Arad. Why? Just because I believe in Y’shua as the Savior of the Jewish people and the world,” she wrote. “‘S,’ a visiting friend of ours, has been terribly harassed while giving out literature, including being beaten and spit upon. All this because we have committed the crime of being believers.”

Beckford’s arrest preceded the introduction of a bill by an Orthodox political party seeking to sentence proselytizers in Israel to one year in prison. “Whether it’s Christians coming from abroad or Jewish converts working in Israel, they all have the same agenda -- to destroy every trace and memory of the people of Israel, and they plan to do this by converting Jews,” the proposal by the Shas group said, according to ynetnews.com March 14. “These bodies are operating mainly among the Jewish population which is under physical, social and spiritual distress.”

In early February, a religious freedom lawsuit was filed on behalf of Nahalat Yeshua against the chief rabbi of Beer Sheva and Yad L’Achim, a group that is a main source of persecution toward Messianic Jews. Though it took more than a year to file, the lawsuit stems from a violent demonstration that took place at the congregation on Christmas Eve in 2005.

“In Beer Sheva eight years ago, there was a massive demonstration against our congregation on the Shabbat, on a Saturday, which prevented us from having a service,” Bass recounted to BP. “That time we didn’t take any legal action because we’re supposed to be expecting things like this on the one hand and also the amount of violence wasn’t excessive enough to where we thought we should do something. “Just before Christmas, we had another fairly large demonstration, and this time it was much more aggressive and violent and we did feel that something ought to be done about it,” Bass said.

The case essentially is about standing up for the right for Jews in Israel to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, Bass said, though it is not meant in any way to be construed against the state of Israel or against the Jewish people as a whole. “It is not to be used in any way to foment or promote anti-Israel or anti-Jewish actions or reactions. It is already known through the Scriptures that Israel at present is opposed to the good news of God, so we are not out to make them an enemy,” Bass emphasized. “Nor is our legal action intended to be used by any other minority or religious groups in Israel to encourage or affirm anti-Israel or anti-Jewish sentiment.”

From the defendants’ point of view, Bass said, they did nothing wrong when they demonstrated at the Messianic congregation’s service, even though they were required by law to ask permission from the police for such a large gathering.

“They’re claiming that they were simply exercising their freedom of religion in the same way that we’re claiming to be,” Bass said. “Therefore they’re guilty of nothing.” Launching a religious freedom lawsuit of this sort is challenging in Israel, Bass said, because the Messianic Jews essentially are standing up for something that is contrary to the religion of the state.

“We understand what we’re doing is very serious, and we just have to trust the Lord that He’s going to help us through it in a way that Jesus will be honored in the manner that we handle it and in the consequences,” Bass said. “So we don’t quite know yet what that’s going to be.”

Jim Sibley, director of the Pasche Institute for Jewish Studies at Criswell College in Dallas, told Baptist Press the word needs to get out about the harassment of Messianic Jews in Israel. “It really is intolerable, and I think a lot more attention needs to be given to it,” Sibley said. “That’s the only way that the Israeli government is going to really do anything to protect the rights of believers.” Sibley noted that the persecution is not coming from the Israeli government. “It’s coming from the ultra-Orthodox communities, and the problem is that the local police are not really taking action to protect believers or to prosecute those who are causing the trouble,” he said. “They’re kind of standing by and letting it happen. So the national government needs to know that the United States is growing increasingly aware of the problem and is anxious about it.”

Modesty Squad

Women’s Minyan" by Naomi Ragen, now being performed in St. Louis, Missouri, is the longest-running play ever to be presented at the Habimah Theatre of Tel Aviv. It premiered in Israel in 2002 and is still running.

The play is based on the true story of an ultra-Orthodox Judaic woman, the wife of a rabbi and mother of 12, who left her home after being attacked by her husband. When she attempted to return to see her children, the community's "modesty squad" tried in vain to force her to go back. Her friend with whom she was staying was physically attacked, her arm and leg broken. The rabbi's wife is punished by being cut off from her children. Despite a great deal of publicity, the woman still has not been allowed to see her children. The case is pending review in the Israeli Supreme Court.

The play runs March 15 – April 1, 2007 at the New Jewish Theatre in St. Louis, MO with performances on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at 8 PM, and Sundays at 2 PM and 7:30 PM. This is its second American production.

The New Jewish Theatre performs in the Wolfson Studio Theatre of the Jewish Community Center (JCC) in Creve Coeur, 2 Millstone Campus Dr. (off of Schuetz at Lindbergh). Individual tickets are available by calling the box office at 314-442-3283 or in the Cultural Arts office of the JCC. Tickets are $18 - $25 for the production. For more information go to www.newjewishtheatre.org

'holocaust' by interfaith marriages

Jews face 'holocaust' by interfaith marriages
Unions pose threat to Judaism: expert talking at Carleton
Pauline Tam, The Ottawa Citizen
Published: Wednesday, March 07, 2007
The high rate of Jews who marry non-Jews has created a "spiritual holocaust" that threatens the survival of Judaism, says an Orthodox scholar and leading opponent of intermarriage.

Esther Jungreis, an international lecturer who has been called "the Jewish Billy Graham," equates intermarriage between Jews and non-Jews with self-imposed annihilation on the scale of the Nazi extermination campaign.

Mrs. Jungreis' comments, in advance of a speech she is to give tonight in Ottawa, have thrown her into the centre of a sensitive debate within the city's Jewish community. Her use of the Holocaust as an analogy and her criticism of conversions have already received a sharp rebuke from Ottawa's most prominent Orthodox rabbi, Reuven Bulka.


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Font: ****Mrs. Jungreis says she is disturbed by the prospect of children who grow up in intermarried households without a strong connection to Jewish practices and faith.

"It's a question of understanding that Hitler's aim was to annihilate our people, and intermarriage is also a form of annihilation, which is sometimes even more deadly than the Holocaust," she said.

Her lecture at Carleton University is part of a series organized by an Ottawa Jewish-education group; in order to attract interest, the group is offering to pay students $50 if they attend all four talks.

Mrs. Jungreis, a Holocaust survivor and New York-based author, argues there is a moral imperative for Jews to marry within the faith.

"I was able to raise Jewish children, and they carry on the name and legacy and the heritage of my ancestors, who perished in the Holocaust," she said.

"But if they intermarry, there's no one to carry on. Entire families could be wiped out. There's no memory. That's what we call spiritual holocaust."

While Mrs. Jungreis' opposition to intermarriage reflects the prevailing view among Orthodox Jews, at least one prominent Orthodox Jewish leader in Ottawa takes issue with the way she likens intermarriage to the Holocaust.

"I don't like using the Holocaust for anything other than what it was, and that is an unprecedented act of evil," said Rabbi Bulka, of the Orthodox Congregation Machzikei Hadas. "But on the issue (of intermarriage) itself, this is an ongoing communal concern."

Mrs. Jungreis is the author of The Committed Marriage and Life is a Test: How to Meet Life's Challenges Successfully. Life is a Test is a call for Jews to strengthen their commitment to their faith.

She is also the founder of the Hineni Heritage Center, a group that promotes Judaism by offering religious education in settings where single Jews mingle. In 2004, she was a speaker at the Republican National Convention and has become a regular guest at the White House.

Her lecture at Carleton, titled The Holocaust and the Final Solution to Intermarriage, is not sponsored by the university, but by Jewish Education through Torah, an Ottawa group whose mission is to promote traditional Jewish education.

The lecture is part of the group's new outreach program targeting university students, at a time when half the city's estimated 13,500 Jews don't belong to a synagogue and nearly seven of 10 marry non-Jews. The trends are similar among Jewish populations across North America.


Mrs. Jungreis rejects the idea that non-Jews who marry Jews can be converted.

"Conversions are usually a sham, you know, in name only. It's easy come, easy go, and there's no commitment behind it. It doesn't mean anything. It's just to accommodate someone in the family."

That view drew a rebuke from Rabbi Bulka, whose congregation includes a number of converts. "For them it was not a joke, it was not a sham and it's almost insulting to suggest that."

His view is echoed by Rabbi Steven Garten of Ottawa's Temple Israel, a Reform synagogue. He calls Mrs. Jungreis' ideas about conversion "antiquated."

"I think it's a fallacy to say if you intermarry, by definition you neglect the Jewish faith and don't raise your children in that tradition," said Rabbi Garten, whose congregation includes many intermarried couples.

"The conversions that I see are not fraudulent at all. They reflect a personal commitment to Judaism. If the choice is between two Jews marrying who make no commitment to Judaism and a couple who are intermarried but choose to raise their children in the Jewish faith, I'd choose the latter."

Barry Levy, dean of the faculty of religious studies at McGill University, said such polarized views of intermarriage and conversion are intensifying at a time when the world's Jews -- estimated to number about 20 million -- are dwarfed by the billions of Christians, Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists.

"Clearly, on a political level, it's a major concern because if you have a high intermarriage rate, after a couple of generations, the assumption is that the number of Jews will decrease significantly," said Mr. Levy.

He indicated that despite making up a minority of the Jewish community, Orthodox Jews stand to become a dominant force in Judaism in the near future.

"These people have a much higher rate of child-bearing and they have a much more successful strategy for teaching commitment to their religion."

In that way, Mr. Levy noted, the Jewish debate over intermarriage and conversion, which pits the Orthodox minority against a largely liberal majority, reflects a religious polarization that is increasingly found in other religions.

"What you find is that the most successful groups today are the fundamentalist groups, whether they be evangelical Christians, Muslims or Hindus, because they are the ones that are growing, that are maintaining their community identities and that are actually succeeding in convincing people to adhere to their traditions," said Mr. Levy.

"The more liberal groups are the ones that are being weakened."

According to a study published last year by the Jewish Outreach Institute, the face of Jewish Ottawa is changing dramatically because of intermarriage, immigration and integration.

The study, based on 2001 Census figures, indicated that half of the city's married Jews have a spouse who is a non-Jew. In families that are nominally Jewish, nearly two-thirds of children under five live in intermarried households.


The rate of intermarriage is rising sharply given that nearly seven out of 10 Jews under the age of 30 marry outside of their faith.

The figures suggest that without migration from other provinces or countries, Ottawa's Jewish population would have fallen significantly.

For that reason, organizations such as Jewish Education through Torah, which teaches from an Orthodox perspective, are targeting more outreach efforts at university students. The idea is to reach them at a stage when they're searching for a life partner as well as answers to life.

"This is an age when people are most disconnected from religion generally, and a lot of people are searching. From a Jewish perspective, we feel that a lot of people know they're Jewish but they don't really know what Judaism is, " said Rabbi Zischa Shaps, director of the Jewish Education through Torah.

The four-lecture series on why Jews should marry within the faith (Mrs. Jungreis' lecture is the second in the series) marks the launch of the group's campus outreach program.

To attract more people, the group has taken the unusual step of offering a $50 stipend to students who attend all the lectures. Rabbi Shaps said about 20 students attended the first lecture when it was held last month.

The talk by Esther Jungreis, The Holocaust and the Final Solution to Intermarriage, takes place Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m. in room 360 of the Tory Building at Carleton University. It is open to the public.

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Israel's Ambassador Problem

JERUSALEM — Israel has recalled its ambassador to El Salvador after he was found bound, drunk and naked in the yard of his residence, a spokeswoman said Monday.

Tsuriel Raphael has been removed from his post and the Foreign Ministry has begun searching for a replacement, said spokeswoman Zehavit Ben-Hillel.

Two weeks ago, El Salvador police found Raphael naked outside his residence, tied up, gagged and drunk, Israeli media reported. He was wearing several sex toys at the time, the media said. After he was untied, Raphael told police he was the ambassador of Israel, the reports said.

Ben-Hillel said the reports were accurate and that Raphael has been recalled, although he did not break any laws.

"We're talking about behavior that is unbecoming of a diplomat," she said.

The ambassador did not file a police complaint in the incident, she said.

Raphael had served for six months as the ambassador in El Salvador and for several years at different missions around the world, she said.

The embarrassing affair was one of several involving Israeli diplomats in recent years. In 2000, Israel's ambassador to France died of cardiac arrest in a Paris hotel under circumstances the Foreign Ministry refused to publicize. Media reports said he was with a woman who was not his wife at the time.

Last year, Israel replaced its ambassador to Australia, Naftali Tamir, after he said Israel and Australia are "like sisters" because both are located in Asia and their peoples don't have the Asian characteristics of "yellow skin and slanted eyes."

In 2005, Israel canceled the appointment of a diplomat to Australia after it was discovered that he published pictures of nude Brazilian women on the Internet while on a mission in Brazil.

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