Anti-Missionary Groups Gather in Jerusalem
By George Whitten, Worthy News Jerusalem Bureau Chief
JERUSALEM, Israel (Worthy News)– Anti-Missionaries from across Israel will be meeting today in Jerusalem at the nation’s largest conference center to discuss the growing problem of "missionaries" in Israel.
Ahead of the gathering in the nation's largest conference center, thousands of leaflets were distributed advertising the "anti-missionary" conference and encouraging people to come.
Many of Israel's leading anti-messianic organizations along with leading rabbis will be taking the opportunity to "educate" people on the "impossibility" of being Jewish and believing in Yeshua (Jesus in Hebrew). Their aim is to inform the public of the great danger Messianic Jews, those who believe in Yeshua, are to traditional Judaism.
The gathering was organized by several ultra-Orthodox groups and observers described it as the largest anti-missionary meeting so far.
Revive Israel, a leading Messianic organization in Israel, said in a statement that delegates of the controversial meeting view the term"missionary" as equivalent to the word "Nazi."
Israeli law forbids missionary activities, including criminal offenses such as "bribing" Jews to change their religion by monetary compensation, and baptizing children under the age of 18 without the consent of their parents. Messianic congregations and evangelical Christians have denied they are forcing Jews to change their religion.