Messianic Jews Fight Public Slurs in |
By : Don Smith |
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The Israeli High
Court on 12 September heard a petition by ultra-orthodox Jews to hold a
700-person demonstration in front of the house of a family of Messianic Jews.
The ultra-orthodox group, the Gur Hassidim, had sought to reverse a decision
by the Israeli police to prohibit a demonstration of 700 people in front of
the home of Polly Sigulim, a Messianic Jew. Since April, 2004, the Gur
Hassidim have demonstrated weekly in front of the home in Sigulim, a widow
who is the mother of three children and five foster children, rents a large
home at the end of a street in Arad, with a parking area where the ultra-orthodox
want to hold the demonstration. "They are
taking liberties that are not right," Sigulim said of the Gur Hassidim.
"To come and complain for a year and a half? That's a long time
complaining about the same thing." Initially, Israeli
police only watched and giggled as demonstrators hurled religious and
personal insults at the family during demonstrations by hundreds of
ultra-orthodox Jews. The subsequent ban came after dangerous escalations in
harassment. At the 12 September
hearing, High Court President Aharon Barak suggested a compromise of a
demonstration limited to 250 people once a year in front of Sigulim's house.
Unable to mediate an agreement, the High Court is expected to issue a ruling
soon. All of Sigulim's
foster children are from Jewish Messianic or Christian families. Some years
ago an Israeli Jewish girl, regularly visiting the family, asked one of the
foster children for a New Testament. After reading it twice, she became a
believer in Jesus. "It was not a
matter of Yakim [her pastor] or me preaching to her," Sigulim recalls.
"She wanted what the other kids have." Because she was a minor, the
congregation did not allow her to participate in its activities. When she
turned 18, she wanted to be baptised. Four months later, in April 2004, 250
ultra-orthodox Jews held a big demonstration in front of Sigulim's house. This demonstration
left those present with "very hard feelings and impressions," said
Yakim Figueras, pastor of the Hebrew-speaking congregation of Christians and
Messianic Jews in Since then, scores
of small demonstrations have taken place near Sigulim's house, Figueras said.
During the court session the police lawyer, Figueras, Sigulim and her
neighbour have tried to convince the three High Court judges that they are
being harassed and intimidated on a daily basis, even though the neighbour
adheres to no particular faith. Barak, however, did not want to connect the
harassment to the question of whether to hold another large demonstration in
front of Sigulim's house. Though police
previously refused to stop group protests in deference to free speech, they
ultimately refused the Gur Hassidim permission to stage the large event
because demonstrations in front of private homes are forbidden. Police had
suggested that the ultra-orthodox Jews should demonstrate in another part of
the street, where there are no private homes. This article was
first published by Compass Direct. |