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The serious
harassment of believers in the Negev town of Arad continues as the ultraorthodox Gur Hassidim
continue to make life intolerable for the Messianic [Christian] Jews.
The latest
incident involves a group of pensioners (not believers) who were being taken
by bus for a day trip to see the Nazareth village reproduction, a well
known tourist site. The trip was organised by
Eddie and Lura whose chess club was burned down in recent weeks (BCN September
30) The pensioners were lined up near the bus, waiting to board, when large
groups of ultraorthodox men began to assemble in
groups of 50, the maximum number allowed by law at this time. Before long,
there was a massive presence of ultraorthodox,
including those from the Chabad sect who had been
bussed in to prevent this trip. Some of the ultraorthodox
men lay down in front of the bus, and when the police finally arrived (only
two officers), they were unable to control the mob. This necessitated
calling in more police from Beer Sheva [Beersheba], more than 30 minutes away.
In fact, the Arad police requested army backup
but were unable to get it.
One of the
believers named Polly, a widow who has taken eight children into her home,
three of whom are orphaned, was bringing other pensioners who had no
transport to the bus stop. As Polly got out of her van, some of the
orthodox men pushed her, spat on her, shouted at her and cursed her. She
left the scene, returned home and brought back two of her sons, one wearing
his army cap showing that he was in a special unit of the army similar to
the police. The orthodox began to push him as well, but he refused to
retaliate, merely staring down his tormentors. They backed away but called
him a “fake” as if he was not really serving in the army police. Of course
none of the ultraorthodox serve in the army at
all! Although some of the pensioners went home frightened, the trip did get
off, albeit late and with only half the pensioners, but there was a sense
that God is going to bring all of this to the surface and bring glory to His
Name.
The writer of the
above report asks, “Please pray for the spirit of conviction to fall on our
government leaders and Judge Barak who is now
making a decision concerning the legitimacy of mass demonstrations in front
of the private residences of believers. Pray for the believers to be
granted favour from on high and to receive
protection.
“Also, please
continue to pray for God’s protection for Eddie and Lura who are continuing
to experience much persecution daily by the orthodox.
“For those of you
who would like to voice your opinions to our government concerning
this persecution, you can send an
email to Tourism Minister Benny Elon. Mr Elon has spoken in many
churches across America, encouraging tourism to Israel, and it would be
good if he could hear the voice of Israel loving Christians who are against
this persecution of their Israeli believing counterparts, requesting that
he do all he can to put an end to this harassment. He can be reached by
email at: mailto:belon@knesset.gov.il”
(Report from Israel received through Christian
Witness to Israel, 166 Main Road, Sundrige,
Sevenoaks TN14 6EL.)
ISRAELI
EMBASSY COMMENT
Mr Calev
Bender at the Israeli Embassy in London commented, “There is a
difficult balance all democracies need to maintain between the freedom
people have to express their opposition to views or actions on the one
hand, and the freedom people have to privacy and protection of their
property on the other. It is this balance that the police have tried to
maintain in recent months in the Israeli town of Arad.
“As you know, in
recent months there have been several complaints by Arad’s Messianic Jewish
population that their privacy and feelings have been impeded by protest
vigils that have taken place in the area. This is taken extremely seriously
by the police who arrested several members of the Ultra Orthodox group and
took them to the local prosecutor’s office for interrogation.
“Restraining
orders have been taken out on certain members of the Ultra Orthodox group
barring them from coming within 100 metres of the
home of one of the Messianists for a period of 30
days. The Israeli police also decided to ban demonstrations that were
taking place outside the house of one Messianic Jew which in turn led to a
petition to the Supreme Court by the Ultra Orthodox against the police’s
decision. Whilst the decision has not yet been taken by the Court, all of
the Messianic Community were allowed to express
their grievances to the quorum of high court judges.
“Israel is the only country in the region
in which the Christian community is growing and thriving and we join with
you in hoping that this will continue far into the future.”
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