Jews for
Judaism is the only international, full-time counter-missionary,
counter-cult, educational, outreach and counseling organization
dedicated to countering the multi-million-dollar efforts of deceptive
missionary and cult groups that target the Jewish community for
conversion.
Here, from
the Jews for Judaism counter-missionary Handbook, The
Response to Jewish Missionaries, is a look at the challenge
facing the Jewish Community.
According to recent Gallup and Harris polls, there are over 70
million "born again" Christians in North America, many
of whom are convinced that in order for Jesus to return, the Jewish
people must first be converted to Christianity. Christian denominations
such as the Southern Baptist Convention -- which passed a resolution
in 1996 targeting Jews for conversion -- and the Assemblies of G-d,
as well as countless other Christian groups worldwide, contribute
more than $250 million annually to aggressively evangelize Jews.
These evangelical Christians have established special "Hebrew
Christian synagogues" to attract Jews. Such "synagogues"
have grown in number from 20 to over 400 in the last twenty years.
 Missionaries
convince their recruits that they are not complete as Jews until
they accept Jesus as the Messiah, and that a Jew retains his or
her Jewish identity after converting to Christianity. According
to a 1990 Council of Jewish Federations population study, over 600,000
Jews in North America alone identify with some type of Christianity.
Over the past 25 years, more than 275,000 Jews worldwide have been
converted specifically by missionaries who use deceptive tactics
that masquerade Christian beliefs in the guise of Judaism. The Gospel
is preached by "Messianic rabbis" wearing yarmulkas (skullcaps)
and talleisim (prayer shawls) at "Shabbat" and "High
Holiday" services. These "Hebrew Christians" promote
their Christian faith by using a new name: "Messianic Judaism."
These groups have influenced evangelical churches to adopt the
same deceptive techniques. For the first time in history, Jews are
welcomed into the church and told that they can retain their Jewish
identity. Church members then introduce the Jew to "someone
Jewish who has accepted the Lord." This method of proselytizing
increases the number of contact people, who serve as conduits to
the "Hebrew Christian" missionaries, to include Christian
associates at work, at school and in social settings.In addition,
new programs such as the $16-million theme park in Orlando, Florida,
called The Holy Land Experience, and traveling conferences like
"To the Jew First in the New Millennium" are virtual training
grounds to teach Christians how to effectively evangelize their
Jewish acquaintances.
 Contrary
to popular perception, it is not only emotionally unstable Jews
who fall prey to the missionaries' efforts; in fact, all Jews are
susceptible. Missionaries often target college campuses, hospitals,
drug rehabilitation programs, seniors' residences, and shopping
malls in Jewish neighborhoods, as well as the Israeli community,
Soviet immigrants and intermarried couples. They deliberately misquote,
mistranslate and misinterpret Jewish scriptures and rabbinical texts
in an attempt to "prove" that Jesus was both the Jewish
Messiah and G-d. Their delegitimization of Judaism, in concert with
their misleading exploitation of Jewish symbols, religious artifacts
and even traditional music, serve to confuse the potential convert,
making him or her more vulnerable.
These missionary groups -- over 900 in North America alone -- are
active worldwide, and can be found in almost every Jewish population
center. Several governing bodies in this movement have considerable
political clout; one has even been granted "observer"
status at the United Nations. Several groups have founded "Messia-nic
Jewish" day schools for children and "yeshivot" where
they produce ordained "Messianic rabbis." There are over
100 "Messianic congregations" in Israel, and over 38 in
the former Soviet Union. These groups prey almost exclusively upon
uneducated, unaffiliated and alienated Jews. |
