How to Read Israeli News

I read a lot of news, but rarely am involved or have direct knowledge of a news event. Those rare times seem to have one thing in common: the news reports contain significant errors. A couple of days ago, a major Israeli news organization, Arutz-7, reported the following story about “Anti-Missionary Activity.” You can read the whole story for context, but the relevant section for me is this:

Yad L’Achim has been contacted about a possible missionary threat to the hareidi town of Kiryat Ye’arim (Telz Stone), 15 minutes west of Jerusalem. Just this past Yom Kippur, eight young members of nearby Yad HaShmonah – a “missionary village,” according to Yad L’Achim – made their way to a synagogue in the neighborhood, and were invited into the home of a well-meaning resident in the mistaken belief that they wished to learn more about their “Jewishness.” She later related that she had to interrupt them several times when they began to speak about Christianity. “Don’t try to change us,” she said. “Our Torah is perfect.” Just a few days earlier, a group of over 100 people walked provocatively past the religious community, singing Biblical songs, blowing shofars, and even standing outside the community gates in a briefly successful effort to attract children from the town; so state residents and eyewitnesses to the event. Local residents were in contact with Yad L’Achim following these events, and are trying to formulate a strategy – educational and otherwise – to fight this threat. “I would like to ask the community to please begin to be involved,” the woman of the first incident writes. “The guards at the gate of our community must be alert, our children must know how to respond if they are approached, and we need people with suggestions to get involved.”

The “eight young members” are students at the school where I teach and I have talked at length with them. Not everything in the story is factually inaccurate: it is true that Kiryat Ye ‘arim (Tel Stone) is 15 minutes west of Jerusalem. After that, nearly everything is inaccurate.

1. The “eight young members” are American students. They are not members of Yad HaShmonah, but are spending several months as tourists in the guest house. Yad HaShmonah is not a “missionary village.” It is a community of Jewish believers in Jesus.

2. The students visited the synagogue in order to learn more about Jewish practices and customs. Their official studies include coursework in Judaism, with the goal of gaining a greater appreciation for Jewish culture and religion. This is genuine and sincere in every respect.

3. They did not invite themselves to the lady’s house, but were invited by her. The article blurs this by insinuating that the students were aggressively pursuing her or someone else. If she hadn’t invited them over, they would have returned to the school after the synagogue service.

4. The students were clear from the start that they are Christians. No one should be surprised that Christians believe in Jesus.

5. The students talked about Christianity only in response to her questions. She specifically asked one student, “What do you think about the Messiah?” It is strange then that she would be offended by the mention of Jesus.

6. She did not interrupt them several times, but when they mentioned “Jesus” by name, she asked them not to say his name in her house. They honored her request.

7. After talking, they had a peaceful departure, helping in the kitchen, taking photos with her, and signing their names in her guestbook.

8. She did not say, “Don’t try to change us. Our Torah is perfect.” Perhaps she said this to the news reporter, but not to the students. The students didn’t try to change her, and they agree that the Torah is perfect. They were willing to answer her questions until she decided she didn’t like the answers.

The lady was disturbed about the group that walked by a few days earlier and asked the students about it. They didn’t know, as it was an unrelated tour group. But, for the record, this tour group walked on the highway outside of Tel Stone, and not in the residential area. Blowing trumpets may elicit attention, but it’s also a rather natural thing to be done around the time of the Feast of Trumpets (Rosh HaShanah). That a group of Christian tourists walking along a mile-stretch of highway (part of which also runs near Tel Stone) is offensive tells us more about the offended than about the tourists.

So what is this “threat” that Arutz-7 speaks so breathlessly about? Do Christian tourists need to be treated like terrorists, with guards on the lookout for them? Is it honest to call a “threat” those who respond to an invitation to visit and answer questions they are asked? Isn’t it a bit disingenuous to ask, “Our children must know how to respond if they are approached” when no children have been approached, and no adults for that matter.

There is an attitude here that is unfortunate which says, “If there is not a threat, invent one.” The news organization should be more discerning and careful in their reporting.