Whoa. So there are groups in Israel that are anti-Christian. Do they not know that many Christians give to aid Israel? Or do they not like the implication that jews missed the Messiah on the first pass through?Seems that there is a disconnect there.
David On Jun 6, 2014, at 1:40 PM, BILROJ via Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]> wrote: > > > The other in Israel > > Orthodox rabbis reckon with Christianity > > Jun 05, 2014 by Mordechai Beck > Read the interview with Rabbi David Rosen. > > Christian-Jewish relations may be a topic familiar to many American > Christians, but it is not often taken up by Orthodox rabbis within Israel. > The Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies, a secular think tank, recently > hosted a discussion on the topic to mark the publication in Hebrew of a > booklet by an American rabbi titled "Christianity in the Eyes of Judaism." > The author, Eugene Korn, was among the Orthodox rabbis invited to address the > topic. The discussion and the Hebrew publication were both sponsored by the > American Jewish Committee. > > Korn, who is North American director of the Center for Jewish-Christian > Understanding and Cooperation, offered a historical overview of the > relationship. He noted that in the first two or three centuries of the common > era, when Christianity was taking root and Jews had to contend with its > rising popularity, the rabbis were highly critical of what they viewed as > Christians' worship of an idol. The medieval period gave rise to a more > positive view. A number of rabbis of that era observed that at least > Christians believed in a divine creator, biblical morality, and the coming of > the messianic age. > > Amnon Ramon of the Jerusalem institute turned the discussion to current > issues in Israel. He pointed to acts of discrimination against Christians, > and especially to the actions of radical Jewish settlers who are part of the > Tag Mehir (or "price tag") movement. This group responds to perceived threats > to Israeli settlers in the occupied territories by punishing Palestinian or > Christian groups by defacing or vandalizing their property. He reported that > when members of the Tag Mehir group were taken to court, "the lawyer for the > defense stated that freedom of expression allows you to spit at your > adversary." (The court was not impressed by that argument.) > > Ramon said the institute had surveyed the attitudes of Israeli Jews toward > Christians in Israel and found that as the age of the interviewees went down, > the level of intolerance went up. > > "Local-born Israelis have little firsthand knowledge of Christians, and they > receive little or no study of other religions in school. This is true of > religious and secular schools alike. When schoolchildren visit Jerusalem, for > example, very few enter churches. So there is a minimum awareness of 'the > other' given to them in schools. Thus they are not given any direction in > terms of the complex situation, particularly in Jerusalem. We have a lot of > work to do to improve this situation." > > Rabbi David Rosen, founder of the Interreligious Coordinating Council in > Israel and one of the conveners of the meeting, said that this situation is > precisely what made the conference so important. "The rabbis assembled here > are pioneers in the Torah world in that they are dealing with this issue." > > Rosen noted that Korn's booklet would be distributed among educational > institutions, yeshivot (rabbinical seminaries), and synagogues in Israel, > "where hopefully it will be read and studied." He added: "There is generally > a lack of knowledge or interest in the subject matter among rabbis. > Nevertheless I think the situation has improved over what it was ten or 20 > years ago." > > Korn said his work grew out of two major events. One was the creation of the > state of Israel. "That transformed us. We were no longer a weak people. We > are a strong people, with a place in the world. We are no longer subordinate > to others. This is a major change in our identity and in the history of our > people." > > The second event was the transformation in the Christian view of Judaism that > occurred in the shadow of the Holocaust. He observed that almost all heads of > churches in the United States have visited Israel and that there is > widespread agreement on key points--on rejecting anti-Semitism and the old > claim that the Jews are guilty of deicide; on believing that the church must > repent for its part in the Holocaust; on recognizing the state of Israel as > the state of the Jewish people; and on rethinking attempts to convert Jews to > Christianity. > > In responding to this revolution in the Christian world, Rabbi Korn said, he > is careful not to transgress Jewish law. "As a religious Jew I am concerned > with whether there is a problem in halakhah [Jewish law] in taking a more > positive attitude toward Christianity. After an extensive search, I concluded > that there is no overwhelming obstacle. Many religious Jews don't realize > that some of the great rabbis from the 16th century onward insisted that > Christianity is not idolatry for gentiles." > > Korn quoted, among other rabbinical sources, the 19th-century German rabbi > Jacob Emden: "Jesus brought a double goodness to the world--he removed > idolatry, and he obligated the nations of the world to follow the seven > commands of the Sons of Noah, so they shouldn't be like the animals of the > field, and he instilled them with moral faith. We should view Christianity as > the fulfillment of the prophecy that one day the world will be filled with > the knowledge of God." > > Korn concluded that there is no obstacle to appreciating Christians and > Christianity. "But unfortunately," he added, "not too many people learn this > in yeshiva." > > "As a religious Jew," said Korn, "I believe that Christians believe in many > of the fundamentals of Judaism. So religiously there is every reason to have > better relations. . . . Christians were our enemies for 1,900 years--they > persecuted us and tortured us. There is no way we can restore the victims of > these persecutions. But the question for us is can we make the world a better > place for our grandchildren. I believe that a full appreciation of the > Christian world . . . is both possible and desirable." > > Rabbi Schlomo Riskin, founder of the Center for Jewish-Christian > Understanding and Cooperation, spoke of his own journey of interfaith > discovery, influenced by David Flusser, a teacher at the Hebrew University in > the 1960s: > > "I learned from Flusser about Jesus the Jew, that every word that came from > his mouth had its source in the Torah. The Jewish people entered the world > with a sign of holiness--this is our universal message and we have to explain > it to the world. In Israel, we have not taken the responsibility of having a > universal message. Yet the temple was a place where all the peoples of the > world could come to pray in their own way." > > A word of caution was uttered by Oded Wiener, director general of the Chief > Rabbinate of Israel: "There are many who are not excited by these dialogues." > Partly this resistance grows out of an awareness of a resurgent anti-Semitism > in Europe, he said. But he also reported on hopeful developments, such as the > creation of a website where Palestinians can discuss the acts of Tag Mehir > and carry on a dialogue with various religious groups. "We've gone far in > encountering the others. It's for us to overcome our history." > > "Most Israelis have never heard of these dialogues," Ramon concluded. "It is > therefore necessary to bring this news to the people." > > > -- > -- > Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community > <[email protected]> > Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism > Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org > > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
