WP: Conversion Outreach Plan (for Jews) Stirs Outrage

[DeepModem Mom]

Conversion Outreach Plan Stirs Outrage
Jews for Jesus Trains 600 for Street Work

By David Cho
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, August 17, 2004; Page B01


The ancient debate over Jesus's claim to be the Jewish Messiah is being renewed in Washington this week as hundreds of evangelists seeking to convert Jews take to Metro stops, parks and college campuses -- along with protesters from the Jewish community.

Jews for Jesus, a San Francisco-based group, said it trained more than 600 local volunteers to evangelize the region's 220,000 Jews as part of a worldwide campaign called "Operation Behold Your God."

The Washington outreach, at an estimated cost of $200,000, is scheduled to begin tomorrow with three days of planning. On Saturday, teams clad in "Jews for Jesus" shirts will begin blanketing Metro stops with religious leaflets, Washington director Stephen Katz said....

***

The campaign is scheduled to end Sept. 18, a few days after Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year -- and the timing has infuriated Jewish leaders. They have planned town hall meetings this week to warn the Jewish community about what they call the coming "threat," and they said they will dispatch counter-missionary teams, which will seek to discredit the group and its conversion effort....

***

Since 2001, Jews for Jesus has brought the Behold Your God campaign to 38 other metropolitan areas worldwide with Jewish populations of 25,000 or more. So far, the effort has persuaded about 1,000 Jews and 2,900 non-Jews to put their faith in Jesus, according to Katz. Plans call for sending missionaries to 28 additional cities and eventually, he said, to Israel....


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A6464-2004Aug16.html

[Kinkistyle]

1. "Christians for Allah" Assemble!

I wonder what Christians would do if a group called "Christians for Allah" decided to blanket flyers all over a Christian community?

[tom_paine]

15. Vandalism, beatings, possibly worse...

The Dark Heart of Imperial Amerika is being born right now!

[OKNancy]

2. False advertising in my opinion

Since if a Jewish person believed that Jesus was the Messiah, then they wouldn't be a Jew, now would they? ( I guess they mean ethnically Jewish, but still, it's a stupid name )

[Stuckinthebush]

3. Fundamentalist Christians piss me off sometimes

and, yes...Jews for Jesus is a fundy group.

[matcom]

4. "Operation Behold Your God."

HAHAHAHAHAHAA

*sigh*

time to look into living in other countries :eyes:

[Dover]

5. Well that ought to do wonders for bringing any swing Jews into the

Democratic fold. HA!

Life is stranger than fiction....and much funnier.

[KharmaTrain]

6. They Want Presents For Two Holidays...

They tried this crap here in Chicago a few years ago and were all but laughed out of town...and in some of the more Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods, run out.

I've always joked these people want it all ways...hedging their bets. Throughout Jewish history there's always been a group that tries to "bridge" this religion with Christianity. That's waaay too much religion for me.

Judaism is going under an identity crisis to figure out "who is a Jew"...these jokers don't even figure in that discussion. I'm more concerned with the Orthodox groups that have permeated PNAC and others that have pushed the more reasonable, moderate Jewish voice, both in Israel and here in the U.S. on the defensive.

Jews For Jesus are minor blips on the radar and any Jew who joins them obviously had problems with their faith previously, and if this is how they feel good about themselves, so be it. I draw little differences between extremes of any faith and how it distorts the personality and one's world view.

1,000 Jewish converts? In how many cities over how many years? We could draw that many and more for a lox box lunch at my synagogue. Oh well...

[Dhalgren]

7. How about "Greeks for Thor ",

or "Swedes for Apollo". I mean as long as we are wasting money on being for or against mythological beings. Also, if I have figured this out correctly, they are "converting" 8 Jews per city, per year with all of their efforts. Wow! I mean, wow - that's some huge numbers they're racking up there!

[The Stranger]

8. Be careful before you laugh too hard at these people.

The Right-Wing Fundamentalist Dispensationalist/Left Behind "Christian" agenda involves the (possibly forced) conversion of thousands of Jews as part of Armageddon and the Second Coming, and this appears to be ideologically allied with that agenda.

Several Jewish leaders said the Jewish people have no greater political allies when it comes to supporting Israel. But their support is "a doubled-edged sword," said Scott Hillman, executive director of the counter-missionary group Jews for Judaism, which he founded in Baltimore. He said some Christians also believe that the Jewish people need to be gathered in Israel before Jesus will return.

[hadrons]

9. I remember Howard Stern talking about them ....

he just think they're just out to get attention ('gee, the whole temple will have to notice me now')

[Khephra]

10. This is SOOOOOO wrong on so many levels

Lets start with "Behold YOUR God".

Any person of the Jewish faith who hooks up with someone with a group named like that or affiliated with with a group that uses that type of terminology is really selling out his or her own religion.

[Khephra]

11. This is SOOOOOO wrong on so many levels

Lets start with "Behold YOUR God".

Any person of the Jewish faith who hooks up with someone with a group named like that or affiliated with with a group that uses that type of terminology is really selling out his or her own religion.

[no_hypocrisy]

12. For Christ's sake! (no pun intended) Let them go to Israel and double

their production.

[Mari333]

18. heh..Its ILLEGAL for them to prostlytize in Israel

thats what cracks me up. Israeli government will throw them in jail for it.

[Behind the Aegis]

13. Strangers in the night....and in the day!

Oddly enough, there was a similar movement after the death of Jesus. It was one of three branches of "Christianity," the other two were followers of Paul (which became Christianity) and another that dealt with the mystical side (Gnostic). Guess which branch of the three got wiped out by the followers of Paul?!

"Jews for Jesus" are Christians! And, they are evangelical at that! Not only do Jews not believe in Jesus as the messiah, but it is against Jewish law to proselytize.

Jews have suffered all manners of attacks through the thousands of years, this is but another. I am all for people believing and practicing their faith, their way...as long as it does not interfere with my beliefs or harm the greater population. In the case of "Jews for Jesus," I feel these people are tools for the right-wing movement in their ultimate goal of wiping out all Jews and shipping the rest to Israel. But that is just my opinion, I could be wrong...but I doubt it! :)

Brightest Blessings!

[Algomas]

14. Which is worse: Jews for Jesus or Jews for George?

[tom_paine]

16. Jews for Bunnypants*, it's true

Bunnypants* = The Grandson of "Hitler's Angel"

Bunnypants* = who's followers sem to use almost indetical language that the Nazis condemned the Jews with to condemn "liberals"

[Zhade]

19. Prescott wasn't "Hitler's Angel". That was Thyssen.

Prescott, traitor that he was, would more aptly be called "Hitler's Money-changer".

[tom_paine]

21. Oops. The banker for Hitler's Angel

I stand corrected. Prescott Bushw as Hitler's Money Launderer.

[Zhade]

22. Yeah. He got it "sparkling white"!

Traitor. Too bad he was never hung for his crimes, then maybe we wouldn't be in Iraq right now!

[yellowcanine]

17. WWJD? Somehow I don't think he would do this? This wasn't his style,

was it? He did kick some Pharisee butt on occasion, though. It seems to me that the modern day Pharisees are these RW fundy types.

[Mari333]

20. heh..looks like its this bunch that are behind it all.....

Lon has been on the Board of Jews for Jesus since 1987, where he now serves as chairman of the Board’s executive committee. In September 2002 Lon was appointed by President George W. Bush to serve in his administration as a member of the President’s Committee on Mental Retardation


!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.mcleanbible.org/church/lon_solomon.asp

[yellowcanine]

23. Yep - that's them. The pastor is a former Jew, and as with many converts,

he is most zealous in regard to converting Jews, why not - it affirms his choice.