“Rabbis Vs. Believers in Yeshua”
Figueras Yoyakim – the person in charge of the Messianic Community, Arad

Last Sunday, a group of Rabbis and other public figures gathered in the Sepharadic Synagogue in town. Large advertisements in the press and on the streets invited the local residents to come and hear about the “ways of struggle” against the Messianic Community that exists in Arad, the one of the believers in Yeshua from Nazareth. I write these lines as one of those believers.

For over two years there has been an ongoing stubborn attempt to depict us as horned monsters who lurk around every corner and try to hunt down, mostly the little children of Arad. The residents of different neighborhoods in Arad are familiar with the gatherings, the yelling of certain Haredim outside the homes of the Messianic believers, or the scare attempts at the entrance to our prayer house. It has happened before that after these demonstrations stones or eggs were thrown at the windows of the Messianics’ homes. During those gatherings one can hear words of incitement and lies against the Messianics.

During the Rabbis’ latest assembly, we were compared to the Nazis who sent Jews to the incinerators 60 years ago. The audience was called to participate actively in the struggle and to take actions. No wonder, therefore, that two days later one man took the Rabbis’ words seriously and try to set fire, using petrol bombs, to a chess club that belongs to a Christian couple – while people were inside…

In my reference to the ongoing shameful behavior in Arad, I do not include all the Haredim in town. Behind closed doors some Haredim not only expressed their disapproval of such behavior, but also apologized and asked for our forgiveness, and wanted us to know that there are some who think differently.

Who are we? We come from completely different backgrounds; amongst us are Jews and Gentiles, Sabras and new immigrants, from the former USSR and from North Africa, from a religious background and a secular one, Conservative and Orthodox (Haredim), Arabs and settlers… On the surface it seems we have nothing in common. What keeps us together in unity is an authentic and living faith in the God of Israel, and in Yeshua from Nazareth as the promised Messiah, we believe, according to the biblical prophets. In Him we found peace with God and forgiveness of sins.

Nobody sold us the faith, nor forced it upon us. So, how can we force it on somebody else, as we are accused of doing? A man’s faith is his own private matter, between him and God. If anything good came out of the harassments, the scare attempts and the smear campaign of the past two years is in fact the proof of our faith’s authenticity. This difficulty or another will not rob us of the faith that’s in our hearts, even if it burdens our children and us.

We are residents of Arad and citizens of this country. We’ll continue to contribute to our town as best we can. We will not ride roughshod over others.

Naïve? Perhaps, but we will try, with all our might, to act according to our faith.