Christians under pressure in Israel

This message was added on 2005-09-27

Polly, Debby and Rebekah are Christians living in Israel today. They are Messianic believers – Christians from a Jewish background who believe Jesus is the Messiah of the Jews and Saviour of the world.

Now the situation they are in the middle of is like another chapter from the book of Acts. The town of Arad where they live in Southern Israel has many Sauls – ultra orthodox Jews, like Saul in New Testament times - who are zealous for their faith and believe these Christians are a danger to Judaism.

So for 18 months they have waged a campaign of harassment and intimidation against the believers in Jesus – banging on their walls, insulting them in the streets, and throwing rocks at their windows. False accusations have been made against them – that they kidnap Jewish children and baptise them by force. The believers in Jesus did not retaliate. They considered taking legal action, but decided instead to pray.

In April last year the persecution reached a point where hundreds of ultra-orthodox protested outside the home of one of the believer’s families. It was very threatening. Imagine a crowd of 700 people protesting in the street outside your home just because you had a house group meeting there! The police realised that the situation was getting out of hand. So when the ultra orthodox wanted to hold another protest of 700 people outside Polly’s house the police forbade it because of the growing danger to life and public safety.

The ultra orthodox appealed against the ban and in September this year took their case to the High Court. It was heard on September 12th by the Chief Justice of Israel sitting with two other justices, one of whom is an Israeli Arab Christian. The Jewish Christians were able to explain what had happened, how they were being persecuted and the lives of their children affected by hate. The ultra orthodox demanded the right to continue their protests as a matter of free speech. The Chief Justice listened and asked if both sides could come to a compromise – would they agree to allow more demonstrations if they were restricted to say 250 people once a year?

Neither side could agree. The ultra orthodox wanted to bring 700 demonstrators. The police were fearful this would cause a riot. For the Christians the outcome could affect their fellow believers in other towns and cities – if the High Court allows demonstrations against private citizens in Arad, then demonstrations may follow in other towns and cities like Jerusalem and Tiberias. Jewish Christians would be under threat throughout Israel. And that is where the case stands now. The Chief Justice is considering his verdict, so your prayers for your fellow Christians in Israel are vital.

Meanwhile, there was a sequel. Last Saturday, the believers in Arad hired a coach for an outing to Nazareth. 200 ultra-orthodox arrived on the scene and began a riot. Some lay down in the road to stop the bus from leaving. Others banged on the sides and rocked the bus. When the police arrived they feared the bus would be turned over. They escorted the Christians to safety and demanded that the demonstrators go home under threat of criminal action for incitement and a breach of the peace. The believers got back on the coach and were given a police escort to leave the town safely.

Two weeks ago we reported persecution of Christians in the Palestinian Authority. Thank God that in Israel the democratic right of freedom of worship is being upheld and although intimidation by ultra orthodox Jews continues in Arad, it is now being checked by the police.

Pray for the situation:
- pray that the believers in Jesus and their children will be able to walk to the shops and meet for Bible study without being threatened or sworn at;
- pray for Aharon Barak, the Chief Justice, and the two justices sitting with him, that they will not allow demonstrations against the homes of private individuals just because they believe in a Jewish Jesus;
- and pray for the ultra orthodox that in their zeal for faith, like Saul of old, they may have a revelation from heaven and discover the love of the Jesus they persecuted.