Lenny
12-03-2005, 01:08 PM
Israel: harassment of Messianic believers continues
The serious harassment of believers in the Negev town of Arad continues as the ultraorthodox Gur Hassidim continue to make life intolerable for the Messianic [Christian] Jews.
The latest incident involves a group of pensioners (not believers) who were being taken by bus for a day trip to see the Nazareth village reproduction, a well known tourist site. The trip was organised by Eddie and Lura whose chess club was burned down in recent weeks The pensioners were lined up near the bus, waiting to board, when large groups of ultraorthodox men began to assemble in groups of 50, the maximum number allowed by law at this time. Before long, there was a massive presence of ultraorthodox, including those from the Chabad sect who had been bussed in to prevent this trip. Some of the ultraorthodox men lay down in front of the bus, and when the police finally arrived (only two officers), they were unable to control the mob. This necessitated calling in more police from Beer Sheva , more than 30 minutes away. In fact, the Arad police requested army backup but were unable to get it.
One of the believers named Polly, a widow who has taken eight children into her home, three of whom are orphaned, was bringing other pensioners who had no transport to the bus stop. As Polly got out of her van, some of the orthodox men pushed her, spat on her, shouted at her and cursed her. She left the scene, returned home and brought back two of her sons, one wearing his army cap showing that he was in a special unit of the army similar to the police. The orthodox began to push him as well, but he refused to retaliate, merely staring down his tormentors. They backed away but called him a "fake" as if he was not really serving in the army police. Of course none of the ultraorthodox serve in the army at all! Although some of the pensioners went home frightened, the trip did get off, albeit late and with only half the pensioners, but there was a sense that God is going to bring all of this to the surface and bring glory to His Name.
[B]ISRAELI EMBASSY COMMENT
Mr Calev Bender at the Israeli Embassy in London commented, "There is a difficult balance all democracies need to maintain between the freedom people have to express their opposition to views or actions on the one hand, and the freedom people have to privacy and protection of their property on the other. It is this balance that the police have tried to maintain in recent months in the Israeli town of Arad.
"As you know, in recent months there have been several complaints by Arad's Messianic Jewish population that their privacy and feelings have been impeded by protest vigils that have taken place in the area. This is taken extremely seriously by the police who arrested several members of the Ultra Orthodox group and took them to the local prosecutor's office for interrogation.
"Restraining orders have been taken out on certain members of the Ultra Orthodox group barring them from coming within 100 metres of the home of one of the Messianists for a period of 30 days. The Israeli police also decided to ban demonstrations that were taking place outside the house of one Messianic Jew which in turn led to a petition to the Supreme Court by the Ultra Orthodox against the police's decision. Whilst the decision has not yet been taken by the Court, all of the Messianic Community were allowed to express their grievances to the quorum of high court judges.
"Israel is the only country in the region in which the Christian community is growing and thriving and we join with you in hoping that this will continue far into the future."
http://www.ianpaisley.org/new_details.asp?ID=356
The serious harassment of believers in the Negev town of Arad continues as the ultraorthodox Gur Hassidim continue to make life intolerable for the Messianic [Christian] Jews.
The latest incident involves a group of pensioners (not believers) who were being taken by bus for a day trip to see the Nazareth village reproduction, a well known tourist site. The trip was organised by Eddie and Lura whose chess club was burned down in recent weeks The pensioners were lined up near the bus, waiting to board, when large groups of ultraorthodox men began to assemble in groups of 50, the maximum number allowed by law at this time. Before long, there was a massive presence of ultraorthodox, including those from the Chabad sect who had been bussed in to prevent this trip. Some of the ultraorthodox men lay down in front of the bus, and when the police finally arrived (only two officers), they were unable to control the mob. This necessitated calling in more police from Beer Sheva , more than 30 minutes away. In fact, the Arad police requested army backup but were unable to get it.
One of the believers named Polly, a widow who has taken eight children into her home, three of whom are orphaned, was bringing other pensioners who had no transport to the bus stop. As Polly got out of her van, some of the orthodox men pushed her, spat on her, shouted at her and cursed her. She left the scene, returned home and brought back two of her sons, one wearing his army cap showing that he was in a special unit of the army similar to the police. The orthodox began to push him as well, but he refused to retaliate, merely staring down his tormentors. They backed away but called him a "fake" as if he was not really serving in the army police. Of course none of the ultraorthodox serve in the army at all! Although some of the pensioners went home frightened, the trip did get off, albeit late and with only half the pensioners, but there was a sense that God is going to bring all of this to the surface and bring glory to His Name.
[B]ISRAELI EMBASSY COMMENT
Mr Calev Bender at the Israeli Embassy in London commented, "There is a difficult balance all democracies need to maintain between the freedom people have to express their opposition to views or actions on the one hand, and the freedom people have to privacy and protection of their property on the other. It is this balance that the police have tried to maintain in recent months in the Israeli town of Arad.
"As you know, in recent months there have been several complaints by Arad's Messianic Jewish population that their privacy and feelings have been impeded by protest vigils that have taken place in the area. This is taken extremely seriously by the police who arrested several members of the Ultra Orthodox group and took them to the local prosecutor's office for interrogation.
"Restraining orders have been taken out on certain members of the Ultra Orthodox group barring them from coming within 100 metres of the home of one of the Messianists for a period of 30 days. The Israeli police also decided to ban demonstrations that were taking place outside the house of one Messianic Jew which in turn led to a petition to the Supreme Court by the Ultra Orthodox against the police's decision. Whilst the decision has not yet been taken by the Court, all of the Messianic Community were allowed to express their grievances to the quorum of high court judges.
"Israel is the only country in the region in which the Christian community is growing and thriving and we join with you in hoping that this will continue far into the future."
http://www.ianpaisley.org/new_details.asp?ID=356