Burning the NT

[agnon1]

From the wire:

Orthodox Jews set fire to hundreds of copies of the New Testament in the latest act of violence against Christian missionaries in the Holy Land.

Or Yehuda Deputy Mayor Uzi Aharon said missionaries recently entered a
neighborhood in the predominantly religious town of 34,000 in central Israel, distributing hundreds of New Testaments and missionary material.
 
After receiving complaints, Aharon said, he got into a loudspeaker car last Thursday and drove through the neighborhood, urging people to turn over the material to Jewish religious students who went door to door to collect it.



While I am obviously against missionizing Jews, it sickens me that a Jew of any denomination would burn a book, any book. Nazis burned books. The anti-semitic medieval Church burned Talmuds.  We should never, ever, sink this low.

Shame.

[metis]

Even though I would agree that burning the books probably should not have been done, it is against the law to proselytize in Israel, but there's groups that do this all the time, and I've seen it happen there with my own two eyeballs.  Why would a Christian pass out Christian Bibles to Jews if the attempt wasn't to proselytize? 

[Acumen]

This story is on Beliefcorner's homepage news feed from the Jerusalem Post.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1211288128832

--------------------------------

[VLinvictus]

I am hardly one to defend the Orthodox, but the blame here lies with the missionaries. They should have had some respect for the people of the town and not foisted their propaganda on them.

One of the purposes for the State of Israel to exist is to be a homeland for Jews where we can finally be secure and not have to face persecution and proselytization.

Is it disrespectful to burn these NTs? Possibly. They should have been recycled. But that's nothing compared to the disrespect of the missionaries who handed them out.

[agnon1]

I would have no trouble with burning the missionaries.   

I would have no trouble burning pamphlets.

The trouble with this story is that the millions of Christians who do not try to convert Jews will read this and be aghast that we burned their holy scriptures. It will reinforce a negative image of Jews. And it will not dissuade those who try to wrest ignorant Jews from the tribe.

[river]

That would be the only reason it would bother me because Christians will get pissed off at Jews, but what else is new?  But I am pissed off when missionaries stand in front of my Temple on the High Holy Days and try to stop our cars so they can give out their pamphlets.   They literally stand in front of lines of cars, bang on our windows and try to get their stuff into our cars. They put the stuff under our wind-shield wipers. If it weren't for air conditioned cars, they would throw the stuff in.  They hold up signs that say JESUS IS LORD, and generally make a big ruckass.  Ongoing cars pass by.  They think it's Jews out there making the noise. Half don't know we would not put a sign like that, but they hold the writing away from the street, so onlookers don't know what they say.  When you come out, you find your cars windows stuffed with missionary pamphlets.  The police are there, but we'd need a fleet of them to catch them, because they bend over and sneak around.   Most people just take them off and throw them on the ground, which makes a big mess that has to be cleaned up.   Even though they're not allowed on the ground, it's a big Temple, and they sneak around the school and get in the parking lot that way.  They also leave lots of pamphlets on the day schools.  Jews in our city recently built day schools next to their synagogues and temples.  One of the reasons is that one day a week doesn't seem to be enough to educated the kids against missionaries and their message.  Now even Reform temples have day schools.   This is very new in our city.  Before, only one large orthodox synagogue also had a day school, and the Yeshivas, of course.   Now they all built them.

[Akiva]

Overall, I agree with the above.  Burning holy books is a bad business and certainly isn't good PR, but the offense was disgusting. 

Btw, River.  The same scenario used to happen where I live on the High Holy Days.  But now there are armed city police officers that patrol the perimeter 24/7, and on the High Holy Days, police cars line the blocks of each synagogue in the area. 

[river]

VLinvictus wrote:

Is it disrespectful to burn these NTs? Possibly. They should have been recycled.

Bingo.

[river]

Akiva,

It's a shame that police have to guard the synaogues that closely in your town.  I've never seen that in my city, and we have a bunch of Temples and Synagogues here, especially in my neck of the woods.  But yes, they are there on the HHDays.  Mainly to direct traffic.  These evangelists are very tricky.  They hide behind parked cars, and wait for their chances.  They hide around the day schools, and the police are busy with traffic.  I'm sure when they spot one, they chase him off, but the traffic is heavy on the HH Days.  I guess that's a good thing. 

Evangelists are all over the place.  I do not understand their overwhelming need to convert Jews!

I've been following a case on Court TV (now CNN something or other)  about that Muslim guy who forced his way into a Jewish Center and shot 5 women.   He killed one.  He's pleading insanity, (don't they all?)  but the majority of people watching, who write in their OP. have pronounced him guilty, and when I heard the prosecution's case on his sanity, I thought while he may be a bit off the beaten track, he was not insane.  He knew exactly what he was doing and why.  He told the police he only wanted to hold these women hostage for political purposes but when they scattered he started firing.  He plotted out this whole thing very carefully.  This was in the state of WA.

[Akiva]

I've been watching that as well.  It's a difficult decision.  While the attack was definitely premeditated, and I'm sure he harbors some anti-Semitic sentiments, I have pretty much come to the conclusion that the man is insane. 

[river]

But not legally.  And that's the point.  You can call anybody who commits a terrible crime, insane.  You can call all the terrorists insane.  The men who murder children, insane.  And some are.  But they're not legally insane by certain standards if it's premeditated..  Someone who is insane doesn't know what he's doing.   This guy knew exactly what he was doing.  He had everything plotted out in advance, even to the type gun he would carry so he wouldn't get caught on the street. He had more than one gun.  He's not retarded.   He has a degree in biology.  Yes, he's a nut, but he should go to jail anyway.  He deliberately, with knowledge of fore-thought killed somebody, and wounded 4 other women, one who was pregnant.  Put him away, or it will happen again.  Maybe next time it will be in yours or my Community Center.   We can't allow these types of political crimes to go un-punished in our communities.  They should be recognized as "hate crimes" in our country.

[julrich]

pagans think the more religions the merrier.  Hindus suck up religions like a sponge.  The Buddha just relegated the gods to insignificance without any rancor at all.  what's with us monotheists we have to think our god hates "false" religions?

big julie

[redkim]

I would have no trouble with burning the missionaries.  

I would have no trouble burning pamphlets.

The trouble with this story is that the millions of Christians who do not try to convert Jews will read this and be aghast that we burned their holy scriptures. It will reinforce a negative image of Jews. And it will not dissuade those who try to wrest ignorant Jews from the tribe.

Sure, I'm aghast that any scriptures would be burned, especially my own. Does this give me a negative image of Jews? No (after all, look at my avatar), but I have a hard time swallowing the concept that prosyletizing is illegal in Israel. Then again, I also believe that prosyletizing is not an effective tool for anything except making enemies.

[Akiva]

No (after all, look at my avatar), but I have a hard time swallowing the concept that prosyletizing is illegal in Israel.

Why?

[Clyde5001]

Hi Kim.

I'm not sure, but I think you can distribute religious literature in Israel.

[redkim]

No (after all, look at my avatar), but I have a hard time swallowing the concept that prosyletizing is illegal in Israel.

Why?

Because I believe in freedom of speech and religion.

[redkim]

Hi Kim.

I'm not sure, but I think you can distribute religious literature in Israel.

What would be the difference between that an prosyletizing?

[Clyde5001]

Hi Kim.

I'm not sure, but I think you can distribute religious literature in Israel.

What would be the difference between that an prosyletizing?

I'm not sure, because I'm not all that familiar with Israeli law. But I think proselytizing would encompass talking, or doing so on the grounds of religious institutions.

I hope someone here can correct me on this!

[Howiedds]

I'm not sure, but I think you can distribute religious literature in Israel.

What would be the difference between that an prosyletizing?

I'm not sure, because I'm not all that familiar with Israeli law. But I think proselytizing would encompass talking, or doing so on the grounds of religious institutions.

I hope someone here can correct me on this!

You are permitted to distribute religious literature in Israel. It is against the law I'm not sure, but I think you can distribute religious literature in Israel.

It is illegal to actively convince a minor to convert to another religion, or to pay someone to convert.

Ironically, according to Israel's Criminal Code it is illegal to harm in any way a place, symbol or icon of religious importance to a community who imbues that icon with religious significance.

Therefore, the book burning was illegal and their distribution among the Ethiopian Jews, which is what sparked this incident, was not.

 

[Howiedds]

Sorry. That should have read:


You are permitted to distribute religious literature in Israel.

It is illegal to actively convince a minor to convert to another religion, or to pay someone to convert.

Ironically, according to Israel's Criminal Code it is illegal to harm in any way a place, symbol or icon of religious importance to a community who imbues that icon with religious significance.

Therefore, the book burning was illegal and their distribution among the Ethiopian Jews, which is what sparked this incident, was not.