Messianic Humanitarian Community Attacked in Jerusalem

The vast majority of rabbis would not support a violent attack on a Messianic Jewish center, let alone one with women and children inside.

By Michael Brown, Ph.D
Christian Post

The contrast between the two videos is stark. The first is terribly disturbing.
The second is tremendously inspiring. The first shows security camera footage of some young thugs vandalizing a building and assaulting a female worker.
The second, which is an interview I conducted, shows the female worker and her father expressing their love and concern for the thugs. That is the power of Messiah’s grace in Jerusalem. And that is the opposition faced by Messianic
Jews living there.

Michael Brown holds a Ph.D. in Near Eastern Languages and Literatures from New York University and has served as a professor at a number of seminaries. He is the author of 25 books and hosts the nationally syndicated, daily talk radio show, the Line of Fire.

The community that was attacked is called Adullam. It focuses on compassionate, humanitarian outreach to hurting Israelis, including ultra-Orthodox Jews and those who have left that community. It also serves at-risk Israelis from other backgrounds.

But because of its effective outreach to religious Jews, it has come under intense fire, with a well-known radical inciting some young people to go on the attack.

As reported in Kehila News, “Members of Lehava, a violent anti-assimilation organization led by Ben-Zion Gopstein – a former disciple of Rabbi Meir Kahana – have been attacking a safe house for at-risk youth which is operated by a Messianic family.”

Michael, who manages the safe house, tells the story.

“When they came, during opening hours, we asked them to leave and said that we have three little children here. They didn’t care. They left and came back throwing bricks and stones at us. One flew right by one of our heads.”

But that was not the end. The thugs returned again, ultimately knocking out the windows with bricks and rocks as well as carrying out at least one physical assault.

Thankfully, with security cameras just installed, the last attack was captured on video. As for how the police will respond, that remains to be seen.

Does all this confirm the worst suspicions of the anti-Semites? Does it prove how evil “the rabbis” are? Does this point to the fundamentally corrupt nature of “the Jews”?

Certainly not.

There are bad apples in every religion, including Judaism.

There are corrupt leaders in every religion, including Judaism.

And there are thugs in every nation, including Israel.

The vast majority of rabbis would not support a violent attack on a Messianic Jewish center, let alone one with women and children inside.

And the vast majority of Israelis, most of whom are not religious, would be appalled at such an attack.

That being said, there is a price to pay for being a Messianic Jew in Israel, especially when reaching the ultra-Orthodox. And we certainly can expect more attacks like this, especially as the Adullam movement spreads to other locations throughout the Land. (For the origin of the term Adullam and its significance, see 1 Samuel 22:1).

It’s important, however, to reiterate that the movement provides humanitarian and compassionate help for Israelis from all backgrounds. And some of the team members have worked for years in Muslim communities in Israel.

Christian Post article continues here

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