April, 1998

The following is excerpted from the latest newsletter of good friends who live in Israel:

MESSIANIC ACTION COMMITTEE UPDATE (excerpts from recent bulletins received from Israel)

A major victory has been won in the struggle for religious freedom in
Israel.  Following a massive protest campaign organized by the
Messianic  Action Committee and supported by many thousands of friends
all over the world, on April 1st Knesset Member Zvilli withdrew his
support of the bill  that he and MK Rabbi Moshe Gafni had framed.  As
most of our readers know, this bill proposed to restrict freedom of
religious expression in Israel by instituting  a religious censorship in
the country.

Mr. Zvilli withdrew his support and promised to defend religious freedom
in Israel in exchange for a statement made on April 1 by a small segment
of the Protestant Christian community in Israel.  This statement
affirmed the State of Israel and disavowed unethical evangelism in any
form, but because it did not include a clear reference to the legitimacy
of evangelism as such, nor to the importance of freedom of speech - the
very issue at stake - the whole Messianic community and most of the
Evangelical Protestant churches (which are organizations represented by
the United Christian Council in Israel (UCCI) declined to support the
statement.  Among these are the Evangelical Lutherans, the Southern
Baptists, the Association of Baptist Churches in Israel,  the Church of
England, and the Christian and Missionary Alliance.    Recent press
reports in the local and international media  have claimed that
"Messianic and evangelical congregations" agreed to a statement which
includes an undertaking on their part  "to eschew evangelism".    As
indicated above, nothing could be farther from the truth.   The
Messianic Action Committee (MAC) initially agreed to the idea of a
statement, but withdrew its support once it became clear that the
statement would not include a clear avowal to "proclaim" its faith.  The
UCCI withdrew for the same reason and at the request of the MAC.   No
Messianic congregation or organization in the land endorsed the
statement, and no Protestant Evangelical church in Israel did so.

Nevertheless, MK Zvilli, who had been under substantial pressure from
overseas and within Israel, withdrew support of his own bill and
promised to oppose any further efforts to restrict freedom of religious
expression in Israel.   He also promised to actively oppose his own
bill.

It is important to understand that MK Zvilli's withdrawal does not mean
the demise of the bill itself.  MK Rabbi Moshe Gafni continues to
contend for it.  It is still on the Judiciary Committee's agenda and
still enjoys a committed majority in the Knesset.   Many Israeli
politicians who oppose the bill will not vote against it for fear of the
Orthodox political clout.  As stated by Mr. Ehud Barak, Israel's Labour
Chairman and leader of the opposition: "We need the Orthodox to form a
government".

In addition,  MK Raphael Pinchasi's more radical bill, which proposes to
outlaw evangelism altogether by forbidding any preaching which seeks to
persuade someone to change his religion, has been tabled and now awaits
its preliminary reading in the Knesset.

We call upon our many friends to commend MK Zvilli for his courage and,
at the same time, to continue their pressure upon the Israeli Government
so that it will continue to secure freedom of religion and of religious
expression in Israel.   In spite of his public commitment overseas,
Prime Minister Netanyahu has yet to take a public stand in opposition to
the proposed law for religious censorship in Israel.  No one in the
country knows that he opposes it.

A word of thanks goes to those who responded to our recent urgent call
for  help.    Our financial situation has improved due to your
generosity.  But we will not be able to continue this successful
struggle unless support is as consistent as our labors.   Thank you for
your ongoing help.

We also thank those many tens and hundreds of thousands, those
government and parliament officials and the many other individuals of
influence who enlisted themselves to the support of our efforts in
defense of democracy in Israel.  The many thousands of letters,
telephone calls, formal and official protests, and indications of
concern have all contributed to our success so far.  May it please God
to grant us the complete and finale demise of all efforts to reduce our
beloved country's commitment to democracy.

The Messianic Action Committee  POBox 75 Rishon LeTsion 75100 Israel
Tel/Fax 972 3 966 1898  E-mail 100320.1324@compuserve.com

Our news may be found on the "web" at :  The MAC Gallop Poll:
http://www.d10r10.com/Jerusalem_ gate/gate.htm  News headlines:
http://www.d10r10.com/Jerusalem_gate/news.htm   News details:
http://www.d10r10.com/Jerusalem_gate/feature.htm

See also:

AMFI's Religious Liberty in Israel Update Page

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