July 10, 1998

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

FREEDOM REPORT NO. 49 


Recently, MAC members Paul Liberman and Chuck Kopp were given clear
evidence of the impact which the international letter-writing campaign is
having on government policy makers.  Liberman and Kopp were invited to
the Prime Minister's office for a meeting with David Bar Ilan, Netanyahu's
media advisor.   Bar Ilan stated that he had already received 15,000
pieces of mail addressing the Anti-Religious Freedom law and he has not been
the sole target of the protest letters.  He also acknowledged that he had
seen the MAC's ads in both the Hebrew and English press in Israel.   As MAC
chairman Liberman later reported, "We have struck a nerve.  Suddenly we
have awareness and access."

Bar Ilan tried to deflect criticism of the Prime Minister's vote in
favor of the recent Pinchasi bill by averring that such a vote was "almost
automatic" in the case of a coalition member's bill.  He claimed that the
legislation would not even make it out of committee, as coalition whip Meir Sheetrit
had also publicly vowed.  Similarly, Israeli embassy representatives in
various countries have had to field searching questions about the
government's position on MK Pinchasi's repressive proposal.   Their
parallel response indicates a standard "line" which is being widely
promoted in an attempt to lull the international community into a false
security on this issue.

In response to one such query, the Prime Minister's office sent a copy
of a letter which the Prime Minister sent to Mr. Abraham Foxman, National
Director of the Anti-Defamation League in the United States.  In it
Netanyahu asserted, "This bill is different from the previous one, but it is
also unacceptable to us. Let me assure you again that Israel will pass no
laws which limit freedom of religion and contravene the international
conventions to which it is signatory."

Interestingly, the first "anti-missionary" bill was also a private member's bill
submitted by a member of the coalition, but in that case the government did
not vote "almost automatically" in favor.   A major political commentator
also seems to be unaware of the "automatic vote" principle.  He put
together a piece for the Friday evening news magazine on Israel TV
highlighting the duplicity of Netanyahu, who promises the "Christians" (like
Norway's Prime Minister) one thing, and then votes in favor of the very
law he characterized as unacceptable.   He ended with the following text:

"What comes to light?  Two weeks ago, on the 20th of May, there was a
vote on the private member's bill of Knesset member Pinchasi--a far
tougher law carrying a much more serious penalty than the original
proposal of Gafni and Zvilli.  37 voted for, 28 voted against.    How did
Benyamin Netanyahu vote? Unbelievable!  He voted in favor!"

What the Prime Minister's office characterized as "almost automatic" is
viewed by political commentators as "Unbelievable!"  And as if that wasn’t enough,
following the broadcast of this segment, the Prime Minister's own press spokesman
called the station and issued the following statement:

"Mr. Shai Bazak, spokesman for the Prime Minister, expresses that the
Prime Minister emphasized again that the law, in its present form, will
not pass.  The Prime Minister announced that the law will be altered
prior to the vote on the second and third readings as is the accepted
pattern for many laws."

So much for the law being "buried in committee."   In other words, the
law is not unacceptable" in principle; its attack on believers' freedom
of expression just needs to be phrased more tactfully!  Once the
language is adjusted, the Prime Minister's own spokesman assures us, it
will be passed.

The Consul General of Israel in New York wrote the following in response
to one of the letters he received in connection with this law:   "Israel
cherishes its role as the only democracy in the Middle East and a beacon
of freedom and tolerance.  As home to several religious communities,
Israel has made freedom of religion one of its guiding principles,
asserted prominently in Israel'sDeclaration of Independence.  We want
you to know that the Government takes this responsibility seriously and
will continue to make religious freedom a top priority."

If you have received a similar response from Israeli government
representatives, please write back urging them to make good on such
promises.   In the press of local party politics, it can become all too
easy to jettison high ideals in order to achieve other goals which are
less noble than the preservation of basic democratic freedoms in Israeli
society.  Your continued support, positively expressed, will help those
who hold such values dear to stand up to the political pressures which
make compromise an easy solution.

Recently, Charles Kopp and Paul Liberman visited four European capitals
seeking political support.  An overall assessment of public sentiment
reflected that among nominal Christians the sentiment toward Israel had
turned quite negative.  Conversely, active Bible-believing Christianity
was becoming more committed and dedicated towards the Land of the Bible.

While there, an interesting thought surfaced.  Israel's claim on all of
Jerusalem is in part based upon a premise that only Jewish control of
the ancient city could assure the rights of all religious streams.  It
would seem that the two religious censorship bills currently in the
Knesset betray that premise.

Could it be that rabbinical political leverage will increasingly cause
opinion to turn against Israel?  Even if that were to prove to be the
tide of history, we who love the Land of the Scriptures must do
everything we can to stand against such perversions of justice.

Thanking you for your support,

MESSIANIC ACTION COMMITTEE

Paul Liberman, Chairman Noam Hendren Charles Kopp Marvin Kramer, Esq.
Nizar Touma Daniel Yahav

P. O. Box 75,  Rishon LeTsion 75100 Israel
Telephone/Fax:  972-9-955-7158
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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