March 22, 2000
MESSIANIC ACTION COMMITTEE UPDATE (excerpts from recent bulletins received from Israel)
FREEDOM REPORT NO. 72 ======================
* Update on the Ethiopian
Sisters
* Interior Ministry Asserts Messianic Believers are
'enemies of the Jewish People'
* Israel Army Radio Transcript
UPDATE ON THE ETHIOPIAN SISTERS
As mentioned in our last report, the appeal of the three Ethiopian sisters was rejected by Israel's Supreme Court, which accepted the Interior Ministry's claim that the girls, though teenagers at the time, had entered Israel on false grounds, namely that they were the adopted daughters of the Jewish man who was married to their non-Jewish mother Discussions with the sisters' lawyer revealed that the judges who decided the case may have been influenced by the Ministry's unsubstantiated assertion in their legal papers that the girls were "missionaries" Having handled a number of other matters that did not involve believers in Yeshua (Jesus), the lawyer was struck by the Ministry's total refusal to consider a compromise solution in spite of the obvious humanitarian merits of the case, as well as by the court's refusal to press for such a settlement.
The three sisters have written to Interior Minister Natan Sharansky appealing to him to reverse the decision of the Ministry to strip them of their citizenship and deport them Although almost two months have passed since writing their letter, Minister Sharansky has yet to respond. His recent appointment of virulently anti-Messianic Ethiopians to form an advisory council that will help investigate and decide on the status of Ethiopian immigrants does not bode well, however Even if the sisters are granted permanent status in Israel, their life, as that of other Ethiopian Messianic believers, will not be easy.
Ethiopians who are very hostile toward Messianic believers serve in the "Ethiopian Department" of the Interior Ministry They are setting up local councils to investigate, harass, and "expose" believers The unbelieving families of Ethiopian believers are made to feel that they share in the guilt and shame of the "traitorous" behavior of their relatives and many families have been severely divided as a result Serious persecution that would emanate from within the Ethiopian community is very possible.
The members of the MAC recently met with the attorney representing the Ethiopian sisters in their struggle to remain in Israel At the request of the MAC, he provided us with a summary of his experience with the tactics being used against Ethiopian believers generally by functionaries within the Interior Ministry As he stated in part,
"There is a department within the Ministry of Interior that deals exclusively with people who come from Ethiopia, whether they are Israeli citizens or tourists The Ethiopian department has received information about a group of so-called 'Pente' This is the name given to evangelical Christians in Ethiopia. The head of the department holds the view that all 'Pentes' are missionaries who aim to convert other Ethiopian Jews to Christianity.
It is clear that the department's policy aims to restrict, reduce and even eliminate 'Pente' presence in Israel This is unfortunately aided by the cooperation of many Ethiopians who object to 'Pentes' and supply the department's staff with constant information. The methods here described aim at stopping the entrance of new 'Pentes', deporting existing 'Pentes', and harassing 'Pentes' to a point where they are afraid to associate with other 'Pentes.'
There is no doubt in my mind that the methods used against 'Pente' Ethiopians are contrary to any notion of religious freedom and damage Israel's reputation all over the world."
We request your help in getting as many people as possible to write letters expressing concern over the case of the Three Ethiopian Sisters Please use the regular postal system and/or fax, inasmuch as we have discovered that E-mail is usually ignored by governmental agencies.
We would appreciate one copy of such a response to be sent to:
Prime Minister Ehud Barak
3 Kaplan Street, P. O. Box 187
Kiryat Ben-Gurion
Jerusalem 91919 Israel
Fax: 972-2-566-4838
and another copy to:
Minister Natan Sharansky
Ministry of the Interior
2 Kaplan Street, P. O. Box 6158
Kiryat Ben-Gurion
Jerusalem 96101 Israel
Fax: 972-2-670-1628
Such initiative has proven effective before, and we ask that you take some
time to help these three women and perhaps the future of many in Israel.
ENEMIES OF THE PEOPLE
The Law of Return is one of the first principles of the modern State of Israel. It guarantees the right of any Jew to receive automatic Israeli citizenship upon request. Even a non-Jew with a single Jewish grandparent, or one married to a Jew, shares the same right. At the same time, the Law grants the Minister of the Interior the authority to prevent specific types of "undesirables" from exploiting this right: specifically, one who: (1) is acting against the Jewish People; (2) is liable to endanger public health or the security of the State; or (3) has a criminal past which is liable to endanger public safety. These provisions have been used in the past to justify the refusal to grant Israeli citizenship to different individuals.
As of Sunday, February 20, 2000, Interior Minister Natan Sharansky has officially asked Israel's Attorney General to rule as to whether "missionary activity" can be considered "activity against the Jewish people" for the purpose of this law. The director of the Visa Department in the Ministry of the Interior has publicly declared the Ministry's intention to use this provision in the Law to disenfranchise and expel any non-Jew who has immigrated under the Law and who engages in so-called "missionary activity." If such a ruling is made, it could have a devastating effect upon the believing community in Israel, providing yet another tool to intimidate Messianic believers and attempt to silence the proclamation of the New Testament in the Land.
Interestingly enough, "missionary activity" continues to be perfectly legal in Israel, despite several failed attempts to enact laws which would criminalize communication of one's faith in Yeshua as the Messiah to others. The Interior Minister's request is clearly an attempt to sidestep the Knesset, which has failed to outlaw such activities, by seeking to include them by definition under the "activities against the Jewish People" clause. In fact, no legal definition of what constitutes "missionary activity" even exists, leaving the worrisome possibility that the Minister's whim may determine what activity is punishable and what is not. Ironically, Interior Minister Natan Sharansky himself (when he was known as Anatoly Sharansky) was jailed in the former Soviet Union from 1977-86 on trumped up charges of treason for "activities against the Soviet people," activities like encouraging immigration to Israel, learning Hebrew, and studying Jewish sources like the Bible. In 1986 he was stripped of his Soviet citizenship and deported, immigrating to Israel under the Law of Return.
Following is the text of the Israel Army Radio report on the Interior Ministry's request:
ISRAEL ARMY RADIO (GALEI TZAHAL)--FEB. 21, 2000, 7:45AM
"ANCHOR: ... for the first time the Interior Minister faces a situation in which he will need--so he desires at least--to exercise his authority to deport from the country people who entered it legally, but, as it turns out, they are acting against the Jewish people. The reference is to tens of immigrants who do not define themselves as Jews and who are involved today in missionary activity. These immigrants arrived under certain sections of the Law of Return and this phenomenon is growing stronger and stronger with the beginning of the year 2000 and all the more as the expected visit of the Pope approaches. Minister Sharansky is now requesting the legal opinion of the Government's legal counsel, if he is permitted to use this authority of his, as our correspondent Kave Shafran reports.
CORRESPONDENT: The Interior Minister is permitted to deport from the country a person who acts against the Jewish people. This authority, which was granted to the Interior Minister in the Law of Return, has never been used. Today, for the first time since the law was legislated, the Interior Ministry is considering the use of this authority against missionaries who immigrated to the country under the Law of Return. Batia Carmon, director of the Visa Department in the Interior Ministry, explains:
CARMON: People who are not Jews but who arrived in the country according to the Law of Return are involved in the country in missionary activity, and we are trying to test the question, "Is there, in this activity, a kind of 'action against the Jewish people?'" That is, do they [i.e. the missionaries] fall under the exceptions to the Law of Return? We have at least tens, if not hundreds, of people whose status we are now attempting to determine.
CORRESPONDENT: According to Carmon, the missionary phenomenon is especially bad in the year 2000 and as the Pope's visit in the country approaches. It should be noted that the issue does not concern only those missionaries who are breaking the law and soliciting minors and paying money for conversion, but also concerns [lit. "towards"] those who are responsible for missionary publications [or "advertisements"] which are allowed under the law in Israel. If, in fact, such a decision will be taken, it will not be accepted with quiescence by the missionaries, as Noam Hendren from the Action Committee of the Messianic Congregations says.
HENDREN: They are persecuting loyal citizens of the State, trying to describe them--in particular with a term like "missionaries"--as some kind of criminals who are acting against the Jewish people. It is an outrage to describe them in this way; it's a blood libel.
CORRESPONDENT: In the Interior Ministry it is understood that a decision of this kind will have to stand the test of the Supreme Court; therefore the subject has been referred to the Government's legal counsel [or Attorney General] in order to receive a legal opinion. In the Ministry they are convinced of one thing: even if such a decision will be made, it is expected to arouse many reactions, supportive and outraged, both in the Land and outside of it."
We encourage reprinting in whole or in part of our reports and the forwarding on of the same to others who may not be on our mailing list. We would respectfully ask for your continued prayers for wisdom as we deal with these and other matters in the days ahead.
MESSIANIC ACTION COMMITTEE
Paul Liberman, Chairman
Noam Hendren
Charles Kopp
Marvin Kramer, Esq.
Nizar Touma
Daniel Yahav
P. O. Box 5462, Herzliya 46153 Israel
Tel/Fax: 972-9-951-6118 E-mail:
themac@netvision.net.il
Wires: Bank Leumi, 32 Maskit Street, Herzliya Pituach, Israel
Telephone: 972-9-970-6333, Fax No. 972-9-970-6355
Branch/Account No.: 864-12986
ABA Number = SWIST CODE = LEUMILIT864
e-mail or postal address:
P.O. Box 5462, Herzliya 46100 Israel
Telephone/Fax: 972-9-951-6118
E-mail: themac@netvision.net.il
See also:
AMFI's Religious Liberty in Israel Update Page
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