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Saturday, 28 June 2008 |
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Meeting in Israel for their annual business meeting, June 26, representatives of the member congregations of the UMJC overwhelmingly passed a resolution calling on the government of Israel to end discrimination against Messianic Jews under Israel's Law of Return. This law, first established in 1950, allows any Jew in the world to immigrate to Israel and receive citizenship. It was later modified to exclude "a person who has been a Jew and has voluntarily changed his religion." The Israeli Supreme Court ruled nearly 20 years ago that this category included Messianic Jews, even if they continued to maintain Jewish practices and identity. Simply believing in Yeshua was enough to exclude them from the Law of Return. In April, the court ruled that a person who is technically not Jewish, because he or she does not have a Jewish mother, but only a Jewish father, is not subject to this exclusion, and decreed that 12 Messianic Jews of this category were qualified to immigrate under the Law of Return. Now, the UMJC is calling on the government of Israel to end the exclusion of Messianic Jews with Jewish mothers as well. Here is the wording of the resolution:
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Saturday, 28 June 2008 |
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Reports of harassment and attacks against Messianic Jews in Israel continue, but there is another side of the story. Five years ago when the UMJC came to Israel for our annual conference, the Jerusalem Post published a small article that was entirely based on information from an anti-missionary group, filled with distortions and misrepresentations. This year when we returned to Israel for our conference, we received fair and even positive coverage on the front page of the Jerusalem Post. Here's the story as it appeared on www.jpost.com:
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Monday, 12 May 2008 |
THIS ISSUE OF UMJC NEWS JOINS THE CELEBRATION OF 60 YEARS OF
INDEPENDENCE FOR ISRAEL. The theme of our annual prayer campaign (April
20-June 8), and our conference in Israel (June 26-28), is "Honoring the Past;
Embracing the Future." Israel is the place of our biblical past, from the time of
Abraham through the resurrection of Messiah. Israel is also the place of the future,
where Messiah will return at the end of the age. Israel's 60th year is shaping up as a
vital time for us to pray together for God to fulfill all that he has promised in his Word.
The UMJC will be in Israel during this anniversary year with a major tour and conference in June,
which will involve hundreds of Israelis, as well as all of us coming from abroad. We also continue our
participation in humanitarian efforts in Israel that are coordinated by the Messianic community there.
Our offering for Shavuot (June 8-9) at the conclusion of the prayer campaign will go to support such
efforts as well.
So, even if you are unable to be in Israel this year, you connect in powerful ways through your
involvement with the UMJC. We've tried to capture some of this story in this issue of UMJC News, so
read and enjoy!
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Friday, 18 April 2008 |
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On April 16, the Israeli Supreme Court heard the case of several believers who had been denied citizenship by the Ministry of the Interior, including Amy Cowen, daughter of UMJC President Jamie Cowen. Just before the case was heard, Amy wrote, "I do not believe that it is merely coincidental that this case will take place the week leading up to Pesach, a holiday that so clearly embodies themes of salvation, deliverance, freedom, purification, and the blood of the Lamb. As God delivered our people from the bonds of slavery in Egypt, God can certainly deliver once again and grant us our inheritance in this Land."
Here is a summary of the case from the Jerusalem Institute of Justice, one of the Messianic efforts in Israel that the UMJC supports:
In a landmark decision today, the Supreme Court of Israel ratified a settlement between twelve Messianic Jewish believers and the State of Israel, which states that being a Messianic Jew does not prevent one from receiving citizenship in Israel under the Law of Return or the Law of Citizenship, if one is a descendent of Jews on one's father's side (and thus not Jewish according to halacha).
This Supreme Court decision brought an end to a legal battle that has carried on for two and a half years. The applicants were represented by Yuval Grayevsky and Calev Myers from the offices of Yehuda Raveh & Co., and their legal costs were subsidized by the Jerusalem Institute of Justice.
All twelve of the applicants were denied citizenship solely based on grounds that they belong to the Messianic Jewish community. Most of them received letters stating that they would not receive citizenship because they "commit missionary activity". One of the applicants was told by a clerk at the Ministry of Interior that because she "committed missionary activity", she is "acting against the interests of the State of Israel and against the Jewish people". These allegations are not only untrue, but they also do not constitute legal grounds to deny one's right to immigrate to Israel.
This important victory paves the way for persons who have Jewish ancestry on their father's side to immigrate to Israel freely, whether or not they belong to the Messianic Jewish community. This is yet another battle won in our war to establish equality in Israel for the Messianic Jewish community just like every other legitimate stream of faith within the Jewish world.
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Sunday, 24 February 2008 |
2008 Prayer Theme: Honoring the Past, Embracing the Future
When Spring approaches, many of us think of Passover and its familiar customs-cleaning the house to get rid of all leaven, preparing a big meal for family and friends, sitting down together to retell the Passover story, and eating matzah for eight days. One custom found in the Bible is not so familiar, though. During Passover, the Israelites were to begin counting off seven weeks to arrive at the date for Shavuot, or Pentecost, the festival of Weeks. This 49-day period is a time of spiritual anticipation and prayer, called sefirat ha-omer, or counting the omer, the grain offering mentioned in Leviticus 23:15-17.
Jewish tradition has kept this practice alive ever since the destruction of the temple, and in recent years, the UMJC family has made this tradition our own, as we have joined in 49 days of unified prayer during this period. This year, counting the omer begins on Sunday evening, April 20 and concludes Saturday evening, June 7. The next day, Sunday, June 8, is Erev Shavuot, the eve of Shavuot, the holiday celebrating God's gift of the Torah at Sinai, and the outpouring of the Spirit upon the followers of Yeshua centuries later. UMJC congregations and supports will pray together throughout this period, which will culminate in a Shavuot offering that will be sent up to the land of Israel. In fact, since our annual conference this year takes place in Israel, we will be able to bring the offering in person. The theme of the prayer campaign reflects the UMJC conference theme of Come Home Again: Honoring the Past; Embracing the Future. Israel is the place of our biblical past, homeland of the Jewish people, and site of the holy temple and the life, death, and resurrection of Messiah. Israel is also the place of the future, where the Jewish story and the Yeshua story will together reach their completion.
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