Jews for Jesus

Christianity used to scare me. Growing up in what was then an ethnically mixed Boro Park Brooklyn, I was told by my neighbor at age 3 that I killed his Lord. I was told stories of blood libels, pogroms, the Inquisition and of course the Holocaust, which my father had gone through. The Cross meant hatred towards me and the slurs thrown at me as I walked my neighborhood with my yarmulke on, came from the Italians, Irish and the occasional Hispanic, Christians all.

Having gone to Yeshivas and Zionist summer camp in my youth, my exposure to gentiles was limited. Only in college did I really start to learn about other religions and cultures and only when I joined the working world did I really start to interact with gentiles. Of course I learned that the world has changed from the one I learned about growing up. Christian based Anti-Semitism is much less prevalent today. Nostra Aetate which repudiated "Deicide" charges against Jews for killing Jesus was the start in a long process of reconciliation between Catholics and Jews. Pope John Paul II's Polish heritage allowed him to witness the worst of anti Jewish hatred in his youth during World War II, it made him especially sensitive to Jews and Israel and under his leadership the Vatican established diplomatic ties with Israel. He was also the first Pope to visit a synagogue as well as the Western Wall in Jerusalem. When he passed away, my father who is a teacher in a Jewish school told his students that "his" Pope had died, a tribute to a man who did much to help retard Christian hatred of Jews.

More recently, Jews have had an uncomfortable alliance with Fundamentalist Christians who have embraced the State of Israel. The discomfort stems from Fundamentalist belief that the Rapture will only come when Jews return to Zion but will then need to accept Christ as their savior or forever be damned. Like most Jews I'll let the Gods fight amongst themselves on that point, in the meantime I'm appreciative of the support.

Like many, my affinity for my Christian brethren has caused me to be shocked and horrified by the atrocities being perpetrated against them by Islamic extremists in the Middle East and other Muslim countries. Maronite Christians in Lebanon have been brushed aside by Hezbollah. Coptic Christians are being killed regularly by Islamic mobs in Egypt. Christians are a prosecuted minority in every Arab country they live in and have been leaving en masse rendering the Middle East "Christianrein." Statistics show that the Christian population in the Middle East has steadily declined over the past 30 odd years in conjunction with the rise of Islamic fundamentalism. Of course, Saudi Arabia the "moderate" ally of the West, has laws banning the open practice of any other religion, meaning Christian businessmen or foreign soldiers need to pray in secrecy so as not to "offend" Arabian sensibilities, but more important not to break their law.

Israel's unilateral withdrawal from Southern Lebanon in 2000 placed many of her Christian allies in mortal danger. Israel did take some of these refugees in but could have done more. The silence from the Jewish community today about the persecution of Christians in Muslim countries is deplorable and must change. We cannot expect the world to decry Anti-Semitism if we remain silent about the murder of innocent Christians. Jews and Israel must use their powers of influence to guarantee basic human rights for our Christian brethren wherever they are. The new government in Egypt has indicated that it wishes to renegotiate some of the terms of the peace treaty with Israel, if so, Israel must put ending Christian persecution in Egypt on the negotiating table as well.

The pro Israel lobby must remind the Congress that the United States is still 80% Christian and that any aid given to any country must come with guarantees of protection of all minorities. Jews who helped fight for the Jackson - Vanik amendment which restricted trade with the Soviet Union while it persecuted Jews, should demand similar accountability from Muslim nations who persecute Christians.

I have heard Jewish leaders lament that we don't have an issue like "Soviet Jewry" to unify us and rally around. I disagree, there is no bigger Jewish cause today than the persecution of Christians in Muslim countries. True, we still have Anti-Semitism to deal with and the safety and security of Israel is of paramount importance to us, but the persecution of any minority, be they Armenians, Kurds, Baha'i or Christians should be utmost in our minds. We must speak out and we have the moral authority as victims and persecuted to stand tall and demand justice.

We spoke out about Darfur, we protested against the murder of Muslims in the Baltic War, we bemoaned tribal slaughter in Rwanda, can we stand by silent as Christians are murdered? We can't and we mustn't and if we have to take the lead in raising consciousness about that issue so be it. As Jews we cannot be silent as human beings we are obligated to act.