Jews for Jesus, a Winning Oxymoron

Maya Berezovsky
University of Minnesota
Editor
KOACH-on-Campus

In my last article, I wrote:

After reading the article, my dad responded, "So you’re saying Jews for Jesus is a sect of Judaism?" I opened my mouth to reply, found myself at a loss for words, and decided to seriously consider for my next article who this group is and why they elicit such bitterness from so many Jews.

Two summers ago, I chatted across the counter with a "regular" at the video store where I worked. I always wondered why he didn’t look more familiar, as he looked Jewish and close to my age. I figured we must have crossed paths at this Jewish school, or that local Jewish youth event. He told me the name of his synagogue, a name that sounded familiar but which I could not place. Note to self: Ask Mom later.

He said his dad was the rabbi of this congregation. All the Jews at his school mock him, he said. I was sympathetic. Just because his father was a rabbi, he was teased by fellow Jews? Outrageous. I didn’t want him to think I looked down at him, so I sorrowfully clucked my tongue and shook my head slowly.

As you have probably guessed, I discovered soon after that his father was the rabbi of the local Jews for Jesus congregation. I had assumed for so long he and I had so much in common, at least our common religion and love for movies. I vividly remember the pained look on his face when he told of experiencing such harassment. I also remember just as well the anger I felt when I found out who he really was. I felt duped.

My Holocaust professor told my class that Jews for Jesus have the same goal as the Nazis: to get rid of all the Jews. While I believe comparing any non-violent person to a Nazi is beyond cruel, and therefore winced hearing such slander, I understand what he meant.

Jews for Jesus is a relatively new group. Although some Jews for Jesus say their religion began in 32 CE., when many Jews first believed Jesus was the messiah, it officially began in the late 1960s, early 1970s in the San Francisco area, started by Moishe Rosen, an ordained Baptist minister (Jew by birth) and professional missionary. A group of Jews began to learn about Jesus and perform "broadsides," or skits, on the streets in the Bay Area. The number one core value of the group is Jewish evangelism.

There are more than 900 organizations offering millions of dollars to help with this effort, in the United States and Israel alike, to convince Jews that Jesus is the messiah. In conversion attempts, they refer to Jesus as Y’shua and use more euphemistic names for conversion, like "completion." Jews for Jesus do not just evangelize in person, they also use skits and music to attempt to achieve their goals. The group has been criticized for targeting specific groups more likely to be confused about their religious status, such as young people or elderly individuals.

Most Jewish people I know hate being approached on the street with, "Have you accepted Jesus?" or any derivation of that. It is like that person is stomping on what we believe in, spitting like a fire extinguisher at the very fire that warms our soul. (Excuse the poetry, it really angers me.) I hate it from anyone, but imagining someone who calls himself or herself a Jew suggesting I accept Jesus makes me breathless with fury. If another group wants to walk around telling people what is right to believe, I can disagree but at least they do not claim to represent me in any way.

Jews are not the only group fired up about Jews for Jesus. Many major Christian groups, such as The Board of Governors of The Long Island Council of Churches and United Church of Christ, a union of American Protestant churches, have said they do not support the evangelism of Jews, especially in the manner of Jews for Jesus, because Jews have a covenant with God.

I am not writing this to demean Jews for Jesus. Every person is entitled to his or her beliefs. I am writing my response to a group that is part of an effort to change my religion and my people, while calling itself Jewish. It is not a part of Judaism to accept Jesus and the thought of it offends me. If a group wants to call itself Jewish and accept Jesus, they can do that independently from Jews who do not.

While directing anger at any group is not something I want to do, I will not sit politely with a smile while there is a determined, wealthy group roaming the country with the intention of seriously altering the religious and cultural group to which I belong. Every person is entitled to believe what they wish. That is what Jews have lived and died for since it all began. We have fought against countless groups with all sorts of names. Who would have thought we would be protecting ourselves from a group that called itself Jewish?

[Posted 1/27/06]