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Kislev 5769

December 1st 2008 

In This Issue
World Evangelical Alliance
Assemblies of God
Whats New
FAST FACTS
About Us
Join Our Mailing List
Shalom,
 
JEWS FOR JUDAISM would like to thank you for your support and interest in our efforts to Keep Jews Jewish. We are sending you this newsletter to keep you up-to-date with the latest developments in this area.
 
Sincerely,
 
Jews for Judaism, Baltimore Staff

World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) and the Berlin Document

Targeting Jews  

This past August, an international task force of Christians and "Messianic Jews" a.k.a. Hebrew Christians, met for a four-day conference in Berlin Germany to discuss "The Uniqueness of Christ and Jewish Evangelism in Europe Today." Participants drafted and adopted what is currently being called "The Berlin Declaration," which calls for the renewed proselytizing of Jews in Germany and throughout Europe, as an act of "genuine and authentic love" for the Jewish people. 
 
Most noteworthy, was the unique role that a group of "Messianic Jewish" leaders, a.k.a. Hebrew Christians, played in drafting this document and promoting "The Call to Action and Jewish Evangelism." As stated in the WEA document, "We recognize the important role of Messianic Jews in the work and witness of the Church...They point to the fulfillment of God's promises to save His people. We encourage them to stand firm in their identification with and faithful witness to their people..."
 
Denounced (or Decried?) as reinforcing thousands of years of anti-Semitism, Abe Foxman, National Director of ADL (Anti-Defamation League), issued the following statement: "Promoting a campaign to convert Jews away from their faith is a serious affront to the Jewish people....This Evangelical document is not an offer of love, but a prescription for hate. As long as the WEA teaches that Judaism is incomplete or misguided, anti-Semitism will continue." For further comments see Y-Net News article 

Assemblies of God
 NJF Banner
Who are The Assemblies of God, and what do they have to do with the Jews?
 

 
The Assemblies of God (AOG) is one of the fastest growing Christian groups in America. They are Pentecostal, meaning they are fundamentalist in theological belief and practice, affirming that Israel and the Jews play a critical role in "The End Days and the Final Retribution." 
 
The AOG is one of the oldest denominations to adopt the "Jewishness" approach of converting Jews to Christianity.  What began in 1983 with only 18 "Jewish Centers"  and a  "Home Missions to the Jews Department," has culminated in the formation of the NJF or "The National Jewish Fellowship." The NJF specifically targets Jews to "proclaim, educate, and encourage the furthering of the truth of Messiah (Jesus) among the world's Jewish community." Hebrew Christian "Rabbi" Felix Helpern, President of the Assemblies of God NJF,  calls upon gentiles and Jews a like to "plant" more "synagogues" within their church framework. "I see the fellowship acting as a catalyst to planting more synagogues within the Assemblies of God and facilitating more (Hebrew Christian) Messianic fellowships within our churches," he stated. AG News
 
In addition to the NJF, the AOG was instrumental in the development of the MJAA or "The Messianic Jewish Alliance of America" and the IAMCS or "International Alliance of Messianic Congregations and Synagogues."  These umbrella organizations support  a huge web of Jewish ministries and global outreach projects that endorse the philosophy of " winning Jewish people to the Lord Jesus Christ without divorcing them from their Jewish cultural heritage..."
 
One such project is recently developed Operation Tikva, a controversial organization that is raising money under the humanitarian banner of "Saving Ethiopian Jews," though most of their recipients are not even Jewish.

WHATS NEW AT JEWS FOR JUDAISM

New Executive Director
 Ruth Guggenheim
JEWS FOR JUDAISM is delighted to announce the appointment of our new Executive Director, Ruth Guggenheim. Ruth was instrumental in the founding of JEWS FOR JUDAISM, assisted JEWS FOR JUDAISM in its national and international expansion, and has an unparalleled commitment to our work. She brings with her over 20 years of experience in the field of public relations and development.
  
"The Encounter" a.k.a. Torah Insights from Eve
 Chava Lando

One of the primary goals of JEWS FOR JUDAISM is to educate the Jewish community at large about the dangers of the deceptive practices used by missionaries that target Jews for conversion. Among the tools used is an Encounter Program entitled "The Target is You." 

The program begins with a Christian missionary speaking to the crowd and sharing his/her story of why they accepted Jesus as Messiah thier Lord and Saviour. The missionary's presentation usually evokes an emotional and angry response from the audience. The intent is to provoke the audience to contemplate being placed into such a situation and to think about how they would react if they found themselves there. Although the message of the missionary is disturbing to the audience, they frequently don't know how to respond other than the fact that it doesn't feel right and they know that Jews aren't supposed to believe in Christianity.   

After the audience hears from the missionaries perspective JEWS FOR JUDAISM then brings in an expert witness to refute the deceptive tactics used by numerous missionaries. That expert is the same person who previously tried to "convert" the crowd. Recently, JEWS FOR JUDAISM has begun to engage Chava Lando, formerly a Hebrew Christian, in this role. After reenacting her previous life as a missionary, she then proceeds to explain the fallacies of Hebrew Christianity. The main focus of the program is the need for awarness and education. Those who are knowledgeable about Judaism are less likely to fall prey to the persuasions of missionaries. Chava illustrates the deceptive tactics used by many of the missionaries using the presentation, Q & A sessions and videos. 

jttv
Mendi Baron 
JTTV Live  is a JEWS FOR JUDAISM  interactive youth project that mobilizes and empowers  Jewish teens through peer-to-peer engagement. Participants gain the knowledge, confidence and leadership skills necessary to engage the unaffiliated and at-risk Jewish students in their community and at school - thereby, making them less vulnerable to the aggressive proselytizing efforts of missionaries targeting them.
 
 
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Penina Due
Due to the high demand, especially outside Israel, Penina's schedule fills up very quickly.  To book a Shabbaton or speaking engagement with Penina for February, 2009, please email us at [email protected] 

Fast Facts GradJEWate 

As the Jewish community continues to lag behind in utilizing cyber-space and virtual marketing techniques, rest-assured the missionaries haven't!
 
Recently launched, and making the rounds on the internet, "GRADJEWATE," is Jews for Jesus' most recent effort to reach Jewish youth for conversion. Where are they at?  ON THE WEB, which is a powerful venue of identifying with and engaging Jewish teens and college students.
About Us

 Our Mission

JEWS FOR JUDAISM INTERNATIONAL preserves and strengthens Jewish identity and pride through our interactive educational programs and community services.  At the same time, we work to counter  the aggressive and deceptive proselytizing efforts of individuals and groups that target Jews for conversion.

CFC gifThe Baltimore/ Washington Center of Jews for Judaism has been awarded the Best in America Approval from the Independent Charities of America and the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC)  of the US Government. This designation is given to charities that meet strict guidelines for fundraising, and must demonstrate that no more than 20 cents of every dollar is used for administrative overhead.

�2008 CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: the information contained in this e-mail including any attachment, is confidential information that may be privileged and exempt from disclosure under applicable law. Any direct or indirect disclosure, distribution or copying of ANY PART of this e-mail is strictly prohibited unless prior written permission from JEWS FOR JUDAISM is granted. If the reader of this e-mail is not the intended recipient, or if you received this e-mail in error, please contact the author at [email protected]. Please delete or destroy all copies, including attachments.