What in G-d's name is going on in Arizona?!

Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix/November, 1982

"Virtually all Christian groups acknowledge their roots within historic Judaism. They revere the Hebrew scriptures and the personages portrayed as sincerely as they do their own. Similarly, many Christian denominations and their leaders view Judaism as a vibrant, living faith which very effectively brings Jews into a close relationship with God. Christians of this type do not engage in proselytization activities directed toward Jews. They are as distressed as are Jews by unwarranted and deceptive missionary activities."

Rabbi Albert Plotkin, Spiritual Leader, Temple Beth Israel, .

"The Jewish Community defines its own integrity and what is legitimately Jewish – those who have left is or wish to imply that our faith is 'incomplete' do not have the right or legitimate authority to define the parameters of Judaism.

Given the fact that in 2,000 years of historical experience Jews have been harassed, prosecuted and often killed for remaining loyal to their ancestral faith, the visceral reaction of Jews to the effort of even well-meaning evangelists is easily understandable. Many do not appreciate the anti-Semitic implications of evangelism aimed at Jews."

Rabbi Maynard Bell, Temple Solel .

Jews for Jesus…

Founded by Moishe (Martin Meyer) Rosen, Since 1957, an ordained Baptist minister.

What the "Jews for Jesus" organization claims to believe is that Jesus is the Jewish Missiah and that it is possible for a Jew to become a Christian without giving up his or her Jewishness.

"Jews for Jesus" is the popular name for "Hineni Ministries, Inc.," an organization supported and run by evangelical Christians for the purpose of attempting to convert Jewish people to a belief in the tenets of fundamentalist Christianity.

When the "Jews for Jesus" tell Jews that they can become Christian without giving up their Jewishness, they do not mean that they can fully believe in the tenets of Judaism and Christianity simultaneously, since this is plainly impossible. What they mean is that Jewish converts to Christianity can still observe some of the forms of Jewish life if they wish—lighting candles on the eve of the Sabbath, visiting Israel, wearing a skull cap, celebrating a Passover Seder, etc. but in the hands of the "Jews of Jesus" each of these most sacred Jewish acts and symbols is perverted and distorted. Each is given a new Christological meaning which negates, distorts or ignores its actual origins and real significance. Thousands of years of unbroken Jewish tradition are casually cast aside by these missionaries who tell prospective converts that theirs are the real meanings of the Jewish customs and ceremonies, meanings that have been hidden from the Jewish people by their rabbis and teachers.

They assert that 6,000,000 Jews died in the Holocaust unredeemed, that the 6,000,000 Jews in the United States should not remain unredeemed.

Since 1970, their leader, Moishe (Martin Meyer) Rosen has led roving bands of converted Jews on campuses and into major Jewish communities waving inflammatory posters and handbills and, on occasion, staging arcane prayer vigils in white-face makeup and early Christian garb. Other missions have been less forthright, shaping their images in ways that tend to soften expected Jewish resistance, often substituting for "born again Christians" terms such as "messianic Jews," "Jewish believers" and the more cryptic label "Completed Jews."

Although it is seldom talked about, most major fundamentalist organizations seem to approve of missionary activities aimed at Jews. At least four Hebrew-Christian missions are listed as members of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. Some electronic church programs regularly present converted Jews as featured guests, and in our research, we heard numerous reports of shared college programs between "Jews of Jesus" and both Campus Crusade for Christ and Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship.

Abridged from: "Holy Terror" by Flo Conway and Jim Seigelman

Other recent evidence shows that Rosen's alliance with Christian evangelical churches is more than casual - that, in fact, it underlies his policy of operation. In a document entitled "What Evangelical Christians Should Know About Jews for Jesus; A Confidential Report: Not to be Distributed to Non-Christians," Rosen again reveals his goal:

We define ourselves as evangelical fundamentalists and we seek the cooperation of individuals and Christian bodies meeting this description…We believe in affiliation with a local church and being accountable to the church for service and discipline. We will uphold the local church wherever we can.

We consider ourselves an arm of the local church. We are primarily evangelists and we are always mindful that we should not usurp the authority of the local pastor. As we win and disciple (convert) Jewish people, we urge them to take their place in a local evangelical church or establish a congregation and call their own minister. Our duty is to aid the church at large and we work as an arm of that body to gather in the Lost Sheep of the House of Israel.

Dr. Philip Abramawitz, Director of the New York Jewish Community Council Task Force on Missionaries and Cults said, "The Jews for Jesus deliberately distort the beliefs, symbols, and prayers of Jews through such front organizations as the Liberated Wailing Wall, Isralight, the Lions Lamb and the New Jerusalem Prayers."