Israel Matzav

Boycott the Bible II

Last Tuesday, I reported on the possibility of a boycott of the World Bible Contest, which is scheduled to take place on Thursday, Independence Day, on the grounds that one of the Israeli contestants is a 'Jewish Messianic' who is regarded as Christian by all streams of Judaism. Towards the end of last week, a group of prominent religious Zionist Rabbis came out and called for a boycott, and this morning the two sitting Chief Rabbis have done the same.

"Choosing her as a finalist in the International Bible Quiz for Jewish Youth is a transgression of Halacha and is a distortion of the goal and essence of the quiz," wrote Chief Rabbis Shlomo Amar and Yona Metzger in a letter to Education Minister Yuli Tamir.

"The Chief Rabbinate of Israel vigorously protests [the participation] of this representative... Bible quiz participants have always been Jews who believed in the Torah handed down by Moses.

"The Chief Rabbinate calls to disqualify this girl from taking part in the quiz. If she is not disqualified, we call to cancel the quiz immediately.

"It is unacceptable that a member of a cult that has removed itself from the Jewish faith will take part in a quiz dedicated to a book that has been holy to the Jews since their inception as a people," the rabbis wrote.

But it sounds like the boycott is not going to be very effective:

Tzurit Berenson, 15, from Nahariya, one of the four Israeli finalists, said that she and the other contestants intended to participate in Thursday's competition.

"We asked our own rabbis what to do and they told us that we should participate," said Berenson, who added that she had taught herself the Bible and has been preparing for the quiz for years.

Berenson said religious activists have been trying to discourage her and the other participants from taking part in the quiz, "but we have all decided to go ahead with it."

Note that Berenson does not say whom they asked. I doubt that any rabbi who permitted this is going to want his name published. But the rabbis who called for the boycott include Rav Shlomo Aviner (a prominent and senior religious Zionist Rabbi), Rav Tzvi Tau (the head of Yeshivat Har HaMor), Rav Shmuel Eliyahu (the son of former Chief Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu) and Rav Yaakov Yosef (the son of former Chief Rabbi Ovadia Yosef). Today, more rabbis are calling for a boycott:

In a letter sent to Education Minister Prof. Yuli Tamir, veteran Jerusalemite and Agudat Yisrael activist Rabbi Menachem Porush points out that if Levi emerged the winner in this Bible Contest, it would serve the agenda of the Messianic cult, a major boost for people involved in missionary work – those seeking to pull Jews away from their religion. Rav Porush added that the Levis are leaders in the cult, they host meetings in their home, and family members are major activists.

Rav Porush added that Levi is not Jewish and therefore, should not be permitted to participate in the contest which is intended for Jewish contestants only.

Ramat Gan Chief Rabbi Yaakov Ariel expressed an opinion that Levi cannot be considered a Jew since she crossed a line that may not be crossed by expressing her belief in the founder of the Christian religion.

Organizers of the annual contest ruled that since Levi is a Jew, she is entitled to participate in the contest despite mounting objections.

The boycott was called by Yad l'Achim, a prominent ultra-Orthodox anti-Missionary organization.

Again, sorry, but I have shut off comments on this post.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 7:51 AM