FIRM CEO Responds to Viral Video of Hebrew Worship Concert Protest

What’s the real story behind our most viral video ever? 

You might have seen our clip from the Messianic Jewish Alliance of Israel’s (MJAI) national worship concert, this year, “One Voice,” or פה אחד in Hebrew. It took place in the same building as our ministry center in Jerusalem. There was a national worship gathering of Messianic Jewish leaders across the country that are publishing new Messianic Jewish Hebrew worship songs. It was an event for the body of believers.

Unfortunately, one of a few Ultra-Orthodox Jewish far-right groups, Lehava, caught wind of this gathering. They published a notice to all of their people saying to gather here at this specific place at this specific time, primarily mobilizing teenage boys to come disrupt the event. That turned into the result of the protests that you can see. It is a little overwhelming to watch. To all who saw and prayed, thank you for your love and your support. We are all safe and sound. 

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This video went viral, and I wanted to give some context of what was happening between the worship and the protesters.

Protests against the Local Believing Body

These kinds of protests happen from time to time against the Messianic believing body in Israel. I remember the first time I stood in one of these protests several years ago, just hearing people shouting hateful things like “Jesus is dead. We crucified Jesus.” It hurt my heart to see such hatred, scorn, and despising who Jesus is. And some of the comments we saw on the video (which are now disabled) were quite concerning, leading some to say, “well, this is why the Jewish people are not to be loved.” And I want to help correct some of that narrative.

Do Christians only need the Jews to fill an End Times role?

I recently hosted an interview with my friend Uri Steinberg, a former Israeli diplomat who has worked with many Christian and Jewish groups over the years. He shared some relevant perspectives as a secular Israeli Jew who disagreed with the way in which the recent protests took place. In light of the tense history of Jewish-Christian relations, he said,

“The Evangelical image in Israel was built in a very one-dimensional way. So the basic idea that is now starting to break is hey, [Christians] love Israel, but they need us [Jews] for a reason… They have to have us redeemed in order for the Messiah to come. So [Christians] are kind of cynical about Israel in this relationship… That created a situation where a lot of Orthodox Jews say “yeah, you know, they love us but they need us in the journey, right? …I am a tool for their final goal.”  – Uri Steinberg

There is an idea of Christian coercion or manipulation or being underhanded towards Jewish people. That’s a narrative that needs to be changed and corrected. Plus, there needs to be empathy on the side of the Church for the pains of the past, and even repentance. These new conversations need to be had because what we saw happen last Thursday was not a conversation. It wasn’t even a monologue. It was a number of protesters operating in an echo chamber if you would, triggered by the pain of the past. 

Church History and Loving Israel

For a Christian who may think, “Christians love Israel. Why would Jewish people have a negative opinion of Believers?” It’s important to understand the history to be able to empathize with where some of that hurt comes from. We need to consider Church history.

Uri was quick to bring up some of the harsh realities of Christian anti-Semitism throughout history: 

“[The Jews] were kicked out [of Spain] in the Middle Ages in the Spanish Inquisition. The Church kicked them out. Poland, Germany, France, Russia, wherever they wanted to go. It doesn’t really matter if you’re in 1755 or if you’re in the year 943. If you’re Jewish, the Church is not your friend. You know, I’m being very mild here. If you’re Jewish throughout almost two millennia, the Church is a source of fear. It is a source of hate. It’s [perceived as] the epitome of antisemitism. And this, this bridge-building between Christians and Jews is so unnatural.” 

These are facts and events that most Jewish people know well, but of which many Christians may be unaware.

Understanding the Protests

I remember the first time I was standing in one of these protests and hearing the hatred, the despising of Jesus, Yeshua. I want to make sense of that for people. Wherever you’re coming from and whatever your background is, know that we love Israel. We love the Jewish people. As a Messianic believer, Israel is a very important place.

Uri was quick to affirm that the protesters’ actions are not representative of the majority of Israelis or Jewish groups: 

“The people who jumped on this bandwagon [are headed up by] an organization called Lehava. These are literally Jewish fascists who believe in Jewish supremacy. So, they’re targeting anything: Reformed Jews, LGBT, Muslim groups, Jewish women who are dating Arabs, Christians or Muslims. So anywhere that these guys are involved, in any protest, if you’re on the other side, you’re probably doing something right.” -Uri Steinberg’’

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Is Israel is a Democracy?

I love that Israel is a democracy and has a freedom of religion. To help us end the protests, we had the police come and help to protect and guard—even if they didn’t come with as many, or as prepared, as we would have hoped.

Who can worship at the Temple Mount?

We live in an amazing state that respects religion. Israel does not intervene or prohibit other religions from worshiping at the religious sites that are important to them. Even the Temple Mount in the Old City is under Muslim control. Muslims can freely worship there at the Dome of the Rock.

Understanding the Religious Jewish Community in Israel

Like most people, the majority of religious Jews are not interested in picking fights with believers, or in general. And most of the time, religious Jews are the ones singled out and persecuted for their way of religious life. Attacks on Jewish people (even within Israel) typically target religious Jews, as they are easy to spot from the way they dress and other identifiers that set them apart.

For Jewish Israelis, it’s important to note that there is a spectrum. Of course, there is a small body of Messianic Jews–about 30-40,000 at the most throughout the population of 9 million. There are secular Jewish people, many of whom had parents or grandparents in the Holocaust, who do not believe in God, although they follow Jewish principles, holidays and family life. There are those who follow religious tradition to a lighter degree–perhaps keeping kosher and just the men wearing a head covering. Then there are those who follow Orthodox practice to varying degrees. At the strictest levels– keeping their communities insular, having many children (usually seven or more), wearing primarily black and white, and many other signifiers. 

Extremist Groups

However, like every society, we have fringe groups and communities. There are a handful of far-right Jewish religious groups. They see what we’re doing—our existence as Messianic Jews—as counter to who they are. The history of antisemitism in the Church causes many Jewish people to assume that a missionary forces someone to believe and change religions from Judaism to Christianity. They assume all Messianic Jews are missionaries, bent on converting them against their will. They would say, if you’re a missionary, you’re worse than a Nazi because you’re “killing the soul of the Jew.” So that’s where some of the hatred is coming from.

The Appeal to Unconditional Love in Romans 11:28 

One of the best scriptures we can use to make sense of this is Romans 11:28. With this beautiful picture, Paul is challenging the Roman church to understand what God is doing with Israel and the Jewish people. It makes sense of their rejection of Jesus as Messiah and he says, “concerning the Gospel, [the Jewish people] are enemies for your sake.” So in having the gospel, they’re enemies. They’re pushing against the idea of Jesus. But “concerning the election, they are beloved on behalf of their forefathers.” 

Ultra-Orthodox Jews and a Holy Dichotomy 

There exists a sort of holy dichotomy with the Ultra-Orthodox community (and all Jewish people who don’t yet know the Messiah). At this point they remain “enemies” of the gospel, and yet scripture repeatedly reminds us that they are still beloved. . This gives us an idea of the response we expect when it comes to our gospel witness here in Israel, Jerusalem, especially among the Ultra-Orthodox communities. No matter what we do, that does not mean we respond with hatred, or with despising them. Paul instructs us we are supposed to respond by loving them, not because of how they’re acting, but because of who they are: sons of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They are beloved by God in the future promises God has—that all Israel will be saved.

The Jesus-Israel Connection for Christians

Ultimately, Jesus is the one who has created the love for Israel that many Christians share. So you can say he is the greatest advocate for the State of Israel today. I know that might be controversial to some people’s paradigms, but Christians need to acknowledge that their love for Israel comes because of Jesus. I think Evangelicals would love to see Israelis appreciate and see the value that Jesus adds and brings as a Jewish man—and as maybe one of the most well-known and renowned Jewish men of all time.

“Christians need to acknowledge that their love for Israel comes because of Jesus”

How to love the Ultra-Orthodox Jewish Community

And so our heart’s desire should be: how do we love the Ultra-Orthodox Jewish community? We want to pray for them and understand that there is a veil over their eyes today. This veil extends to all Jewish people who don’t yet know Yeshua. However, we know God’s promises for them, “to whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises; of whom are the fathers and from whom, according to the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, the eternally blessed God. Amen” (Romans 9:4b-5). 

Are there “Enemies of the Gospel” in Israel?

Let’s take our example from Jesus. He said when reviled, “Love your enemies, pray for those who persecute you.” So, do we have people here in Israel who are “enemies of the gospel?” Definitely. And yet, it is time to change our heart and our posture towards them. Here at FIRM we have a heart to see a day where every person in Israel is transformed by the love of Yeshua.

As believers, we shouldn’t judge or respond with, “Oh, these are the people that were doing this 2,000 years ago.” They’re doing it today. It should bring us to tears. Paul says in Romans 9:1-3 that he has this great sorrow and never-ceasing anguish, longing to see his brethren, the Jewish people, come to know Yeshua as Messiah.

Responding to Persecution in Israel as Believers

I would urge that our perspective and our response as believers, Jewish and non-Jewish, would be one of love, graciousness, and holy sorrow saying, “God, my prayer and heart’s desire is that the Jewish people would be saved.”

Thanks for Being Here

We want to thank so many of you newcomers who have found us through this video or other online resources from FIRM. Our heart is to help inspire, educate and mobilize you to love Israel, the Jewish people in a gospel centered way, so stay posted. We’re grateful to have you on the journey. Stay tuned for more posts, videos, and articles. As we connect you here, we’re working together to see a day where all Israel is saved.

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“The wilderness and the dry lands shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom.” Isaiah 35:1