A Yated Ne'eman investigation has found that a group
of Christian missionaries has gained a strong foothold in
public and social institutions by funneling generous
donations through an organization headed by a Jew wearing a
yarmulke.
Fifty million evangelic Christians are behind the US
organization, whose stated goal is to convert the peoples of
the world, particularly the Jewish people, to Christianity.
As part of its missionary activity the organization, known as
the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ) or
just Keren Yedidut (Friendship Foundation) in Hebrew,
urges Jews to make aliya and has already invested tens of
millions of dollars.
The organization's head and founder, Yechiel Eckstein of
Chicago, is making every effort to penetrate the chareidi
public by making donations to various bodies and
institutions. In ads and books, the IFCJ has made numerous
alarming remarks over the years, including Eckstein's
declaration in one of his books that he had become a Jew for
J. Eckstein has denied that he is a Jew for J.
Other evangelical leaders have praised Eckstein for his work.
One cassette quotes an American minister who says, "I think
of the words of J. when I think of Rabbi Eckstein, `Blessed
be the peacemakers.'" On the same cassette Eckstein says,
"All he is asking of us is our loyalty. When we [the
Christian-Jews] work and believe together as brothers and
sisters duty-bound to the same goals we can achieve the
miracle."
Eckstein's books are full of statements that undermine the
foundations of emunoh for the Jewish people,
statements too disturbing to print. He also released an
edition of Tanach together with the Christian Bible,
Rachmono litzlan.
Eckstein has served as an adviser to Israeli prime ministers
and he also sits on the boards of the Jewish Agency and the
Joint Distribution Committee.
The millions of dollars the Fellowship has spent in Israel
with the intention of advancing conversion efforts pose a
real danger since the names and addresses of needy families
supported by the Friendship Foundation have been passed on to
missionary figures in the US. The Fellowship board is made up
of evangelical ministers.
The Fellowship employs several techniques, wedging their way
into crisis organizations, Torah and welfare institutions,
assistance bureaus and educational institutions in the
chareidi, national-religious and secular sectors. Among other
endeavors they support the setup of soup kitchens and various
aid and charity organizations in order to penetrate the
Israeli establishment and voluntary groups that operate with
assistance funding from US missionaries. These chessed
organizations in Eretz Yisroel have no heter
whatsoever to accept this tainted money, but the IFCJ tries
to persuade chessed organizations to take the money,
claiming they received a heter from rabbonim.
According to Rabbi Zeev Shteiglitz, one of the heads of Lev
L'Achim's anti- missionary department, the problem of
missionary activity is getting worse. "Eckstein has caused
all sorts of missionaries to come into Israel . . . We are
deeply concerned over the increase in missionary activity in
Eretz Yisroel and the [Jews] who fall victim as a result, and
Keren Yedidut has a substantial hand in this."
In a statement to Yated Ne'eman the Fellowship
replied, "As one who has grown accustomed to the ongoing,
obsessive provocation campaign by interested figures, once
again the question has arisen regarding the relationship of
the Fellowship and Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein to the evangelist
communities numbering 60 million people in the US alone.
"The provocation campaign has labeled Rabbi Eckstein as a Jew
for J., G-d forbid, without examining the facts. All based on
three words taken out of context from a story that was
totally fictitious. Other claims fade away when one takes the
trouble to check the original text. Furthermore, like every
human being, Rabbi Eckstein may have made inappropriate
remarks here and there, and as someone who was reared on a
Torah-based education, it is not hard for him to express
regret for his mistakes."
The Fellowship claims Eckstein relies on remarks supposedly
written by the Netziv and that "Rabbi Eckstein believes,
based on his wealth of experience during the past 25 years,
that today there are pure-hearted goyim who would like
to do good things for Israel.
"He also holds that they do not harbor missionary intent in
their heart. You and many others in Israel should know that
not all Christians are missionaries. The evangelical
community includes President George Bush, former president
Bill Clinton, and US District Attorney John Ashcroft.
Forbidding contact with them based on the claim that they
want to convert the Jews not only distances the last friends
Israel has left in the international community, but also can
give rise to far-reaching questions of hatred toward Israel
and increasing antisemitism around the world.
"The Fellowship, under the direction of leading Jews and
Christians in their fields, decided from the day of its
founding not to promote any form of education or religion
whatsoever and even built fences in matters of religious
influence and the tie between donors and recipients, and the
Fellowship has no ties with those involved in religious
conversion.
"It would be worthwhile to evaluate once and for all the
halachic perspective on receiving aid from Christians on the
level of a beis din that would listen to all sides in
the spirit of `shemo'a bein achichem ushpatetem
tzedek,' rather than placing Rabbi Eckstein as a focal
point for public review without the right to reply, but to
evaluate in a pointed manner based on halochoh. The
Chief Rabbinate Council, which made a decision on the matter
in the past, avoided taking responsibility and did not judge
the issue."
The Fellowship insists that to Eckstein "halochoh was
and will forever remain a ner leraglov, and all
decisions by a beis din made by gedolei Torah
will be accepted by him." The Fellowship statement also notes
that Eckstein received rabbinical ordination from Yeshiva
University.
HaRav Simchah HaKohen Kook, Chief Rabbi of Rechovot, who
presented the organization's grave heresy to gedolei
Yisroel, said maranan verabonon were deeply
disturbed and "if the public were to read his heretical
remarks it would have to do krioh. We are not allowed,
according to din Torah, to write and print all of the
hateful words he writes against Judaism. The things he says
and writes in his books constitute denial of Borei Olom
of the worst kind conceivable. When a person writes a
book [encouraging] the Jew and the Christian to stand
together, the Jew in church and the goy at the Kosel,
there is no apostasy worse than this. When he makes fools of
Jews by not mentioning that the Keren Yedidut is Christians,
it is far graver.
"It was not right for us not to judge him. Several botei
din have already judged Eckstein based on what he said
and wrote in the book and not what he thought, and some of
them issued serious prohibitions against accepting money from
him and cooperating with him."
*
Christian money is sent to Israel in several different ways,
explains Rabbi Shteiglitz of Lev L'Achim. "Either the Keren
Yedidut sends money or some take money from organizations for
peace or the Christian embassy. `What difference does it
make?' the man on the street asks himself? `Why shouldn't I
accept money from all of these Christian organizations just
as I accept money from any other organization?' And people
take money from various organizations that definitely have
missionary activity. The very act of taking money from such
bodies grants them legitimacy and brings Jews to the mission
doors."
Today Lev L'Achim's anti-missionary department has to tackle
bigger problems than in the past. "Besides Eckstein, his
deeds and his opinions, a man who says he is a Jew for J., he
has caused all kinds of missionaries to come into Eretz
Yisroel," says Rabbi Shteiglitz. "And not just him. The New
Foundation for Jerusalem has been set up. Pat Robertson sits
there and gives sermons, preaching missionary ideas in the US
from coast to coast. The danger this entails needs no further
explanation. We are deeply concerned over the increase in
missionary activity in Eretz Yisroel and the [Jews] who fall
victim as a result, and Keren Yedidut has a substantial hand
in this."
According to HaRav Kook, several gedolei Yisroel have
issued very strong remarks against Eckstein and his
endeavors. "Mendelssohn, sheim reshoim yirkav, did
less than him and caused a great churban among the
Jewish people," he adds.
"The Christian evangelists' ideology is to take advantage of
the Jewish people and to infuse life into Christianity. They
hold that all those who do not convert to Christianity will
simply cease to exist, chas vesholom, and nobody knows
their worldview better than Yechiel Eckstein. How can
Eckstein mention the name of the Netziv with such
chutzpah?
"It should be clear that we acknowledge the good we receive
from the nations of the world and US President George Bush
for his positive and sympathetic stance toward Israel, but
when an organization like Lev L'Achim comes along and
declares that the entire war against missionaries has been
undermined by the fact the evangelists penetrated Eretz
Yisroel, this refers to the spread of the mission as a result
of Eckstein's activities. Therefore he who guards his soul
will steer clear of them."
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<29 Iyar, p. 3>
Yated Reports on Missionary Activity by IFCJ Draw Public
Response
by Betzalel Kahn
The reports on missionary activity by the International
Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ) that appears this
week in the English Yated had a strong impact on the
public, after it appeared in the Hebrew edition of Yated
Ne'eman last week, including readers who have been
receiving funds via the Fellowship. Led by Yechiel Eckstein
of Chicago for over twenty years, the organization has
channeled tens of millions of dollars in grants and funding
to individuals and institutions in Eretz Yisroel in recent
years.
The donations, some of which are funneled directly to Torah
and chessed organizations, come from evangelical
Christians in the US whose goal is to strengthen the ties
between missionary Christians and Jews and Israel. Many
theologians say they are motivated by their belief in
converting Jews to Christianity, chas vesholom.
Eckstein remains in constant contact with the major
missionaries operating in Israel, gives legitimacy to
Christianity within the Israeli public. Statements that he
has published appear to express a belief in J. but Eckstein
denies that this is the case and maintains that he is a loyal
Jew who observes halacha.
According to Lev L'Achim's anti-missionary department, which
has waged an ongoing battle against the Fellowship, many
figures who were in contact with the Fellowship called Lev
L'Achim during the past week to ask how they should proceed
in light of the newly publicized facts. In response, Lev
L'Achim put its emergency hotline (1-800-366-100) at their
disposal.
Rabbonim and public officials express deep concern over an
enormous NIS 100 million foundation set up in cooperation
with Ma'ariv to help assist Israeli families in a
state of financial crisis, because the contact forged when
the missionaries give grants directly to needy families can
pose great spiritual danger to the recipients.
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