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Reported
Calls Increase for Bible Quiz Boycott
(IsraelNN.com) There is a strong possibility that at least some rabbis and Orthodox candidates will skip the International Bible Quiz, which takes place on Israel Independence Day, this Thursday. Several Rabbis, including Rabbi Shlomo Aviner of Bet El, have called for a boycott of the event because of the inclusion of a candidate whose family is said to have close ties to the Christian missionaries. Other rabbis who have called for a boycott of the event include Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, chief rabbi of Safed and son of former Chief Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu, and Rabbi Ya'acov Yosef, son of former Chief Rabbi Ovadia Yosef.
In response to a question from a resident, Ramat Gan Chief Rabbi Yaakov Ariel said that Bat-El Levi, the candidate representing the state secular schools, cannot be considered Jewish. “A 'messianic Jew' cannot be considered Jewish, because he or she believes in founder of Christianity and has passed the dividing line between Jew and non-Jew. They cannot be considered our brothers and sisters,” he wrote.
In a letter to Education Minister Yuli Tamir, MK Meir Porush (UTJ) said that if Levi were to actually win the contest, it would be a “tremendous propaganda victory for this cult, and greatly aid their attempts to push Jews to convert to Christianity, both in Israel and abroad.” If the candidate was not Jewish, he wrote, she had no business being in the Bible Quiz, which “ is supposed to encourage the connection of Jewish students to the Tanach as the wellspring of Jewish observance and belief,” he wrote. Porush attached documentation to his letter supplied by director of anti-missionary group Yad L'Achim, which indicates that the Levi family are members of a “messianic Jewish church” in their hometown of Adam (Geva Binyamin). According to the documentation, the group holds its meetings in the Levi house, and the leader of the congregation is the candidate's grandfather.
In response to a question from a resident, Ramat Gan Chief Rabbi Yaakov Ariel said that Bat-El Levi, the candidate representing the state secular schools, cannot be considered Jewish. “A 'messianic Jew' cannot be considered Jewish, because he or she believes in founder of Christianity and has passed the dividing line between Jew and non-Jew. They cannot be considered our brothers and sisters,” he wrote.
In a letter to Education Minister Yuli Tamir, MK Meir Porush (UTJ) said that if Levi were to actually win the contest, it would be a “tremendous propaganda victory for this cult, and greatly aid their attempts to push Jews to convert to Christianity, both in Israel and abroad.” If the candidate was not Jewish, he wrote, she had no business being in the Bible Quiz, which “ is supposed to encourage the connection of Jewish students to the Tanach as the wellspring of Jewish observance and belief,” he wrote. Porush attached documentation to his letter supplied by director of anti-missionary group Yad L'Achim, which indicates that the Levi family are members of a “messianic Jewish church” in their hometown of Adam (Geva Binyamin). According to the documentation, the group holds its meetings in the Levi house, and the leader of the congregation is the candidate's grandfather.
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