Ashdod (illustrative)
Ashdod (illustrative)Flash 90

Missionaries in Ashdod expect to open in the coming months a large center to support expansion of their activities, Kikar Hashabbat reported.

Missionary activities are illegal in Israel.

The organization, which calls itself by the misleading name of "Beit Hillel," currently resides in a rented building on the city's Haorgim Street.

Funds are provided by Christian donors from abroad, and the missionaries target needy families, who receive food, aid, and are invited to take part in activities.

Yad L'achim, which fights missionaries and rescues girls trapped in abusive relationships with Arab men, noted that Ashdod has he highest number of immigrants in Israel. As a result, many missionaries from the area concentrate their efforts on Ashdod's population.

Yad L'achim also noted that they work to provide food and cultural events for the people receiving the mission's services, but the missionaries' new building presents a growing threat.

Rabbi Shmuel Lifschitz, one of Yad L'achim's leaders, told Kikar Hashabbat that the mission "still needs approval from the municipal planning committee, so its building depends on local businessmen and councilmen. Refusal to grant the approval can stop the building from opening, and save Jewish souls."

Separately, residents of the southern city of Dimona held on Tuesday a demonstration protesting local missionaries who opened shop in the city's commercial center.

The missionaries themselves, who come from Holland, had their shop closed by the police once before, but later reopened in the hopes of continuing their activities.