Posted on 12/24/2001 4:49:53 PM PST by dlt
BEIT SHEMESH (December 25) - The organization that administers Orot school in Beit Shemesh issued an apology yesterday for publicly burning a copy of the New Testament a student received from Christian missionaries.
"Everybody knows we made a mistake," said Jordana Klein, spokeswoman for Sha'alei Torah. "We wouldn't do it again. We don't think it's the right thing to do."
The book-burning took place in the school courtyard the week before Hanukka, after a teacher in the boys' school found that one of his sixth-grade students had brought in a Hebrew copy of the New Testament.
The student received it from local missionaries who, according to Klein, have been active in proselytizing Beit Shemesh children.
"The teacher said: 'God sent it and He gave us the privilege, and we'll be able to burn the New Testament," said Ariel Lesnick, 11, who is in the class.
The teacher consulted with the principal, Rabbi Yair Bachar, said Klein. After receiving approval, the teacher - whose name Klein refused to divulge - took his class outside.
Then, Lesnick said, "We took a few sticks and we burnt it." The teacher emphasized that the book-burning was an anti-missionary activity and not an anti-Christian one, Lesnick said.
After receiving calls from angry parents, Bachar reconsidered the decision, which Klein described as "too hasty." He consulted rabbinic authorities on the issue and decided to appoint Rabbi David Spector - rabbi of the Givat Sharet neighborhood of Beit Shemesh - as a permanent rabbinic decision-maker for the school.
Spector ruled that missionary material should be burned, but it is the sole responsibility of the owner to burn it and the burning should take place in private.
"It was appropriate to burn the New Testament in private," wrote Spector in his ruling. He cited traditional and modern rabbis, including Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, who wrote that he had burned missionary texts, which he called "books of incitement and brainwashing." Such burning is permissible even if the texts include the name of God, Spector said.
The teacher said that if missionary material were found in the school again, it would be thrown into the garbage rather than publicly burned, said Lesnick.
The Education Ministry was not aware of the incident, said spokeswoman Orit Reuveni.
"In principle, the ministry condemns book-burning as an educational act," she said. "We are not aware of this incident, but we will investigate the matter in depth."
Wayne Firestone, director of the Anti-Defamation League here, said the apology is a positive reaction to the school's "inappropriate" decision.
"The issue of conversion obviously is a sensitive one, and school officials are entitled to make requirements to try to protect their students from inappropriate materials entering the school," he said.
"At the same time, the symbolic and actual imagery of burning any books is really an inappropriate reaction to any offensive material. We're encouraged to hear that the school has issued an apology, and we hope that from the apology, they can send a better message to their own students about tolerance of other religions."
Since the burning, Bachar has addressed teachers, parents, and students - particularly the sixth-grade class - about the issue. He emphasized that the school is not against Christians but against Christian attempts to convert Jews, said Klein. The school is also planning programs to increase tolerance, she said.
The student who brought the New Testament in is not the only one missionaries have targeted. After the book-burning, one of the other students in the class said missionaries came to his home and hung a crucifix behind the mezuza, said Lesnick. The family told the missionary they didn't want the crucifix and returned it, he said.
"We obviously have a missionary problem," said Klein. "We weren't even aware of how big a problem it is in our school."
The students that missionaries approach are generally among the native Israelis and immigrants who make up about 40 percent of the student body and tend to live in old Beit Shemesh, said Klein. That section is poorer than the newer section populated mostly by Anglos, who comprise 60 percent of the student body.
The Anglo-Israeli divide may have contributed to a difference in the approach to burning the New Testament. Lesnick, whose family immigrated from New Jersey four years ago, saw that distinction among the boys in his class. "The Israelis thought it was the right thing to do, but for the Americans, you're used to seeing [non-Jews] every day, and you don't do that to somebody that's just a little different than you," he said.
His father, Marc, also noted the difference nationality may have made in the decision. The teacher, he said, is an Israeli who has never left the country. But as an American, he said, "This is not the type of education I want my kids to have. In America, they let you practice your religion, you let them practice their religion, and you kind of coexist."
Book-burning may also invoke different images for Anglos than for Israelis. "The idea of burning in general in our minds has to do with Kristallnacht and the KKK and so on," he said.
But once he brought the issue to the attention of the school, said Marc Lesnick, it "very quickly took the matter really seriously and dealt with it properly afterward."
Lesnick found out about the burning when Ariel came home from school. "My son got home from school that night, and he actually said to me, 'Dad, you know what we did today? Well, we burned the New Testament.' I said, 'You're joking,'" said Lesnick.
He discussed it with the teacher, and a few days later Bachar came to his home to talk about the incident. Lesnick is glad that they have told him they would "definitely not do this again."
Rev. Ray Lockhart, director of the Jerusalem-based Israel Trust of the Anglican Church, said burning the New Testament so publicly was "going over the top somewhat." Lockhart, whose organization focuses on ministry to the Jews, added that it's preferable to get a signed statement from parents before giving Christian scriptures to a minor.
"Clearly no Jewish person would want to see the Tanah being burnt, and would feel that whoever did it, it was an affront to their beliefs," he said.
But the school's apology, said Lockhart, mitigates the offense. "I think it shows that it's sometimes good to have second thoughts, and to recognize that we can all make mistakes in the way we make a response off the cuff without really thinking through all the implications."
Chechens? Maybe. The rest of muslim republics? Nope. I have friends from there, I have relatives there.. Their brand of Islam has nothing to do with wahhabism which is becoming more and more popular throughout the last decade. As for Kavkaz, yea, its your regular jihad site with a twist. They probably agree with you on quite a few things.
What I was trying to ascertain from my inquiry was what exactly was taught during the 80's in Ukraine about the Holodomor. Apparently the answer is zip, zilch, nada.
Free Republic is not the place for a Holodomor 101.
You're lucky. You live in Bklyn & have access to good libraries. You're lacking background information. A good start is:... Conquest, Robert, "The Harvest of Sorrow: Soviet Collectivization and the Terror -- Famine". It's a bit dry, but a good start. If you don't wish to read then I would suggest the video, "Harvest of Dispair."
Yea. He suggested. What's the difference between what he did and a suggestion then?
Then what's the common one?
Kolbasa, brighton beach and leather jackets are very relevant, because that's the typical environment of an Odessa Jewish "refugee".
You know nothing of being an Odessa Jewish "refugee".
Actually that was a Ukrainian "refugee" like yourself, with the exception that that was a non-Jew. Don't tell me that there is no "Russian" gangs comprised from Odessa "refugees". There even was a movie about it, which sucked. And the whole America knows about "Russian" mafia from Brighton Beach.
You must be quite isolated in your "refugee" community not to know that there are quite a few professionals or students coming from Russia, who are much smarter than your usual Odessa chmo in leather jacket and Adidas pants. Does it hurt? LOL!
Uh, I know very well of what happened. That's not the argument. You are implying that magically only Ukranians died. And Jews who lived in ukraine (look up "Pale" in your encyclopedia - it will tell you why so many Jews lived in Ukraine) somehow didn't starve?
That it's a forgery, no? It's really hard to talk to you, ya know? ;-)
Hahah.. Exactly. He wasn't Jewish. So he is not a Jewish refugee.
Don't tell me that there is no "Russian" gangs comprised from Odessa "refugees". There even was a movie about it, which sucked. And the whole America knows about "Russian" mafia from Brighton Beach.
Point being? There are russian gangs from your city as well, and? Misha "Yaponcik" - vor v zakone was busted not too far from my house in '96.. He is not Jewish...
You must be quite isolated in your "refugee" community not to know that there are quite a few professionals or students coming from Russia, who are much smarter than your usual Odessa chmo in leather jacket and Adidas pants. Does it hurt? LOL!
Why would your anti semitic rhetoric hurt me? I worked with very smart and bright people from Piter who came here on H1. Very nice and bright people. Not something I could say for you, though.
I understand all of that. At heart, it's still a two-tiered view of humanity with an intransigent exclusivity. Jews still are an Elect and there is no changing the fact I can never be privy to that Covenant regardless my manifesting a genuine obedience thereto out of enthusiasm, longing or love.
(This is why Christ refers to himself as the New Covenant into which any man may choose to obligate himself and take on the responsibility of maximum obedience to God.)
I don't much care what your Baptist friend or the apostate Catholic had to say. Both are in error, plain and simple.
I have some Jewish friends who have no problems eating non-Kosher food, don't keep the Sabbath and tell me abortion is okay. Just because they've decided they can believe thus and still be "Jewish" doesn't tempt me for one moment into believing their Personal Interpretations of Judaism they've tailored to fit their own Personal Faith is anything like obedience to Judaism.
Like I said ... I'm one for primary sources and seek the most objective voice I can find using a divining rod tuned to humility, charity and good cheer. Those seem to be the folks who've the firmest grasp on enduring truth, IMHO.
I'd doubt the objectivity of your relatives. I know non-Jews from there who hated it in Russia and they fled from maraudering locals in Central Asia, because in their view the people are more cold. It's just different culture.
You tell me that all the pogroms in Central Asia came out of nowhere, I say the feelings of hostility existed before. You rely on the word of your relatives, and I tell you they aren't objective.
I've known many Jews who lived in Russia and would never go to live in Central Asia. They have their own community in Russia. Take the news about the crash of a Novosibirsk-bound flight. There are regular flights that are getting filled with people who shuttle between Israel and Novosibirsk. Just because your picture of the world is limited, doesn't mean that you are right.
Dude. You are confused. You can convert if being Jewish is so important to you.
I am talking about soviet times. You are talking about after the collapse of USSR. I've known many Jews who lived in Russia and would never go to live in Central Asia. They have their own community in Russia.
Right, because you tend to stay in the environment you are used to. My friend is from Uzbekistan, and he is not a Buherian Jew, he is Ashkenazi like me. He said that they had a Jew in the main hospital in Tashkent giving circumcision to those who wanted them, in the open.
Take the news about the crash of a Novosibirsk-bound flight. There are regular flights that are getting filled with people who shuttle between Israel and Novosibirsk. Just because your picture of the world is limited, doesn't mean that you are right.
What does this have to do with anything? I have an aunt in Bryansk, so? You are trying to shock me with the fact that there are still some Jews left in Russia?
Can you cite for me God's exhortation to his Chosen People. Before I embark on this path, I'd like to know it's His will that all men have the opportunity to become Jewish.
Additionally, I'd like to understand where the misconception arose that one's Jewish identity passed through the mother ... as it did with Mary, mother of Jesus.
If you do not have the cite at hand, feel free to point me in the right direction for same.
Right, everything magically changed aftter the collapse, and people learned to hate, LOL!
Right, because you tend to stay in the environment you are used to. My friend is from Uzbekistan, and he is not a Buherian Jew, he is Ashkenazi like me. He said that they had a Jew in the main hospital in Tashkent giving circumcision to those who wanted them, in the open.
I should ask all the Jews I've known in Russia, whether they are circumsized and HOW they managed to get that. LOL!
What does this have to do with anything? I have an aunt in Bryansk, so? You are trying to shock me with the fact that there are still some Jews left in Russia?
There wouldn't be a regular flight from Israel to Bryansk, would there be? Since you are being slow, there is a large Jewish community in Novosibirsk and it's not "still left", there is a regular flight, get it?
Ask those Jews in Novosibirsk, what they think about the idea of living in Tashkent.
Thanks, I'll let you know what I find.
It's entirely possible I've been operating on some gross misunderstanding all this time and am in error for not understanding that all can be Chosen People if they so wish.
Thanks for the link.. as for the point you were trying to make.. There are plenty of russian criminals in russia, and there is sizable amount of them in brooklyn (I give one of them 2 years to live/be out of jail, his nick name is "Pe....'", and he has a big tattoo of a cross on his chest (and yea, he is from odessa, but the cross speaks for itself). So posting random profiles of Jewish criminals proves rather nothing.
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