In the heart of Jerusalem, a prayer gathering unfolded on May 28, 2023. Christians from diverse backgrounds converged to intercede for Israel on Pentecost. Yet, amidst the spirit of unity and support, opposition emerged from a small segment of the religious Jewish community. How—and why—should we respond? As committed believers in Jesus, let us explore the answers to these questions and discover what we can do to both understand the underlying complexities and love Jewish people as Jesus does.
What Happened?
“Pentecost 2023—A Global Day of Prayer for Jerusalem and the Nations” was a prayer gathering organized by the International House of Prayer of Kansas City (IHOP). They invited believers from around the world to join in intercession for Israel. This group, known for its commitment to prayer and spiritual devotion, saw this time as an opportunity to express their love, support, and care for the nation of Israel. Unfortunately, not everyone present viewed the event that way.
On the day of Pentecost, hundreds of Christians assembled at the Southern Steps near the Temple Mount to engage in fervent prayer. However, their presence elicited opposition from a segment of the Orthodox Jewish community who saw the event as an attempt to convert Jews to Christianity.
Approximately one hundred religious Jewish protesters, including right-wing Orthodox Jewish activists, expressed their dissent. It is crucial to note these protesters represent a relatively small, deeply religious segment of Israel’s Jewish community. Israel upholds freedom of religion, and Israelis from various backgrounds defended this Christian group’s right to assemble and pray. Still, clashes unfortunately erupted between the protesters and the police, resulting in several arrests.
Among the most vocal opponents was Jerusalem’s deputy mayor, Aryeh King, a member of a far-right faction on the city council. King vehemently denounced the event, accusing the organizers of facilitating Christian missionaries in conducting a worship ceremony with the intention of proselytizing Jewish residents. His statements and actions further fueled the protesters’ sentiments, leading to chants of “missionaries go home.”
Why Did It Happen?
To understand the response of these protesters, one must consider historical experiences. Centuries of antisemitism, marked by forced conversions, pogroms, and the Holocaust, have left a profound impact on the collective memory of Jewish people. Tragically, people who call themselves Christians have perpetrated or been complicit in many of history’s most heinous antisemitic acts.
Central to these protesters’ response to this prayer gathering is the idea believing in Jesus and being Jewish are mutually exclusive. Most within the Jewish community, especially the more religious segments, think when a Jewish person accepts Jesus as the Messiah, he or she converts to another religion and is no longer Jewish. Considering Jesus and His earliest disciples were Jewish, we disagree with this view. Nevertheless, most Jewish people believe this way, which is why these protestors reacted so strongly and negatively to this prayer meeting. They connected it with evangelism, which they perceive as a threat to the very existence of Jewish people.
Chosen People Ministries recently helped organize a survey of Israelis and their religious views. The results are fascinating—even surprising at times! It also sheds precious light on what happened at the Davidson Center. We spoke with Dr. Mordechai Inbari, a professor at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, who oversaw the survey. He reports,
The story of the demonstration against evangelicals represents a paradox. Rabbis Avigdor Nevantzel and Tzvi Tau organized the demonstration . . . [and are] senior rabbis of the Hardal, the conservative wing of religious Zionism. . . . In our survey, we bundled together Religious Zionist, Hardal, and Haredi [ultra-Orthodox]. Here are the results for [when we asked them about their] opinion of evangelicals:
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- 7 percent have a very good opinion of evangelicals.
- 16.8 percent have a good opinion of evangelicals.
- 35.1 percent have a neutral opinion of evangelicals.
- 18.9 percent have a poor opinion of evangelicals.
- 22.2 percent have a very poor opinion of evangelicals.
In other words, the survey reveals 24 percent of the Orthodox Jewish people surveyed in Israel have a positive opinion of evangelicals ranging from good to very good, 35 percent have a neutral opinion, and 41 percent have a negative opinion. This opinion, however, changes dramatically regarding other groups who believe in Jesus! Inbari notes the following results as they relate to opinions on Messianic Jewish believers in Jesus, Catholic, and Orthodox Christians.
75 percent of [the surveyed Religious Zionist, Hardal, and Haredi subgroup] have extreme negative views of Messianic Jews and almost zero have positive views.
On a scale of 1–10, with 1 representing “least positive” and 10 “most positive,” if you put their answers together ranging from 1–4, you get more than a 95 percent negative view of Messianic Jewish believers in Jesus.
In comparison, attitudes toward Catholics are: 28.3 percent very poor, 27.8 percent poor, 39.9 percent neutral, 3.5 percent good, 0.5 percent very good. And attitudes toward Orthodox Christianity are: 28.7 percent very poor, 27.7 percent poor, 37.4 percent neutral, 5.1 percent good, and 1 percent very good.
Inbari summarizes the seemingly paradoxical findings regarding Orthodox Jewish opinion on evangelicals and their response at the Pentecost prayer event perfectly when he writes:
As you can see, evangelicals have better ratings than other Christian movements. Here is the heart of the paradox: Orthodox Jews like evangelicals better than other Christians probably because they find them as partners, but they will actually go and fight what they view as missionaries. They do not have good views of other Christian movements but they do not worry because of them. They like evangelicals better but also are worried and have deep negative views on missions to the Jews.
Ironically, religious Israelis generally have a more positive perception of evangelicals than of other Christians. Evangelicals globally—and in the United States especially—are among Israel’s greatest supporters. At the same time, evangelicals are deeply committed to the great commission, when Jesus commanded His followers to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:16). Religious Jewish Israelis see attempts to present the gospel to Jewish people as a threat to Jewishness. Again, in their minds, this act means trying to destroy Jewish identity. Israelis’ 95-percent negative view of Jewish believers in Jesus evinces how strong and deeply held this belief is. Many view Messianic Jewish people as not only no longer Jewish but also as traitors. Even though this prayer gathering was not evangelistic in itself, religious Jewish people understand it catered to Christians who support evangelism.
The believers who gathered for this prayer event did so because they care about Israel and, like Chosen People Ministries, proclaiming the gospel to all people. We believe every believer maintains whatever ethnic identity they had before coming to faith. Jewish people who follow Jesus not only remain Jewish but are doing a very Jewish act—trusting in the Messiah of Israel.
How Should Christians Respond?
As followers of the Messiah, we must respond with love and compassion. This task includes grasping the weight of historic “Christian antisemitism” and its enduring effects on the Jewish people. The intentions behind the prayer gathering were rooted in faithfulness to Scripture—especially in fulfilling the command Kind David issued in Psalm 122:6, calling upon followers of the God of Israel and His Messiah to pray for Jerusalem’s peace. This global prayer effort, especially those who rallied in Jerusalem, did not grasp the depth of acrimony many religious Jewish people feel toward Christians because of this dark history culminating in the Holocaust.
Rather than misunderstand or dismiss the outcry of the Orthodox Jewish protestors, Christians should actively seek to understand the historical context provoking the response.
Summary
The prayer gathering at the Davidson Center in Jerusalem brought together believers from different denominations with sincere intentions of expressing love, support, and care for Israel and the Jewish people. However, it also triggered fear and opposition from some members of the Orthodox Jewish community due to historical wounds perceived as coming from the actions of Christians.
As believers in Jesus, we should seek to understand and empathize with the religious Jewish community while remaining faithful to what the Scriptures call us to do—praying and proclaiming the gospel “to the Jew first” and to the Gentiles (Romans 1:16). The Christians who found themselves part of a riot were not expecting the Jewish community to respond in this way. They were sincere and believed they were doing good. Yet, they failed to understand the historical context of the event and sensitivity of religious Jewish people to equate all Christian activities with evangelism. Jewish people view evangelism negatively because the Jewish community commonly believes when a Jewish person claims faith in Jesus, she or he is no longer Jewish. We do not accept this proposition, but this very idea fueled the protest.
Here are some more resources to better understand the complex background behind these protests:
- “Jewish Evangelism in Light of a Negative History”
- “A Brief and Incomplete History of Jewish Suffering”
- “Who Are the Haredim?”
- “Why Is It Thought that Jewish Followers of Jesus Are No Longer Jewish?”
- “Can I Be Jewish and Believe in Jesus?”
To learn more about our recent survey of Israelis, email us at [email protected].
