NEWS FROM ISRAEL

Hagefen Publishing Program

There is growing confusion and even outright denial in many Messianic congregations in Israel concerning the fundamental doctrines of the deity of Christ and of the Trinity. In an effort to combat this growing tide, HaGefen is re-publishing Stuart Olyott's book, Three are One. We will consider publishing Baruch's series on the Person of Christ as well.

Other books in the pipeline are a re-publication of Arnold Fruchtenbaum's Jesus was a Jew, an excellent evangelistic tool; and publication of Bakker's Praying Always; Pink's The Sovereignty of God and Baruch Maoz's collections of sermons, Life in the Spirit and The Commandments and the Sermon on the Mount. John Bunyan's book Prayer was recently translated and awaits editing. Baruch's Jewish Identity in Christ was recently translated and produced in Russian, and has been eagerly received.

Work on the Children's Bible proceeds, with the second volume (the historical books) now being prepared for the printer. Baruch's book on the Messianic Movement is due to be published mid 2002 by Christian Focus.

Another publisher is interested in his papers on the Eldership; and another series being prepared, entitled How to Preach and Listen to Sermons may be offered to a publisher also.

The first issue of our quarterly Russian magazine, entitled 'Grace and Truth', will be published by the end of April. We wish to distribute this as widely as possible amongst Russian speakers in Israel and abroad. Finally, we hope to publish a commentary on Hosea, based on sermons currently being preached in Grace and Truth.

PERSECUTION IN JERUSALEM

A young teenage boy was stabbed six times in his arm, back and chest during an evangelism campaign in Jerusalem on February 10. The 14 year old was distributing literature in a neighbourhood that is only moderately Orthodox but does have some extremist residents. The boy was taken by surprise as he inserted order forms in mailboxes (a legal and common advertising practice in Israel) offering a video story of the life of Jesus. Three girls who were with this boy fled when they saw a suspicious person wearing a ski mask approaching them, and called their pastor for help from a nearby store. Horrified local residents rushed to aid the boy, who was seriously injured and losing a great deal of blood. The girls described the man to the police as a young man in his early 20's wearing Orthodox garb, and were able to draw a sketch.

Other workers in that area had experienced some verbal abuse and threats some 40 minutes earlier, but the police had intervened and protected them before the situation became violent.

The congregation is now praying for the repentance and salvation of the attacker, and the young boy's pastor witnesses that he has shown evidence of spiritual and emotional growth through the situation. He is now recuperating and will be continuing his studies through computer until he is well enough to rejoin his classmates at school.

TESTIMONY OF A LOCAL CHRISTIAN

This story is brought to our readers by M's permission, and as written, for your prayerful concern.

My name is M. I am a single mother of two lovely boys, aged 5 ½ and 3. I live and work in the centre of Israel. since the end of 1999, I have been going through a difficult divorce process during which I have had to contend for the custody of my children and the freedom to raise them in the Faith of Yeshua (Jesus). The Lord has been faithful. He has brought us through with many miracles, though I am still praying for a conclusion to the process of separation, the divorce and the legal matters involved.

I was born and raised in a family of believers in Yeshua, and have lived in Israel since early childhood. I was baptised in 1980, served in the Israeli Defence Forces and married a young believer in Yeshua in 1988. In 1991, after 3 years of marriage, it became apparent that my husband, R., suffers from a severe form of mental illness. However, we managed to maintain a good marriage and a close relationship. We lived in the north of Israel, close to my parents, and fellowshipped regularly in a large fellowship in Haifa. During the years from 1996 to1999 my husband made remarkable recovery. Our first son was born in 1996, and I was carrying our second son when we decided to move to the centre of the country, where my husband could start up his own business. Our prime concern was that our children would enjoy the daily fellowship and contact with believing children of their age.

Due to my husbands' recovery, the health services decided to reduce his medication in the summer of 1998. By the time they realised their mistake, his health had deteriorated to the point that it was out of control. After several traumatic months, my husband was hospitalised for the fourth time. Upon his discharge, he had one goal and one thought in his mind: to take revenge on me for having alerted the health system to his condition and for hospitalising him. He came home one day and informed me that he was going to sue me for a divorce three days later.

I did not realise it at the time, but the specific date he chose to sue me is of much significanceto him in his illness. On that morning he left for the Rabbinate as he planned to, while I remained with our three-year-old in kindergarten and a seven-month-old in arms.

The real blow came three days later, when I realised that not only had he sued me for a divorce, but also claimed the children on the grounds that I am a fanatic Christian, while he chooses to be a secular Jew. It is necessary at this point to explain that, though it may seem obvious that I should be granted custody due to my husbands' mental illness, the issue of educating children in the Faith in Yeshua is most sensitive: the courts do not usually intervene in this matter unless there is a dispute over the issue between the parents. But, when asked to intervene, it is with great reluctance that they would accord custody to the Christian parent.

Added to this is the hostility of the rabbinical courts, which normally deal with familial judicial proceedings, and the prejudice and ignorance of most Israelis regarding our Faith. One lawyer informed me that the courts might take the children from both of us. Facing the possibility of having to choose between my children and my faith, I had to lay aside any hope of recovery and change of heart for my husband. The urgency of the matter compelled me to find a good lawyer and fight as hard as I could.

Over the days to follow I spoke to several lawyers. A week later I met with a prominent lawyer from Jerusalem who had represented several believers in Yeshua in previous court cases, including a successful representation on the question of custody and upbringing. Himself the son of a lawyer who was murdered by the Gestapo, with an amazing story of survival, and the proud father of a brilliant young lawyer, Y. fights for human rights and religious freedom. Here was a person whose experience, shrewdness and skill assured me of his ability to handle the case. From Y's first move, in which he took advantage of a technical loophole in order to transfer the authority to rule on all issues (apart from the divorce itself) from the Rabbinical to the secular courts (Court for Family Matters), Y proved to be the right choice. This was the beginning of a long and intense process, which is still going on. My husband, propelled by his mother as well as his illness, and supported by free legal aid from the government, sued me endlessly and fought me relentlessly in a variety of courts on every possible matter, from custody and upbringing to the furniture in the children's' bedroom. Sometimes I would receive as many as six lawsuits in one month.

Though I was eligible for legal aid myself, I could not afford to take any lawyer who was not thoroughly familiar with the sensitivities involved; my husband had a persistent lawyer who waged a tough struggle against my right to custody of the children. He Contested bitterly on other questions, such as visiting rights and alimony. The question of my faith in Yeshua was raised in every lawsuit and every hearing, where I was portrayed as a contemporary form of the historic Christian persecutor of the Jews.

Since any ruling in my personal case could set a precedent for similar cases in the future, I sought the prayers and support of the local body of believers in Israel throughout the legal process . Divorce in the body of believers in Israel is not widespread, but could become extremely sensitive in cases in which one spouse decides to turn his/her back on the Lord, or take advantage of the sensitivity associated with raising children in the Faith of Yeshua, as happened in my case.

After a long and difficult session in May 2000, the judge - himself from an observant Jewish family - refused my husband's demands that he restrict my freedom in educating our children, and appointed a senior child psychologist from Jerusalem to assess any possible mental or emotional damages incurred by the children due to their upbringing. The psychologist wrote a very favourable report, following which the judge ruled in my favour. I was free to go on with life as before, except that now I had a totally different understanding of freedom!

My husband then appealed to the District Court of Jerusalem. The hearing, which took place recently, was held before a Jewish Orthodox judge. To the surprise and amazement of both my lawyer and myself, the judge did everything within his power to encourage my husbands lawyers to drop the case, saying that he was not as concerned with the question of whether he, I or the children believed in Jesus or not, as much as he was concerned that the case be closed and the dispute come to an end for the ultimate good of the children, and to enable me to rehabilitate my life. That night, as I read a bedtime Bible story to my boys, I realised more than ever the great value of being free, a freedom that I almost lost and that many in the world never had: to live, study the Word, pray, teach our children, and fellowship.

This is the 3rd year of legal procedures between my husband and myself. With free legal aid, mental illness, a bitter mother and little else to do, I cannot foresee my husband occupying himself with a more profitable activity than suing me continually, although the District Court judge strongly recommended that he desist from such endeavours. As the judge also indicated, my children and I have to rehabilitate our lives. The ongoing legal procedures have cost us of endless resources, time, finances, family life and work routine, not to speak of mental and emotional resources. Speaking of us, the judge referred to the time of year, stressing that 'Passover is about freedom!' I am praying for the Lords conclusion to this sordid affair, including the many individuals involved, From religious judges to secular office and security personnel, not to mention my lawyer, who has since become a dear friend.

My children and I pray for my husband and his mother, and for the Lords way in their life, too. We thank the Lord daily for His faithfulness and for the blessings he has bestowed upon us during this period. We thank him for the great distance through which he has safely and triumphantly brought us. My children learn on a daily basis that God is the father of the fatherless, and that He will never leave them.

THE BUILDING PROJECT CASE

Our readers are aware that a verdict regarding the building project was to be handed down by mid March. However, as the lawyer of our co-defendant - the Beer Tuvia Municipality - was involved in a car accident and unable to submit their response in time, an extension was requested . This has indeed been granted and the new date is in the beginning of April. In the meantime we are permitted to continue work on the building.

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