Counter-Missionary Department

Ironically, Jews who live in Israel are the most vulnerable to missionaries. That’s because missionary groups see making inroads in the Jewish homeland as a special achievement and therefore invest tremendous energy and resources there. The missionary infrastructure in Israel is based mainly on a few large Christian cults and dozens of smaller ones.

It is important to understand that that the missionaries are driven by ideology. They believe that their success at converting Jews will hasten the revelation of J. as the messiah. Thus their activities are characterized by an ideological fervor, a sense that they are working toward an altruistic goal, which makes them more difficult to contend with.

Moreover, it is vitally important to remember that any assistance provided by missionary organizations, as innocent as it might appear, ultimately leads to one thing: Jews joining up with Christianity.

In our battle against the missionaries we are even more motivated. We see the saving of each and every Jewish soul from Christian cults as a sacred mission. This is what drives Yad L’Achim’s relentless efforts against the mission and its members.

Who Is Vulnerable?

Three main groups are especially vulnerable to the influence of the missionaries: those who suffer from economic or emotional distress, young adults, and new immigrants, especially those who come from countries in which they were raised ignorant of their Judaism.

People who are in crisis can be lured easily by offers of assistance. The missionary groups step in and distribute food to the needy or schoolbags to their children. These programs are part of a wider strategy, a way of acquiring the trust of the needy.

At the same time, figures show that missionaries are intensifying their efforts among new immigrants, who are showing an interest in what they have to offer. Many of the immigrants are isolated; they don’t understand Hebrew, miss the homes they left behind in their native countries and yearn for human contact. This, in addition to their difficult financial situation, provides fertile ground for the missionaries.

There is another population group that is vulnerable: young Israelis, often straight out of the army, who are searching for meaning in their lives. These young people have been failed by the state educational system, which didn’t offer any sense of the beauty of Judaism, and so get caught up in cults in the Far East or in other mystical pursuits.

How the Department Works

We fight the missionaries in a variety of ways, some of which, due to their sensitive nature, can’t be described in detail.

One of our most important functions is to track the activities of missionaries and respond to them in appropriate ways. We are updated every time the missionaries schedule a conference, open a new center or schedule a baptism for Jews in the Kinneret and have a variety of means – all of them legal - to foil them. When we receive a report of a family that has gotten caught up in a cult we intervene with tried and tested methods.

We establish contact and begin a series of meetings aimed at discovering what caused these Jews to seek assistance from the cults and help them make their way back to the Jewish people.

We also offer economic support and counseling for families or people in distress who have been snared by the missionaries in their moment of weakness.

In the fight against missionaries, prevention is as important as intervention, if not more so. We run programs that strengthen awareness of Judaism among Russian immigrants. These include a growing network of Torah classes around the county, as well as seminars and Shabbatons for Russian immigrants.

We have also been very effective in organizing protests in neighborhoods that have been infiltrated by missionaries. These alert local residents as to the nature of the “innocent” classes being offered at an apartment on their block that has been rented by missionaries. These protests have led to the cancellation of classes, the removal of missionary centers, the prevention of baptisms and an awareness among the general public as to the extent of the problem.

Scope of Missionary Activity in Israel

There are more than 100 missionary congregations operating in Israel. Indeed, every city has a missionary congregation that runs programs and activities aimed at luring Jews.

The annual budget of the missionaries in Israel is in the millions of dollars, often funded from foreign sources.

Under the guise of assisting the public, they open community centers, as well as drug-treatment facilities, that serve to advance their cause.

The missionaries have at their disposal kibbutzim, convention centers, youth hostels, coffee houses, publishing houses and much more to spread their poisonous message.

DEPARTMENTS