Persecution in Israel

Jesus said, “Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake (Matthew 5:11 KJV).”

The latest group who were blessed in this manner in Israel was the Beersheva Congregation. You can see some photos and videos of this orchestrated protest turned assault here. [Update: The link is no longer good.]

The Beersheva and Arad congregations have been particularly targeted over the last couple of years and seem to be growing more vulnerable to such attacks. The police have been fairly ineffective at protecting the congregants in these cases. Thankfully, no one was seriously injured, but it probably will not be long before that changes. Mob violence can get out of hand very quickly, even unexpectedly.

Persecution in Israel is primarily accomplished through social pressure intimidation, and ostracism, but occasionally manifests itself in violence. There is a tremendous amount of social stigma placed upon Jews who believe in Jesus.

Currently, it is legal for Jews to believe in Jesus and promote that belief through many different means, except toward those under 18 years of age. However, over the last eight years there have been a few attempts in Parliament to make it illegal to evangelize at all, or in another case to possess literature that might be used to encourage one to convert. So far, all political attempts to silence Jews who believe in Jesus have failed.

Please pray that the believers in Israel would “Remember the word that I [Jesus] said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. 21But all these things will they do unto you for my name’s sake, because they know not him that sent me (John 15:20-21 KJV).”