Israeli embassies feel pressure against anti-evangelism proposal
TEL AVIV, Israel (BP)--Israeli embassies in several countries are feeling pressure over a proposed law that could severely limit freedom of religion in Israel.
Bill S757-1996 proposes to set a one-year jail term for printing, copying, distributing or sharing tracts, or advertising "things in which there is an inducement for religious conversion."
"In Finland ... we have just heard of 7,000 signatures to a letter of protest, and of a planned interview with the Israeli ambassador there," said Baruch Maoz, a Messianic Jewish pastor helping rally forces against the bill.
The governments of Norway and Denmark also have questioned the bill, Maoz said. "The Israeli ambassador to Norway has written home to say that this proposed law could wreak intolerable damage on Israel's relations with friends in Norway," he said.
The bill was introduced as a "private member's bill" after it failed to win support from the government committee that represents the ruling coalition in the Israeli legislature, said Baruch Binah, minister-counselor for public and inter-religious affairs at the Israeli Embassy in Washington.
Binah said he understands from those knowledgeable about the bill that without endorsement from leaders in the ruling coalition, the proposal has only a remote chance of success.
Maoz, on the other hand, dismisses the statements from Israel's Foreign Ministry. Embassies are simply "seeking to orchestrate a response that will lull protesters into believing that their concern has been addressed and appropriately resolved," he said.
The coalition committee rejected the bill twice, probably "on its merits," Binah said. "I'm pretty sure they simply looked at it and decided it's a bill that shouldn't pass. While we don't welcome proselytizing, it's not illegal."
Although Jews in Israel generally resist evangelism -- and are even personally offended by it at times -- Israel has laws that protect free speech, Binah said. To validate such a law as the one proposed, legislators would have to change laws already on the books, he added.
The proposal, passed in the first of four readings, now is under consideration by a legal committee that -- among other things -- checks proposed bills to conform with existing laws.
But Maoz and other evangelicals fear this could be one of the dozen or so "private member's bills" -- from thousands introduced -- that do pass each year.
Maoz said the government's own press office has reported 78 of 120 Knesset members have said they support the bill. He also charged that some of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's own staff, including the finance minister, have publicly backed the bill.
Without diplomatic pressure from outside of Israel, Netanyahu might be unwilling to take a stance against the law since he depends on the Jewish Orthodox minority that backs the law to preserve his governing coalition.
Messianic Jews fear the bill could curtail evangelism and might be used to ban even the Bible, severely restricting growth of some 60 Messianic Jewish congregations across Israel.
Recent incidents already show effects of the proposed law, Maoz said. For example, a believer in Eilat recently received a ticket for distributing religious literature "as if this were an illegal activity," Maoz charged. "A judge issued an illegal search warrant, allowing the police to enter the home of a believer and confiscate religious literature.
"Her grounds: 'Suspicion of a change of religion,' a crime nowhere mentioned in Israeli statute books," Maoz said.
For those interested in opposing the law via the Internet, the Knesset web site listing e-mail addresses of Knesset members is http://www.knesset.gov.il/knesset/mk/14/mkindex_eng.htm. The Israeli Embassy e-mail address is ask@israelemb.org. Others may contact the Israeli Embassy at (202) 364-5500 or 3514 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008.
