Which leads to my next point: why was what is clearly a
missionary organization, left to run this Jewish Agency center for lone
soldiers and new immigrants without any oversight? What in the world was the
Jewish Agency thinking? (My best guess: free labor and lots of Evangelical shekels
for the JAFI coffers.)
Will the Jewish Agency continue to work with Return
Missionaries, albeit in a different capacity? According to the Christian Post, Return Ministries
International Director Dean Bye
finds this to be a real and plausible possibility. “As for the partner
organization that has been persuaded to terminate agreements with us, we are
yet to learn what all this entails but understand their ‘termination’ is only related to our Bikat Kinarot Campus agreement in
its current form. As those who have committed our lives to God’s call to
serve and bless Israel, we are prepared to work together on a peaceful
resolution to the dissension that has been created,” said Bye, who continues, "We
declare our continued commitment to Israel's Aliyah and Absorption, the Return
and Restoration of God's people to their land. We pray that our relationship with the Jewish Agency for Israel will
continue to grow stronger as truth prevails."
What,
exactly, is the meaning of “termination in its current form?”
The
termination of the Jewish Agency contract with Return Ministries, if it is
indeed a termination, comes after the Agency worked double time to blame and
defame the messenger: Beyneynu. Prior to terminating the contract with Return
Ministries, the Agency threatened the nonprofit—dedicated to monitoring and
raising awareness of missionary activity in Israel—with legal action: “Contrary
to what is stated in your letter, Return Ministries has no involvement in the
Jewish Agency's programs, and the Jewish Agency strongly [opposes] any prohibited
missionary activity which is inconsistent with the Jewish Agency's character,
goals and activities. Therefore you are hereby required to immediately cease
your activity which contradicts the provisions of any law . . . The Jewish
Agency will act in this matter to exhaust any right it has under any law,
including against you personally . . . and will take every step necessary to
charge you for any damage or expense caused . . .”
Note
that the threatening letter says nothing about which laws were said
to be broken by Beyneynu. That’s because Beyneynu broke no laws. Beyneynu did
what it was created to do: raise awareness of missionary activity, in this case
missionary activity occurring under the auspices (and nose) of the Jewish
Agency for Israel.
The goal of The Aliyah Return Center, after all, is no secret. That goal is to aid in the fulfillment of “prophecy” regarding both the “physical and spiritual restoration of Israel,” a time when all Jews, God forbid, will come to accept Jesus as their messiah. Evangelicals believe all this will trigger his “return.” This belief is reflected in the name Aliyah Return Center, and its parent organization, Return Ministries. Beyneynu meant only to raise awareness of the inherent problem of the Jewish Agency working in tandem with an organization whose sole mission is to proselytize the Jews of Israel.
Instead of thanking Beyneynu for shedding light on the issue, and dealing with the problem, the Jewish Agency threatened Beyneynu. It was only when the story began to attract publicity that the Agency decided to cover its tracks by terminating its contract with the missionary organization. Why such a contract existed to begin with is, again, not difficult to fathom: free missionary labor, lots of missionary shekels, lather, rinse, repeat.
Beyneynu is taking it all in its stride. The termination of JAFI’s contract with Return Ministries is, after all, a victory for the organization and for Israel, on whose population the missionaries prey (no pun intended). Rabbi Tovia Singer, a counter missionary expert with Beynenu says he is “delighted that sound minds prevailed here. These are evangelical Christians who work in partnership with the Messianic movement and create a toxic environment. The wording of the Agency’s statement is simply ‘damage control.’”
Founder and Director of Beyneynu, Shannon Nuszen, also expressed satisfaction with the Agency’s decision. "I am pleased that in the end the Jewish Agency made the right decision to terminate this relationship. We are grateful for, and appreciate our non-Jewish friends of all faiths that stand with us. But, for the protection of the Jewish people it is the job of Jewish leadership to ensure that certain lines in this relationship are not crossed
"Beyneynu simply brought to light, through presenting the video evidence from Return Ministries themselves, that these lines were indeed being crossed at the Jewish Agency program. While it hurts that the Agency attacked our group through this process, I am happy to hear that in the end leaders made the difficult decisions that had to be made, protecting our most vulnerable Jews.”