How Is the Rise in Christmas’ Popularity Being Handled in Israel?
- Posted on December 21, 2011 at 2:09pm by
Billy Hallowell
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Foreign migrant workers from the Philippines Celebrate an annual Christmas-Hannukah party in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Dec 17, 2011. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — The founders of Neve Shaanan, a neighborhood in southern Tel Aviv, planned their streets in the shape of a seven-branched candelabra – a symbol of their Jewish faith. Ninety years later, the streets are full of Christmas decorations, reflecting a flowering of Christianity in Israel’s economic and cultural capital.
Tens of thousands of Christian foreigners, most of them laborers from the Philippines and African asylum seekers, have poured into the neighborhood in recent years. They pray year-round in more than 30 churches hidden in grimy apartment buildings. But in late December, their Christian subculture emerges in full force in the southern streets of Tel Aviv, whose founders called it the “first Hebrew city.”
On the Saturday before Christmas, the center of festivities was the city’s central bus station, a hulking seven-story maze of concrete. A plastic green fir spewed fake snow from its top in a shop near the main entrance. Christmas carols blasted from storefronts full of rice and noodles. Giggly young Filipino women took photographs with a Santa Claus figure to send to their friends and parents.
A few blocks north of the station, pastor Ruby Austria held her arms up and led prayers for 80 worshippers, most of them Filipino women, at a makeshift church on the third floor of an apartment building.
Women wept, clutching small children and singing along to Austria’s prayers and a keyboard accompaniment. Nearly all of them were in Israel illegally because they lost their work permits when they had children.
“God is embracing us,” Austria said. “May we see the true meaning of Christmas, that each of us will be able to see it in our lives and family.”
Romeo Moralit, 35, arrived in Israel five years ago to work as a caregiver. He planned to buy a musical Santa Claus statue to bring cheer to his home, he said. Tel Aviv‘s Christmas celebrations paled in comparison to Manila’s. “In the Philippines you see decorations everywhere, twinkling lights, and songs playing in all the shopping malls,” he said.
For some, the holiday punctuates the divide between parents and children.
Nancy Domingo, who arrived in Israel 14 years ago from the Philippines, said her eldest daughter did not plan on eating traditional Filipino Christmas food. The 7-year-old, like the other children of migrant workers here, has grown up steeped in Israeli Jewish culture. The girl speaks Hebrew, learns about Jewish holidays in school and is familiar with Jewish dietary laws, such as the ban on pork.
“If I cook pork she won’t eat it because in school they tell her pork is not clean,” Domingo said. “She doesn’t know Christmas, only Hanukkah.”
Nearby, a mostly African church called Lift Up Your Head, runs an annual trip to Jerusalem’s Old City and Bethlehem. Tour organizer Anthony Stephens, a Nigerian asylum seeker, said 150 people have signed up.
“People from all over the world spend a lot of money to come here, but for us it is like a gift because we are in the land,” said Stephens.
Lift Up Your Head is sandwiched between two other African congregations on the first and third floors of an apartment building. These churches offer African-inflected gospel music, dancing in the aisles and fiery preaching that holds together an impoverished group far from home. On Saturday, pastor Jeremiah Dairo howled into a microphone between songs.
“Today you are in the right place and God will see you through, in the mighty name of Jesus!” Dairo said.
Not all Israelis are pleased to see the rising profile of Christmas, which to some symbolizes religious assimilation and to others a religion with a history of hostility to Jews. Moshe Avisar, 67, on his way back to Jerusalem, said the decorations in the bus station bothered him.
“I go to the Central Bus Station and I don‘t feel like I’m in Israel, even though it’s my country,” he said. Of the decorations, he said, “I don’t want to see this in the Jewish State. Then all the Jewish people get carried away with it and start celebrating too.”
The foreigners are not the only Christians in the city. Jaffa, a historically Arab town that is now the southern quarter of Tel Aviv, has churches dating back hundreds of years.
Nationwide, Israel has about 110,000 Arab Christian citizens. A wave of 1 million immigrants from the former Soviet Union in the 1990s included between 50,000-80,000 practicing Russian Orthodox. And thousands of other Russian-speaking Jews celebrate a secular version of Christmas.
But unlike these groups, the foreign workers and asylum seekers have little way to gain citizenship.
The workers, who receive temporary permits, often overstay them, living illegally and in fear of the immigration police. For these people, the churches are alternate institutions that help them navigate the uncertainty of their lives on the margins of Israeli society.
Social worker Tamar Schwartz directs Mesila, an aid organization for foreigners funded partially by the Tel Aviv municipality. The church is a key meeting place for the foreign community, she said.
Each year the organization throws a Christmas-Hanukkah party to help bridge between the migrants’ foreign backgrounds and the Jewish culture their children absorb.
“They learn only about Hanukkah in school, and then they get home to parents who don’t speak Hebrew and they hear that Christmas is the most important holiday,” she said. “A child like this grows with a split identity.”
The top Roman Catholic clergyman in the Holy Land even warned of the migrants drifting away from their faith by living in a Hebrew-speaking Jewish society.
“We must redouble our pastoral efforts to provide religious services and to ensure their integration into the local church,” Latin Patriarch Fouad Twal said Wednesday in his annual pre-Christmas address.
Gift shop owner Daniel Seah said that when he first arrived in Tel Aviv from Singapore 15 years ago he brought his own Christmas tree because he wondered whether he could find one in Israel. A week before Christmas he produced an annual Christmas show on the fourth floor of the Central Bus Station, with singing, dancing and a gift basket lottery.
“In the mind of the people who come to Israel, it’s the birthplace of Christianity and they really thought Christmas would be a big deal everywhere,” he said. “They were disappointed. They expect it to be a little more exuberant.”
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Comments (69)
The Third Archon
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 9:06pm“The workers, who receive temporary permits, often overstay them, living illegally and in fear of the immigration police.”
Report Post »Just like in America!
The Third Archon
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 9:04pm“I don’t want to see this in the Jewish State. Then all the Jewish people get carried away with it and start celebrating too.”
Anyone STILL want to make the case that Zionism isn’t a racist ideology about creating a JEWISH majority state, applying political power to MAKE a majority if necessary (which it has been and continues to be–viz-a-viz the Palestinian diaspora and numerous curtailments on the rights of non-Jews in Israel and the territories occupied by the same)?
I leave now as the time for you to bring that up.
Report Post »EddardStark
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 10:57pmWhile I don’t think one guy at a bus stop conclusively proves that statement, I highly doubt you will get a coherent refutation.
However, that guy at the bus stop is clearly an indication of an international Jewish-Atheist crusade to annihilate Christmas and therefore Christians the world over. This is just like when Code Pink and the Muslim Brotherhood put aside their differences in an attempt to reestablish the Caliphate during Arab Spring protests. Hey, I bet that this is the opening salvo in a Code Pink-Muslim Brotherhood-Atheist-Jewish conspiracy against America! Glen MUST do a show on this.
Also, which Archon do you consider the third? The King Archon? Polemarch? Eponymous?
Report Post »The Third Archon
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 11:31pm“While I don’t think one guy at a bus stop conclusively proves that statement, I highly doubt you will get a coherent refutation.”
You are right about that–it doesn’t prove it, merely illustrates the point. It’s truth is independent the anecdote. And it‘s not as though I’ve discovered some great secret–the Zionists make no secret of their intent.
As to the name, it is a combination of the number three, which has significance for me, and the Greek word “archon,” which I’m sure you know means “divine right to rule”–precisely what humans have innately. Also, it sounds awesome.
Report Post »bjornskis
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 7:16pmwould they rather have Christmas or Ramadan
Report Post »flatbroke
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 6:49pmI love Christmas just like everyone else, but i can understand some folks getting upset over the overdecoration aspect of it. Santa, and trees, and frosty the snowman, and rudolph the reindeer have absolutely nothing to do with christmas, yet some folks seem to go crazy with all of these elements, instead of having a simple manger scene, and a small tastefully decorated tree.
Report Post »tzion
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 7:17pmNot to mention being celebrated for nearly a month despite it being a one day holiday. Most other holidays only get a weekend at best.
Report Post »jungle J
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 9:31pmit has everything to do with thier Chrstmas…what is your problem…live your life…
Report Post »chicago76
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 5:29pmThat’s funny. LOL. Because the dirty little secret is that the Jews tried to exterminate the Christians after Christ’s resurrection. St. Paul was one of their exterminators.
Report Post »Baikonur
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 5:08pmHorrible. Really bad stuff.
Report Post »Juniemoon
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 4:35pmI’m really surprised at this, they know their Torah and they know this is paganism to decorate trees, hang Santas and ornaments. Then again I’m surprised at how secular the Jewish people have became in Israel and the amount of abortions performed there as well. I know one thing, there is going to be a lot of suffering for the Jewish people before they turn their hearts back to God and the Torah.
Report Post »TulsaYeeHaw
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 5:23pm@juniemoon
I love that picture…LMAO
Report Post »tzion
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 6:37pmIt has always been true that the dangers of assimilation are more threatening to Judaism than antisemitism.
Report Post »thegreatcarnac
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 4:34pmChristians are the greatest backers of a free Israel there is Their love for Israel is not returned to them. There is some lip service given to American groups of Christians as long as they are collecting money for Isreal..but when the curtain goes down on these fundraisers, they revert back to the attitudes they expressed in the new testament. If Israel did not need us…I do not know the nature of the relationship between us and them. Of course….even with the minor problems….Israel is a bettere ally than the Arabs would be.
Report Post »tzion
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 6:00pmCan you really blame them? Nearly 2000 years of persecution and there are still those who look down on the Jews. Christians and Jews have a long and bloody history that for many is still all too fresh. Give them time and some space. Remember, it’s a lot easier to forgive than to forget.
Report Post »frontdesk
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 4:33pmIsrael is a very welcoming nation. Anyone coming to Israel to live needs to understand that it is a Jewish nation, first and foremost. It is not that one religion is better than another. This is the only country that Jews can call their own. And Jews have rights too. The non-Jews communities that have chosen to call Israel home, need to understand the history of the Land of Israel. Israel has a big heart!!
Report Post »geomann
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 4:21pmMy in laws told my wife at an early age that Santa was not real. They did not want her to doubt the existance of God when she eventually found out they had been making up bunnies and elves.
Once, at a Santa display at the shopping mall, she told all the other kids “my Mom says Santa is fake”. With lots of angry parents looking at her, my mother-in-law wanted to run and hide!
Report Post »REBELWITHACAUSE
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 4:29pmNow THAT is funny… at least she had some good parents who spoke the truth. I wonder why more people aren’t pissed at their parents for lying to them about Satan Claws and a bunny that lays eggs…. I’d be SO pissed if I was scolded or spanked for lying, and yet they were lying to me every year about such stuff. Thankfully, I was taught from an early age that Christmas and Easter are derived from pagan customs and traditions that seeped into the church WAY before Christ was even born… so, I’ve known the truth for a long time… whew! :)
Report Post »thegreatcarnac
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 5:14pmI was raised on believing in Santa and the Easter Bunny until I was about about 6 or 7 years old. It did not bother me. I did not think they lied to me per se. It was a fun and magical time. Kids who believe in Santa Claus (IMO) have more fun at Christmas. The idea of a magical Santa and the reindeer and the elves at the North pole…making and bringing the toys and presents gave an air of excitement. I did the same favor for my kids. They had a blast. When they realized it was just makee-believe…they were old enough to get the picture and later appreciated those times.
Report Post »geomann
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 4:17pmWhile there are some misguided exceptions, most Christians believe the Jews are God’s chosen people (the Prodigal Son). Christians (gentiles) are adopted into the family of God through his grace. Neither are rejected by God, but both can choose to reject his grace. Any Jew who chooses to except Christ will be welcomed as a long lost son. Those who don’t should be shown the respect due to the family who adopted us, and prayed for on a daily basis.
It must be very difficult for them. Much like a Mormon telling a Christian there is a new book they need to live by. Keep this in mind when they have a problem with Christmas celebrations in Isreal. We are to avoid offending other people’s traditions, because it drives us further apart. I don’t think it is helpful to have high profile Santa characters running around.
Report Post »LOJ
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 3:31pmChristmas is stronger in America and Israel, than it has been in years..All the Socialist-Communist movements have enhanced and made people more aware of God, The Messiah, and where our Freedom comes from…More Christmas songs, Naitivities, and manger scenes too are on display.
Report Post »ProgressiveDeist267
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 3:29pmI can understand why many Jews would want to celebrate a secular Christmas with non-Jews. But this is consider blasphemy against HaShem and the Jewish faith. Judaism and Christianity couldn’t be more indifferent then Christianity and Islam. Please, my fellow Jews do not celebrate Christian holidays no matter how secular they may be.
Report Post »Avigdor
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 3:50pmI would not say that Christmas blasphemy against HaShem. What has happened is that christians were abusive towards Jews which has created a lot of hurt. But in reality, what we call christmas is really pagan holiday that has been christianized. It is more likely that this Yeshua was born about the time of Rosh HaShana (mid Sept) than in the winter months.
Report Post »ProgressiveDeist267
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 3:53pmI understand about the birth date and how the history of different Christians view the day when Jesus was conceived and when he was born. Still we need to understand why people will celebrate Christmas in Israel.
Report Post »REBELWITHACAUSE
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 4:09pmI have an even better question. Why do atheists celebrate Christmas? I know some who do. They say, “Oh, it’s for the children.” Well… if you’re an atheist, why would you want to teach your children about Christmas? Just makes no sense.
Report Post »But not just the Jews, why do CHRISTIANS who “supposedly follow Christ” celebrate Christmas? Just because it was “christianized”, it is STILL a pagan idolatrous holiday that serves nothing but to prove to God that what HE says in HIS word is to be ignored by His own creation. This just floors me. My husband does not go to a church of any kind on any day of the week… the only words that surround the name of our creator that comes out of his mouth is ‘damn’… and yet he celebrates Christmas. Don’t ask.. I’ve yet to get a straight answer from him on this… he knows I won’t celebrate it, but… does what he can to pull me in hook, line, and sinker… but every year, his family will spend their last dime trying to “out do” each other. HAHA I just don’t get it… Satan is laughing his ass off somewhere… I am SURE of it! … all while God sighs and KNOWS that the ONLY thing that is going to wake this foolish bunch up is to send plagues, famine, and pestilence and wage war on the earth. When the valley of dry bones wakes up out of their graves of dust, I can only hope God finds me worthy to be there so that I can be there to tell ‘em all “this is the way now, walk ye in it.” :)
rocketwrangler
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 4:13pmIt is irrelevant WHEN Jesus was born. The Declaration of Independance was not signed on July 4th, yet that doesn’t stop us from celebrating it on that day.
Report Post »REBELWITHACAUSE
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 4:36pm@ ROCKETWRANGLER – REALLY?? You want to take something that’s supposedly based on Christian principles, and something else that’s based on the beginnings of this country and try to make a point?? Won’t work here! IF you own a Bible… and IF you believe it is the word of God, then read Jere. 10. Ezek. even has a few things to say about a sunrise service… another pagan custom that seeped into the church… Easter comes from Ishtar… has nothing to do with the death of Christ and yet everyone ignores the last few verses of the Bible that mentions how we must not add to or take away from God’s word, and yet everyone tries so hard to make Christmas and Easter “christian” holidays. If it was commanded or even suggested by God in the Bible, I could see people keeping these holidays, but… to blatantly do what God says NOT to do… just hard to grasp. Oh, never mind… I do grasp it… Satan has deceived the whole world. Again, will take the tribulation to UN-deceive the world… sad that so many have to suffer such when all they‘d have to do is just keep God’s laws… simply doing what your Father in heaven tells you to do so you don’t get a horrible spanking later… seems pretty simple to me. So, it IS a big deal if you try to celebrate the birth of Christ when he hasn’t told you he wants you to, and at the same time, you’re incorporating pagan customs and traditions in so doing. Enjoy the tribulation!
Report Post »PPMStudios
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 3:26pmPerhaps not in the case of Israel but, I saw a news clip the other day covering both Japanese and South Koreans dressing as Santa Claus with the shop windows decorated to the hilt.
They weren’t necessarily Christians, they were just people getting caught up in the “commercial” version of Christmas success the western world has been exporting for years via, TV and film…
Hey, maybe Hollywood is owed a big ‘ol thanks?? Nah, never mind.
Report Post »historyforgotten
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 3:12pmRome sends Ambassadors(Legates) to Israel, in order to convert Israel into a Capitalist Country. Slowly turning Israel into a CommonWealth of Rome.
Report Post »If they can’t continue the Spanish Inquisition, nor Convert Jews into Christians….they Plan to Breed them Out, by Moving Christians, into the State.
Rome uses the Fear and Hatred of Muslims, to Promise Protection….while continuing to arouse the ‘Differences’ between Hebrews and their Brethern, the Arabs.
mzk1
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 3:29pmI don’t think people realize the tremendous amount of money spent by countless Christian groups to convert Israelis. In fact, the only people who leave us alone is the Catholic Church. They’re more on the “kill them” end of things.
Report Post »REBELWITHACAUSE
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 4:00pmNot to stir the pot here re: “the Pope”… but… God is going to allow a great deal of things to come on the scene soon to “punish” Judah and Israel for their sins. Yeah yeah… no one thinks they sin… or, they think they can just say a few “hail mary’s” and BAM… it’s all good now. Boy, those cathlicks are gonna be pissed at the pope and their bishops and what not when they realize they’ve been duped all their lives. Does anyone know who the “great harlot” with the blood of the saints on her hands is?? I wonder just how many fully understand that it’s the catholic church? It will be THAT church who is calling all her daughters back to the fold (watch as the protestant churches return unto her… bet it won’t be too much longer… give it 2 or 3 yrs, tops)… and when it does, watch out folks! Know then that unless you accept that mark(Sunday worship vs. the true Sabbath), you should know then that you were not whisked away on the wings of an eagle and instead, you are in the tribulation… hunker down and know you have 2.5 yrs and then a full year of the day of the Lord plagues. Folks better wake up and stop holding hands with the enemy at the gates.
Report Post »hi
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 3:04pmWhy do people
Report Post »Migrate to Israel ? Just curious.
mzk1
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 3:08pmWhy does all of Mexico want to come to the US? It’s a first-world country, and they live in thrid-world coutries.
However, I came from the US, because I am of the children of Israel (or Jews as we are known in English) and I think God wants us to live there. I will be forever grateful to the US for giving us a refuge. And I still have to fill out that darn 1040 AND a declaration of “foreign” bank accounts.
Report Post »mzk1
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 2:58pmThe elephant in the rrom here is that Israel, like the US, has a serious illegal immigrant problem fro mthe south. Most of the refugees are economic. The Left here acts just as it does in America, covering for them. Just as there is a war in Chrsitianity in America, there is a war on Judaism in Israel.
Report Post »REBELWITHACAUSE
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 2:51pmFIRST, yes… the Jews never recognized Jesus as being the true son of God, our creator. They knew that a savior would come, but they thought he’d come as He says He will in His 2nd coming. They never understood His arrival as a flesh and blood, mortal that served only to declare the Father, and die for our sins. From the time the Eloim saw Adam and Eve take of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil(they sinned), and had to know that, 4,000 yrs later, The Word would have to come in the flesh to be beaten for the likes of our sorry, no good for nothing hides. Why they didn’t smite Adam and Eve right then and there, should tell MANKIND something… that God wants a family more than anything, and He loves us more than any of us could possibly imagine. So… yeah, Jews(Judah) will be dealt with when Christ returns. HOWEVER… despite all this… a true Christian should fully understand the facts… the traditions and customs of Christmas(AND Easter) were kept WAY before Christ’s birth/death… and Christ’s birthday (Nimrod’s birthday was December 25th) Nimrod is the one you all celebrate (don’t even start… you can call an apple an orange, but that apple is STILL an apple). Christ never observed His own birthday, and neither did his followers.(Jer. 10) Birthday-keeping was not to be kept by true Christians… and the customs and traditions of the pagans were disgusting and idolatry. A true Christian would research more heartily into what he considers Christian
Report Post »mzk1
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 3:05pmNo, we think he will simply be a great sage, a great warrior, and a mortal king, as it says, correctly translated, “and his rest (death) shall be in honor”. He will marry (probably several wives), have children in the usual manner, and be succeeded by his children. He will return the Jewish people to the Mosaic law, and restore animal sacrifices to the Temple.
Then all of the nations will attack, probably out of liberalism and hatred of theocracy, and will be joined by some left-wing Jews, as predicted in the prophets, “and also Judah will fight in Jerusalem”. The reator will then reveal himself, but will no image as insisted upon in Deuteronomy, “for you have seen no image”, and destory the alliance. The whole world will them come and serve God, not as Jews, but as loyal sons of Noah.
Report Post »REBELWITHACAUSE
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 3:52pmHis “rest” is his Sabbath… and after the great tribulation and day of the Lord, there will be a millenial rule where all mankind will HAVE to accept God’s laws, God’s ways… or find their lives snuffed out forever and ever. God‘s Sabbath’s should be in HIS honor… a day of rest to honor our creator, giving glory to Him. For without Him, you and I would not even be here. Duh!!!
Report Post »There is nothing in the Bible to support a return to animal sacrifices. Jesus Christ became the ‘perfect’ sacrifice, thus the animal sacrificial laws were done away with at his death.
When the armies of this nation gather together at Megido, Christ will return with his Saints and will put a stop to the wars and those same armies will then join together, believe it or not, to fight against this almighty being coming from the sky. You are not allowed to interpret the scriptures… they say what they say, mean what they mean… a good concordance helps here. Judah, Levi, and Benjamin split from the other tribes of Israel. The only thing they’ve got right today is… they have the sceptor promise(but probably don’t even know this now) and they‘ve preserved God’s calendar(thankfully). The rest of Israel turned to idolatry and the ways of the rest of the world. Israel (Ephraim and Menasseh)/(Great Britain and the U.S.) AND Judah have been warned… it’s now past the point of no return for them, as Nations. We‘ll see who’s right and who is wrong in the very near future. :)
prlim
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 6:10pmI agree with most of your comments, but take exception to no Jews believing in Jesus as their Messiah. Jews gave us the New Testament which was mostly written by Jews. There were Jews who believed in the first century and all through the Ages. We owe everything we have in Christ to the Jewish people.
Report Post »livesikceb
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 2:46pmWow, so Christians have brought our Pagan influence to Israel complete with Santa Claus, Elves and greedy capitalistic gimmes to the Holy land. And this is something we are proud of?
Report Post »momrules
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 2:39pmThe greatest friend the Jewish people have are Christians. We pray for them and Israel while the rest of the world actively seeks their destruction.
Report Post »Israel has always welcomed Christians and I hope that the disgruntled few will remain the minority.
chicago76
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 5:33pmC’mon, Israel has not always welcomed Christians. They sought to purge Israel of Christians after Jesus death. That being said. Israel, like the US, has a right to control its borders and kick out illegals.
Report Post »tzion
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 7:02pm@Chicago76
Report Post »Technically Jews tried to purge their own religion of what was seen as a blasphemous sect. Christianity didn’t exist as a separate religion until after Paul separated the two. A less violent approach was used by Middle Ages Jews to eliminate the followers of Shabbatai Tzvi, another false Messiah (from the Jewish perspective obviously). It’s probably more similar to many Christians feelings towards Mormon. Plus that was 2000 years ago and the Romans were just as bad to the Christians. Clearly the comment above was referring to the State of Israel.
Eliasim
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 2:35pmOh yeah, “Pork is not clean” that’s why God told Noah (except for the flesh thereof) everything is food for you. No see what it is that for a giant “A man” a “spirit” those who are “split” have unclean spirits to consume, and leaving only the “Spirits” who chew their cud, because they learn from the wine they drink from the vineyards they’ve planted.
Report Post »Eliasim
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 2:46pmSo in further words for example my shoes could also be people, individual people, or “Hooves” (if you will), and If I was to be a “Man” for example I wouldn’t consume what their spirit offers, but only those shoes who chew their cud, because they send up the good incense. Get it? No, rib-bit, rib-bit.
Report Post »Eliasim
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 2:50pmAnd for another example, that’s why Jesus went around washing his Apostles feet. It’s also why they wash their feet in Islam, except that they don’t know why they do it – not really, except they are forced to do it, and of course, they think they are individual God’s.
Report Post »Eliasim
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 2:54pmAnd of course yet again, it’s why it is said that Jesus has shoes that John the Baptist is not worthy to latch.
Report Post »Eliasim
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 3:23pmOf course no one wants the truth, and they rather enjoy the lie.
Report Post »Nevermind
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 2:24pmCOuld it be due to the fact that Jews consider Chriatianity to be blasphemy? It is against the 10 commandments to worship a false idol and that is what Jesus is to them.
Report Post »Eliasim
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 2:40pmHey, hey no truth allowed.
Report Post »WCJ
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 4:16pmIt wouldn’t be blasphemy since Jesus is God. Truth allowed.
Report Post »tzion
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 7:05pmOnly to Christians is Jesus god. Jews hold that Jesus was a man like any other. Even the Jewish Messiah isn’t considered divine, only divinely ordained as king. Nowhere in Judaism does the concept of a women giving birth to G-d even exist. Only Pagans ever held such beliefs.
Report Post »4truth2all
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 2:22pmMost Jews do not believe in Christ, and many christians have allowed santa clause to corrupt it. All this in the land where Jesus was born… what a mess.
Report Post »On the upside… have a blessed Christmas… to ALL
lukerw
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 2:19pmThe TRUTH is Judaism is divided by various Sects (just as the time of Christ)… where they hate each other. I always said: if someone wants to destroy Israel… just give them Peace… and they will do it to themselves. That being said… I still support them over the Muslim alternative!
Report Post »Eliasim
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 2:27pmI feel sorry for the Christians there because when they begin to have too much influence the Jewish Israel Nation will thwart them. I mean come on, open up your mind to let some sense pour in for once.
Report Post »ShyLow
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 2:16pm12 tribes of Israel…the Jews are 1 of those tribes…all Jews are from Israel…not all of Israel were Jews
Report Post »lukerw
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 2:31pmQuite Correct… and Jacob passed the Title “Israel” to Ephraim (the Tribe), son of Joseph in Egypt… whereby Joshua was the Military Leader of the Exodus… and conquerer of the Holy Land!
Report Post »mzk1
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 2:56pmThis is not true. Read Ezra. Other tribes were also in Judea. In particular, many Jews trace their ancestery to Levi and Aaron the priest (Cohen in Hebrew) on the pure male line. A genetic marker has been found both in Cohanim (Priests) of European and Middle Eastern Jews.
Report Post »Eliasim
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 3:00pmThat’s because it is about “Spirit” and not DNA. Does that make sense? It makes sense to me.
Report Post »From Virginia
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 6:53pmAll the tribes of Israel are mentioned in Revelations except the tribe of Dan. The half tribes of Ephraim and Manasse (the children of Joseph) are counted as separate tribes making up the twelve. Interestingly, I work with a Levite. How cool is that?
Report Post »tzion
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 7:13pmActually, when the kingdom split, the northern kingdom of Israel consisted of only 10 tribes (excluding Levites). The kingdom of Judea was governed by the tribe of Judah, hence the name. But it is usually agreed that one other tribe, likely either Simeon (being in the south) or Bin Yamin (along whose border with Judah was where Jerusalem was) remained part of the southern kingdom.
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