You may or may not have heard about the young formerly Satmar girls who converted to X-tianity.
This is a GREAT tragedy but focusing on these cases misses the greater point. First of all - 99.9999 percent of Satmar chasidim would never dream of doing such a thing. But we all the rule of the thumb in journalism: If a dog bites a man - that is not a story. But if a man bites a dog - THAT is a story!! They look for the out of the ordinary, the sensationalist. It sells. [As does sex, violence, defamation of people's name etc. etc.]. And journalism is about selling. But suffice it to say that this is the very very rare exception and very far from being the rule.
Also, the girls who did it were almost definitely VERY VERY angry [or otherwise sick in the head] and there is no better revenge against those whom they hate than to convert. It wasn't done out of theological certitude or deep religious conviction. These girl surely know that Yoshke who is believed to be G-d and the Messiah is mentioned in ZERO places in the Tanach. The virgin birth? Nowhere. The Jews being rejected by G-d and the Torah laws abrogated? The Torah says that the law is forever and the Navi says that at the end of days Gentiles are going to go to Jews and want to serve them. If we are rejected - why are they coming to us? If they had questions they could have gone to someone like Tuvia Singer who is a world class New Testament buster. But as I said, they are in all likelihood extremely angry [or have other severe emotional issues] and this was their expression of that anger [or other sickness]. And the reality is that they didn't really convert and are still obligated in all of the mitzvos. Once a Jew - always a Jew. Hopefully they will come back. [Maybe when they find out that not only can Jews be corrupt but so can Christians].
The real issue is that it is not just a handful of crazy Satmar girls. It is much more than that. From the Jews For Judaism website:
Statistical Verification for the number of Jews who have converted to or affiliated with Christianity (or other religions) in recent years.
Some Jews still ask me "Are missionaries really having any success converting us?" And it makes me wonder, "Just how bad does it have to get before our Jewish community wakes up?" – Rabbi Michael Skobac Director of Education Jews for Judaism Canada
Our recent tweet “500,000+ Jews have recently converted to Christianity” was challenged. The following statistics have been posted in response:
To Whom It May Concern,
Occasionally, JEWS FOR JUDAISM receives challenges to our claim that, worldwide, it is estimated that more than 500,000 Jews have converted to Christianity in recent years.
To support our estimate, below are summaries of some critical statistics on Jews converting to Christianity and other religions.
These statistics ONLY represent Jews in the U.S.A. with one exception in Canada.
These statistics do not take into account the many, many thousands of Jews who have converted to Christianity in the Former Soviet Union and other major Jewish communities in Europe, South America, Australia, South Africa and Israel etc.
Please note that some of these frightening statistics are over twenty years old and it is not unreasonable to assume the problem is far more severe today, in 2013.
– Julius Ciss, Executive Director, Jews for Judaism (Canada)
Statistics On Jews Who Have Converted To, Or Affiliated With, Christianity And Other Religions
1989 – North American Renewal Service Committee, David Barret
Some 350,000 Jews already believe in Jesus as their savior, and the number may swell to half a million by the year 2000.
[Study Projects Half a Million Messianic Jews by the Year 2000 – JTA – Susan Birnbaum]
http://archive.jta.org/article/1989/03/21/2869978/study-projects-half-a-million-messianic-jews-by-the-year-2000
1990 – National Jewish Population Study
At least 12% of ‘ethnic Jews’ (estimated 720,000) are now outright Christians. Fully 6% of those who say their ethnic origin is Jewish say they are now Protestant. Another 5% call themselves Catholic, and 1% identify themselves as Christian without specifying a denomination.
http://www.jewishdatabank.org/NJPS1990.asp
2000 – National Jewish Population Survey 2000
Among adults of Jewish parentage and/or upbringing, nearly 1.4 million Jews say they are members of a non-Jewish religion or profess a different religion [Mostly Protestant Christianity]. That number has more than doubled since 1990, a change researchers attribute to the “coming of age of the children of intermarried families and the unfolding religious decisions of interfaith couples.”
http://www.jewishfederations.org/page.aspx?id=33650
2001 – Census Analysis Series – The Jewish Community of Toronto
Part 6, Issues of Jewish Identity by Charles Shahar & Tina Rosenbaum, Page 10,
Table 1, Religious & Ethnicity Affiliations, Toronto Jewish Population
http://www.feduja.org/jewishtoronto/census/2001_Census_Jewish_Identity.pdf
Of those 190,050 individuals in Toronto who identify ethnically as Jews, 5.8% or 10,955practice a religion other than Judaism [Based on this study, which is in one of the most “Jewish” cities in Canada, it is estimated that across Canada, of the remaining 50% of Canadian Jewry, an additional 10,000 – 20,000 Jews may also be practising a religion other than Judaism, most probably Christianity.]
2008 – American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS)
Principal Investigators: Barry A. Kosmin and Ariela Keysar
About 500,000 adults who have a Jewish mother follow another religion, overwhelmingly some form of Christianity.
http://livinginliminality.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/aris_report_2008.pdf
The real issue is that it is not just a handful of crazy Satmar girls. It is much more than that. From the Jews For Judaism website:
Statistical Verification for the number of Jews who have converted to or affiliated with Christianity (or other religions) in recent years.
Some Jews still ask me "Are missionaries really having any success converting us?" And it makes me wonder, "Just how bad does it have to get before our Jewish community wakes up?" – Rabbi Michael Skobac Director of Education Jews for Judaism Canada
Our recent tweet “500,000+ Jews have recently converted to Christianity” was challenged. The following statistics have been posted in response:
To Whom It May Concern,
Occasionally, JEWS FOR JUDAISM receives challenges to our claim that, worldwide, it is estimated that more than 500,000 Jews have converted to Christianity in recent years.
To support our estimate, below are summaries of some critical statistics on Jews converting to Christianity and other religions.
These statistics ONLY represent Jews in the U.S.A. with one exception in Canada.
These statistics do not take into account the many, many thousands of Jews who have converted to Christianity in the Former Soviet Union and other major Jewish communities in Europe, South America, Australia, South Africa and Israel etc.
Please note that some of these frightening statistics are over twenty years old and it is not unreasonable to assume the problem is far more severe today, in 2013.
– Julius Ciss, Executive Director, Jews for Judaism (Canada)
Statistics On Jews Who Have Converted To, Or Affiliated With, Christianity And Other Religions
1989 – North American Renewal Service Committee, David Barret
Some 350,000 Jews already believe in Jesus as their savior, and the number may swell to half a million by the year 2000.
[Study Projects Half a Million Messianic Jews by the Year 2000 – JTA – Susan Birnbaum]
http://archive.jta.org/article/1989/03/21/2869978/study-projects-half-a-million-messianic-jews-by-the-year-2000
1990 – National Jewish Population Study
At least 12% of ‘ethnic Jews’ (estimated 720,000) are now outright Christians. Fully 6% of those who say their ethnic origin is Jewish say they are now Protestant. Another 5% call themselves Catholic, and 1% identify themselves as Christian without specifying a denomination.
http://www.jewishdatabank.org/NJPS1990.asp
2000 – National Jewish Population Survey 2000
Among adults of Jewish parentage and/or upbringing, nearly 1.4 million Jews say they are members of a non-Jewish religion or profess a different religion [Mostly Protestant Christianity]. That number has more than doubled since 1990, a change researchers attribute to the “coming of age of the children of intermarried families and the unfolding religious decisions of interfaith couples.”
http://www.jewishfederations.org/page.aspx?id=33650
2001 – Census Analysis Series – The Jewish Community of Toronto
Part 6, Issues of Jewish Identity by Charles Shahar & Tina Rosenbaum, Page 10,
Table 1, Religious & Ethnicity Affiliations, Toronto Jewish Population
http://www.feduja.org/jewishtoronto/census/2001_Census_Jewish_Identity.pdf
Of those 190,050 individuals in Toronto who identify ethnically as Jews, 5.8% or 10,955practice a religion other than Judaism [Based on this study, which is in one of the most “Jewish” cities in Canada, it is estimated that across Canada, of the remaining 50% of Canadian Jewry, an additional 10,000 – 20,000 Jews may also be practising a religion other than Judaism, most probably Christianity.]
2008 – American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS)
Principal Investigators: Barry A. Kosmin and Ariela Keysar
About 500,000 adults who have a Jewish mother follow another religion, overwhelmingly some form of Christianity.
http://livinginliminality.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/aris_report_2008.pdf
SO INSTEAD OF TALKING ABOUT IT - WE SHOULD DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!!!
