Insights from Israel


A Look at Life in Israel An Interview with Meno Kalisher


Meno Kalisher is an author and speaker for Te Friends of Israel.


Tis article first appeared in the May/June 2019 issue of Israel My Glory magazine, published by Te Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry. Copyright © 2019 by Te Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry. All rights reserved. Used by permission.


Many of our readers have asked us what life is like in Israel, especially for Jewish believers in Jesus. So we asked Meno Kalisher to answer a few questions for us. Meno was born in Jerusalem and has lived there his entire life. A sought-aſter Bible teacher around the world and author of several books, Meno is the senior pastor of the Jerusalem Assembly House of Redemption.


Q: How are things different today than when you were growing up and when your parents were young believers?


A: I was born in 1962, so my childhood was many years ago. We had fewer


than 200 believing families in Israel at that time, and the attitude toward us was very bad. Jews who believed in Jesus were viewed as betraying their nation. Most of our neighbors were religious people who hated anything that had to do with Jesus.


Many Israelis who believed in Jesus


lost their jobs. I remember situations where kids in the neighborhood mocked and shunned me. A bomb destroyed our church elder’s car. Our church was vandal- ized and flooded when someone opened the fire hose one night. Another church downtown was burned to the ground.


As the number of believers grew, a


better understanding about who we are developed, and the attitude toward us changed for the better. We, too, were born in Israel. We studied in the same schools, served in the army, paid taxes, and spoke Hebrew with no foreign accent.


Te rise of Zionist evangelical 16 Fellowship Focus, September/October 2019


Christians and developments in school education have helped to shed a better light on Jewish believers in Jesus. Today Israelis realize not all Christians hate Jews! Tough most religious Jewish people still dislike Jesus and view Jewish believers as idol worshipers, their behavior toward us is more respectful.


Q: How much feedom do you have to make Christ known?


A: We have much freedom. We can use all forms of media to make Christ


known. Private newspapers and businesses can reject our offers for business, but that is life.


As a local church, we make Christ


known through our Christian testimo- nies; speaking with neighbors and friends; giving out gospel tracts; and spreading the gospel through our websites, video clips on YouTube, billboards, etc. We do not hide our faith in Jesus. We invest much in educating our people in the church to speak boldly about Jesus and to be able to defend their faith biblically.


Tere is a law in Israel limiting


missionary activity. It has two major warnings:


1. It is forbidden for adults to evange-


lize minors (people under 18). 2. It is forbidden to promise any


goods or benefits in order to persuade someone to change his religion.


In other words, it is forbidden to bribe


people. Needless to say, we don’t do things like that. We also respect the first warning. We teach the Bible to our children, and they share it with their peers and teachers at school. By God’s grace, the church is growing without violating this law.


Q: Are most Israelis religious, secular, or nominally religious?


A: Most Israelis are secular (60 percent).


Te other 40 percent are religious, varying from nominal to Ortho- dox. But many secular Jews feel attacked and in need of defending their national religion, Rabbinic Judaism, when you speak about Jesus and prove to them He is the promised Messiah.


Q: How many Jewish believers in Jesus live in Israel today?


A: Te last number we heard was about 30,000. Tis is a rough estimate


and includes those who believe in Jesus but do not attend church out of fear. Te number of Jewish-Is- raeli believers in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is about 500 soldiers. Te total number of evangelical churches is 300, including small churches that meet in homes.


Q: What are some of the greatest pressures facing Israeli believers today?


A: Spiritually, there is always an attack on the Lordship of Christ Jesus.


Not all Israeli evangelical churches accept the Trinity and believe that Jesus is God and that He was not created. Tis may sound weird, but it’s true!


Another issue is our identity in Jesus.


Despite all we do and say for our nation Israel, people still reject us and say we are not part of our nation. It’s a price we must pay. We should prefer to identify with Jesus in all aspects of life. Being mocked, ridiculed, and rejected is still a big part of our lives.


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