COMMENTARY: Jews and the New Testament: Never an easy encounter

A group of Christian missionaries last month distributed copies of the New Testament to Ethiopian Jewish immigrants in Or Yehuda, a city near Tel Aviv and a center of Orthodox Judaism. In response, some enraged Jewish seminary students burned copies of the New Testament. The Or Yehuda incident highlights a sad recurring feature of history: […]

A group of Christian missionaries last month distributed copies of the New Testament to Ethiopian Jewish immigrants in Or Yehuda, a city near Tel Aviv and a center of Orthodox Judaism. In response, some enraged Jewish seminary students burned copies of the New Testament. The Or Yehuda incident highlights a sad recurring feature of history: for 20 centuries, Christian missionaries have thrust the New Testament into the collective face of Jews in largely unsuccessful efforts of conversion. It has been a tragic zero sum game for both faith communities. But during the same week at Or Yehuda, Reform Jewish scholar Michael J. Cook published his new book, “Modern Jews Engage the New Testament,” which offers a radically different perspective on the debate.

(Rabbi Rudin, the American Jewish Committee’s senior interreligious adviser, wrote the book “The Baptizing of America: The Religious Right’s Plans for the Rest of Us.”)

Donate to Support Independent Journalism!

Donate Now!