May 7, 2008 / 17:48 pm
A Messianic Jewish student’s bid to win Israel’s annual youth Bible quiz has triggered a controversy because of her belief in Jesus.
In a protest letter quoted by the Israeli newspaper Maariv, the anti-missionary group Yad L’Ahim argues that the 17-year-old Bat El Levy should not be allowed to participate in the May 8 International Bible Contest for Jewish Youth, held in Jerusalem on Israel’s 60th Independence Day. Yad L’Ahim chairman Rabbi Shlomo Dov Lipschitz claimed Israeli law forbidding Christians from proselytizing should bar Levy’s participation. He further argued that the girl’s belief in Jesus should disqualify her from the quiz since, in his view, she is not Jewish.
According to Israel National News, Meir Porush, a member of the Knesset, asked that Levy be disqualified because she is not Jewish according to Israel’s High Court of Justice. The High Court has ruled in cases related to the Law of Return that citizenship is automatically granted to Jewish immigrants.
However, it has ruled that those who profess Christianity will not be recognized as Jews regardless of ethnic background.