Counter-campaign against ‘J for J’ starts

Despite an advertising blitz in Canadian community weeklies, including The CJN, only several dozen people attended the “Stand up for Judaism” weekend ahead of Jews for Jesus’ Montreal launch of its “Behold Your God” conversion campaign.

Still, Jews for Judaism has begun speaking to as many as 60 different Jewish groups and thousands of local Jews during the missionary drive, which began Sept. 18 and runs to Oct. 8, in an intensive effort to get its counter-missionary message across to as many Jews as possible.

“We have been extremely busy,” said Jews for Judaism education director Rabbi Michael Skobac.

The list of groups, he said, includes virtually all students at Jewish schools, as well as most synagogues and many Jewish organizations.

“Next week, I’m speaking to a Christian-Jewish dialogue group.”

Rabbi Skobac was speaking after the first weekend of the conversion drive, in which a flurry of Jews for Jesus material was handed out at various Metro stations – including in the west-end and downtown – and at high-traffic street corners.

Rabbi Skobac said the Toronto-based Jews for Judaism, which is staying in town for the duration of the campaign and is using the offices of Canadian Jewish Congress, Quebec region, has recruited about 50 volunteers for the counter-missionary campaign (both CJC and FEDERATION CJA are providing support).

As the conversion campaign began in earnest, he said, volunteers have been fielding calls on Jews for Judaism’s hotline and travelling in small groups to subways stations to “counter-leaflet” – either by anticipating where Jews for Jesus will likely disseminate material or in response to a hotline caller who spotted them.

On several occasions, Rabbi Skobac said, Jews for Judaism representatives handed out their own “counter-leaflets” to people as soon as they had Jews for Jesus’ material in hand.

“That’s the whole idea,” Rabbi Skobac said. “We try to stand nearby and give out literature to the same person.”

Still, at the Metro stations, “they have many more people than we have,” Rabbi Skobac said

Jews for Jesus’ bilingual flyers, which have a humorous tone, included one, called “Moses for Jesus,” which says, “Although Moses never went to synagogue, never went to yeshiva and never led a tour of the Holy Land… God gave him a message.”

Then, in an allusion to Jesus, the pamphlet quotes Deuteronomy 18:15: “The Lord will raise up for you a prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. You shall listen to him.”

Another pamphlet cover states: “Beware of Religious Fanatics Handing Out Pamphlets.”

One of the contacts listed in the pamphlets is Karl deSouza, who has been named to lead a Jews for Jesus branch being launched in Montreal during the conversion drive.

Rabbi Skobac attributed the relatively low turnout at Jews for Judaism’s initial weekend event – as well as at a Sept. 19 “town hall meeting” with Rabbi Skobac – to competing Jewish community events and to the fact that until Jews become aware of the true threat posed by groups such as Jews for Jesus, they don’t tend to take the threat too seriously.

Some participants in the Jews for Judaism weekend were not aware that Montreal has over a dozen Jews for Jesus-type groups, he said, “and when they’re not aware, people don’t take this issue seriously.

“To raise awareness and consciousness, it takes time and consistency.”

Rabbi Skobac said even with the low attendance, he, executive director Julius Ciss, and a volunteer managed to speak at 11 synagogues, and rabbis mentioned the conversion drive in speeches from their own pulpits.

Jews for Judaism volunteers, he said, have been working in “at least two shifts” per day – 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and during the evening rush hour.

Aimed at 65 cities worldwide with Jewish populations of 25,000 or more, Jews for Jesus’ five-year missionary campaign, which ends in 2006, targetted Toronto in 2003.