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A Jerusalem District Court has rejected the appeal of the Messianic village of Yad Hashmonah and has ordered it to pay compensation to the tune of USD $15,000 to two lesbians for refusing to allow a wedding reception on its premises.
Judge Moshe Hacohen upheld the previous ruling that since the Yad Hashmonah Messianic Guest House is a open to the public, the community cannot impose its religious faith on individuals or groups who want to use its facilities.
“There were no contradictions in this case,” said Hacohen. “Yad Hashmonah refused to allow the wedding reception because the women are lesbians. In their appeal, the village claims that they have authority to refuse the reception because of their faith. Most of the members of the village are Messianic Jews, who base their faith on elements of Judaism and Evangelical Christianity, a faith based on the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament as the word of God.”
In its appeal, Yad Hashmonah explained that “the lifestyle of these lesbians is in absolute contradiction to the Hebrew Scriptures and New Testament. The laws regulating freedom of religion must protect us from allowing a ceremony in our backyard which is in complete contradiction to our faith.”
However, the Jerusalem Court determined that the refusal by Yad Hashmonah to allow the lesbian celebration is against the law, which states that “it is forbidden to act in a way that discriminates against persons for services rendered or entrance to public places.” The judge pointed out that the village’s Messianic meeting room is completely separate from the guest house, which is a secular tourist business.
Yad Hashmonah’s lawyers, Michael Decker and Sarah Weinberg, argued that it was the village’s legitimate right to refuse the lesbian celebration given its members’ beliefs in the Bible and their faith, which prohibits same-sex marriages. The lawyers explained that the Messianic believers hold dearly the importance of traditional marriage between and a man and a woman.
The court agreed that the residents of Yad Hashmonah had every right to practice their faith. However, since they are running a regular secular business, they are required to adhere to the law which prohibits discrimination on the basis of religion or sexual preferences. If Yad Hashmonah wants to open its business to the general public, the judge ruled, then they must be willing to provide services even to persons or groups who are not to their liking or taste.
There are many guest houses and businesses in Israel that are owned and operated by Messianic or Christian organizations. The ruling comes as a warning to all faith-based establishments in Israel that they cannot refuse use of their facilities once they have opened them up to the public.
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Worship time at Emmanuel Messianic Jewish Congregation (Barry Rubin)
In recent decades, Messianic Judaism, a movement of Jewish people who have accepted Yeshua (Jesus) as Messiah and continued to embrace their Jewishness, has been steadily growing—especially in the United States.
Jews have been coming to faith in Yeshua for centuries, increasingly so after Israel became a reality again in the late 1800s with the Zionist movement. After the Holocaust, when Israel became a nation again in 1948, the number of Jewish believers in Yeshua has been increasing worldwide, almost in lock step with Jewish immigration to Israel.
But what is the state of Messianic Judaism in Israel itself?
Because Israel is in an extremely dangerous area of the world, surrounded by Arab countries that have threatened its extermination, Jews there live with a certain amount of anxiety. When would the next Intifada take place? Which country would declare its desire to push Israel into the sea? When would Hamas rockets fly again?
Living with those concerns, the people have become cautious about "outsiders," especially after nearly two millennia of "Christian" anti-Semitism. Thus, Christian missions to the Jews of Israel often have been met with suspicion. Yet some have been successful, especially if they are sensitive to and supportive of Messianic Judaism.
There are historic Anglican Jewish missions from the United Kingdom. King of Kings (kkcj.org) is a congregational ministry of the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada. The Caspari Center (caspari.com) is a Scandinavian Lutheran mission to the Jews. Christian Witness to Israel (cwi.org.uk) sponsors Grace and Truth congregation in Rishon L'Tzion. They also publish books, as does Keren Yeshua.
Modern Jewish missions are also active in Israel. Jews for Jesus (jewsforjesus.org) has a new center in Tel Aviv. The Christian Jew Foundation (cjfm.org), not only does missionary work, it also supports a number of national pastors. Chosen People Ministries (chosenpeople.com) has centers in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv and congregations in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Ashkelon, Ashdod and Ariel. Maoz (maozisrael.org) is an Israeli organization that publishes books in Hebrew and supports Israel while helping Jewish people meet their Messiah. There are others as well, but, as with most overseas missions, indigenous works have had the most success. Nowhere is this truer than in Israel.
The primary evangelistic work in Israel is not through missions. It is being done through local Messianic congregations. The larger ones are in Tiberias, K'far Saba, Netanya, Jerusalem and Joffa. There are 150-plus congregations in Israel with as many as 15,000 Messianic Jewish believers, of whom about 60 percent speak Russian as their first language.
The growth in the number of congregations has increased over the last 20 years, just as it has in the United States and other countries. Nearly every year, another indigenous congregation or two springs up, and as more and more Jews from around the world return home, this will only increase.
Israel is a small country—about the size of New Jersey—so these congregations are easily noticed by their fellow Israelis. More and more, Israel is increasingly aware that there are Jews who trust Yeshua as the Messiah and savior, much as it was in the New Testament era.
These Messianic Jewish congregations are now led by Israelis, even though they may have a mix of Jews and Gentiles. Most services are in Hebrew (sometimes Russian, Amharic, French or Spanish). The music too is indigenous, as is the style of worship —very Israeli. The melodies have a distinctly Middle Eastern tone to them. Most meet on Saturday when Jews generally hold worship services. These congregations of Yeshua-followers are clearly Jewish.
Messianic Jews are gaining more acceptance in Israel. Instead of being perceived as threats to the Israelis, due to prejudices going back 2,000 years, they are recognized as friends, fellow citizens, and an active part of Israeli society. In part, the groundwork for this was laid by the benevolence work of groups such as Chosen People Ministries (chosenpeople.com), The Joseph Storehouse (www.visionforisrael.com), the Messianic Jewish Alliance of America's Joseph Project (mjaa.org), and other similar works.
Israelis, who have been especially challenged during the wars with Lebanon, Hamas and the high taxes used to pay for defense, are grateful to Messianic Jews, sometimes in spite of themselves, for food, clothes, medicine and other supplies. They need our help. This is a very tangible expression of the love of Messiah. Messianic Jews are being trusted enough to allow them to materially assist Israel during her most difficult times.
It is known that there are many Messianic Jews serving in the army—mostly the children of immigrants from the United States and Europe—who were raised in Israel. This shows unity with the people, so much so that the funeral of one Messianic Jewish soldier killed in the last war was well attended by Israel's leaders. The newspapers noted that he was a Messianic Jew, part of a congregation in the Haifa area.
A television special featuring interviews of members of the Christian Moshav, Yad Hashmonah, was widely watched. It included a Messianic Jewish family celebrating Shabbat, etc., giving a very good impression of Messianic Jews in Israel. No longer are followers of Yeshua seen as people to stay away from. Now, they are embraced as fellow strugglers in Israeli life.
Over the past centuries, because of all the atrocities done to Jews in the name of Jesus, Jewish people have avoided having anything to do with Him, His followers, or His teachings. It was too costly, too risky. And in Israel, where people are more vulnerable to attacks, this is acutely so. But Messianic Judaism is changing things. Now, Israelis are more open to talking about Yeshua and considering his claims to Messiahship.
The congregational leaders in Israel need connections with pastors in the West. Many would appreciate prayer, fellowship and sometimes even financial support for special projects.
Western pastors have a lot to give to Israel's Messianic leaders by way of training and guidance, as well as prayer. Most Israeli pastors do not have much formal training and would benefit from partnering with non-Israeli pastors. Most Israeli pastors are pioneers and need more seasoned spiritual mentors to guide them.
Encouragingly, the perception of Messianic Jews is undergoing a steady transformation in Israel these days—from one of mistrust and outright loathing to recognition and acceptance. Knowing the love of Yeshua in the Messianics' hearts, the bridge between them and Orthodox Jews is getting shorter all the time. Doors to hearts once closed are beginning to open wide.
Rabbi Barry Rubinis the president and publisher of Messianic Jewish Publishers and Resources/Jewish New Testament Publications. He is also the Rabbi of Emmanuel Messianic Jewish Congregation.
The Jerusalem District Court has ordered Moshav Yad Hashmonah, a community of Messianic Jews and Evangelical Christians, to pay compensation to two lesbians after it refused to host a same-sex wedding. "We knew we were breaking the law. Somebody needed to do it." says Ayelet Ronen, general secretary for the village.
Judge Moshe Yoad Cohen upheld a lower court ruling that the Moshav violated a law prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation.
During the trial, representatives of the Moshav quoted from both Old and New Testaments. "We do not hate homosexuals or lesbians. We love them. We simply told the court that it is God's word in the Bible that calls homosexuality an abomination," Ronen told Israel Today.
She continues: "As a faith-based community we need to be able to refuse events that blatantly oppose our religious beliefs. We explained to the judge that a same-sex celebration would ruin our business. The majority of our clientele are Christians who vigorously oppose gay marriage."
The lesbians' lawyer accused members of Yad Hashmonah of "homophobia," pointing to an announcement published by the Moshav that "no homosexual or lesbian organization will be allowed to rent space for functions on our premises."
That announcement came in response to a flood of requests for same-sex celebrations on the Moshav from gays and lesbians hoping to pass more court decisions requiring the Messianic community to pay out huge compensations.
As a result, the Moshav was forced to shutter their events-hosting business, resulting in huge financial losses. "We used to host an average of 35-50 weddings a year over the past 12 years. Israelis from all over the country, religious and secular, loved to come here. Now there are none," says Ronen.
Judge Cohen held that the Moshav cannot refuse to host a same-sex wedding reception even if doing so goes against their own conscious. The Moshav's lawyer, Michael Decker, challenged that ruling, asking the judge, "What if a Catholic went to an Orthodox Jewish carpentry in [the ultra-Orthodox town of] Bnei Barack and asked them to build a statue of Mary? Would they have to build the idolatrous image?"
The judge replied: "They would have to make it or else be fined. That is the law."
Ronen says that the ruling demonstrates that "even the judge understood that current laws are not providing sufficient protections for religious communities."
According to Ronen, "a lot of religious Jews and rabbis have secretly told us 'good for you. We are glad that you take this stand.' But they will not stand with [Messianic Jews] to change the law. They hate us too much and would never work with us."
In his ruling, the judge upheld the earlier verdict of the Jerusalem Magistrate's Court, ordering Yad Hashmonah to pay the two lesbians damages of 60,000 shekels ($17,000) plus another 30,000 shekels for attorneys' fees for both the original suit and the appeal. "At this time we are not planning another appeal. To lose again would not sound good," says Ronen.
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Love For His People Editor's Note:
I have stayed several times at Yad Hashmonah, while the US Director of Vision for Israel from 2005-2010. It is a beautiful site, and we tremendously enjoyed the scenery and the closeness to Jerusalem. We pray the Lord will give them new vision and new income, as they seek Yeshua HaMashiach in all that they do. We applaud them for their courageous and honorable stand for truth.
Steve Martin President Love For His People, Inc.
The Founders of Yad Hashmonah
The founders of Yad Hashmona were Bible believing Protestant pioneers from Finland. In 1971 they registered as a legal association in Israel. Three years later they moved to the site to begin building and developing the stony area. During the 1960’s, they had worked as volunteers in different Israeli kibbutzim, where they learned about the communal lifestyle which they later adapted at Yad Hashmona.
As believers in the fulfilment of biblical prophecies, the Finnish pioneers desired to contribute their share to the Zionist movement in Eretz Israel, the Land of Israel. They also wished to express their gratitude to the God of Israel, who blessed all the nations with the gift of the Messiah Yeshua (Jesus).
The Name
“Yad Hashmona” means Memorial to the Eight. Sometimes it is written as Yad Ha8. The name was given by the founding settlers in memory of eight Jewish refugees, who escaped in 1938 from Austria to Finland, and who were surrendered by the Finns to the Gestapo in November 1942. It was a time when the Finnish government collaborated with Nazi Germany in opposition to the Soviet Union, in an attempt to recover the Karelia region - which Stalin had ‘stolen’ from the Finns in the “Winter War” of 1939/40.
The eight refugees were taken to Auschwitz, where seven of them were murdered. The lone survivor, Dr. Georg Kolman, who lost his wife and baby son in the extermination camp, made aliya to Eretz Israel. The Finnish founders of the Moshav wished to somehow atone on behalf of their nation for the surrender of the eight to the Nazis, and they viewed their contribution to the Land of Israel as a public request for forgiveness.
Notwithstanding the Finnish government’s refusal to surrender all of their Jewish citizens to the Germans, the action taken on Finnish soil against the eight Austrian Jews remained a heavy burden on the Finns’ conscience. Nevertheless, it wasn’t until November 2000 that the Finnish government and Church leaders dedicated a memorial to the eight in Helsinki. A monument was erected in the Observatory Hill, opposite Helsinki’s South Harbour, from where the refugees embarked on the death ship SS Hohenhörn. In the presence of representatives of the Jewish community in Finland, the Prime Minister, Paavo Lipponen, begged the forgiveness of the entire Jewish people.
Israeli Messianic believers in Yeshua from across the country gathered in the Jerusalem-area village of Yad Hashmonah on Wednesday to mark the biblical festival of Shavuot.
Shavuot is one of Israel's most revered biblical holidays, as it commemorates, among other things, the giving of God's Word at Mt. Sinai. The holiday has entered the Christian calendar as Pentecost, the day of the outpouring of God's spirit on the local body of Yeshua's followers in Jerusalem. So, for Israeli believers, Shavuot is doubly important.
As with every year, hundreds of Messianic Jews and Christians living in Israel made their way to Yad Hashmonah for the festive event. Among those addressing the gathering was a Ugandan pastor who two years ago had acid poured over his head by an angry Muslim gang. He is currently living in Israel to undergo treatment in Tel Aviv.
The African visitor said he was raised a Muslim who hated the Jewish state, but after finding the Bible realized that every passage made clear that the God of Israel is the one and only true God.
Barry and Batya Segal, founders of Vision for Israel and The Joseph Storehouse in Israel (plus in the USA, UK, The Netherlands, Germany), lead worship at their annual Sukkot Celebration (Feast of Tabernacles) in 2009. People from many nations gathered to bless Yeshua HaMashiach.
Barry & Batya Segal lead worship
Barry shares a word on the Worship Boat crossing the Sea of Galilee (The Kinneret)
The Segal puppies - Baloo and Chio.
Batya with granddaughter
Barry speaking at the
Sukkot Celebration meeting
under a large succah!
Batya and Barry in their home succah
during Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles)
Barry likes the Beatles (among other bands)
from his Detroit days back in the '60's -'70's.
Love For His People bless the Segals and their great work through Vision for Israel and The Joseph Storehouse. For more information on their humanitarian outreach in Israel, tours, on-line bookstore, TV program, and to sign up for their weekly newsletter "Jerusalem-On-Line", visit their website. (Link below.)
Many are unaware that nestled in the hills outside of Jerusalem is a Messianic communal village where some 150 Israeli believers live, work and provide a "living testimony" of faith in Yeshua.
But that identity has often come at a price, and recently the village of Yad Hashmonah was sued and ordered to pay damages after it refused to host a lesbian wedding at its beautifully constructed event hall and biblical gardens.
The courtroom defeat was only the tip of the iceberg, Yad Hashmonah spokesperson Ayelet Ronen told Israel Today.
"We have already received phone calls from many more homosexual groups and couples saying they want to get married here. To avoid another legal problem, for now, we simply cannot book anything at all" at our guesthouse and event center, explained Ronen.
She noted that at this point, to turn down more homosexual groups based on biblical principle would likely result in Yad Hashmonah being forced to shut down its primary business. On the other hand, Ronen insisted, "we cannot and will not cater to this kind of activity."
There are other options, such as re-opening the event hall as a "religious" institution catering specifically to Messianic believers. But that would mean a big loss in business, as well as hinder one of the main reasons Yad Hashmonah invested so much in the facilities in the first place.
"We always wanted to be a living testimony to the Israeli public," said Ronen. "Many believers work in the 'Christian' field, but our desire was to be integrated into normal Israeli society by offering a quality little guesthouse service where our faith is openly declared. And HUNDREDS of Israelis go through this place every month."
If you would like to learn more about or contact Yad Hashmonah, visit their website: www.yad8.com
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