A massive grass roots effort to reach 45 million Christians with the positive story of Israel and the Jewish people was advocated by a noted Christian clergyman. Dr. G. Douglas Young, founder of the Institute of Holy Land Studies, an evangelical Christian seminary in Jerusalem, maintained that Jewish groups are only “wasting their time” trying to re-educate top leaders of the Christian church because the “World Council of Churches is a predominantly pro-Arab group that tends to side with PLO terrorists on all issues.”
Speaking to a group of Jewish leaders at the Jewish Federation building several days ago, Young said that the average pastor takes his lead from the higher echelons and so the masses of Christianity are being taught a “philosophy of contempt for Jews that fosters anti-Semitism.” Young, who has lived in Jerusalem for the past eight years, said that Jews and Christians have “no problem” in living together in Israel.
The Israel government “carefully follows” articles in its Declaration of Independence guaranteeing the rights of all citizens, Young said. He pointed out that Israel’s government spent significant monies to restore Christian holy places in Jerusalem after re-unifying the city in 1967 and that each year the government presents trees it has thinned out from its forests as “Christmas trees” to all Christian organizations in the Holy Land. More than 15,000 trees are given each year, he added.
Young further illustrated Israel’s respect for the human rights of non-Jews by citing its policy of promoting Arab studies among Palestinian refugees. Many are bused to schools in Jordan and Egypt so that they may enter college in those nations, he said. This attempt to foster, rather than eradicate, Arab culture shows Israel’s willingness to co-exist with the Arabs, Young asserted.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
