May Executive Director Address

Greetings Union Friends,

Someone recently asked me what the Union was doing to (1) attract attention, (2) locate new leaders, and (3) facilitate new congregational launches in the USA. These, of course, are very important questions. They require more than a cursory answer, a perfunctory nod and superficial virtue signaling—say, simply by saying we’re having a young speaker and a young musician at our conferences. By doing so an administrator can “check the box” when next to nothing is really being done in the world—except for superficial signaling.

At this year’s Summer Conference, a variety of new initiatives will be proposed to the delegates. Among them we're planning a three-day Union young leaders' event for which Dallas Theological Seminary has generously provided a venue. Everyone and anyone interested in planting new congregations is invited to attend. They'll hear about the essentials for start-up leaders from some of our more innovative Messianic Jewish planter/leaders, and network with other entrepreneurial sorts game to go on the adventure. They'll also learn how the Union can help potential planters be successful. We’re shooting for the Fall of 2025, after the High Holidays. Details TBA.

This is but one of the initiatives at play within the Union. A proposal is going to the delegates this summer to create space for innovation at both Winter Leadership and Summer Conferences, by: (1) affording Messianic-oriented divinity students a platform to share their research with others; (2) affording current scholars time slots to offer briefs on the new articles and/or books they are writing; and (3) providing rabbis opportunities to share breakthroughs they are experiencing in their ministries.

In short, our conferences are going to be a one-stop-shop for anyone/everyone interested in Messianic Jewish community growth and experience! The Executive Committee is even considering an entire Winter Leadership Conference highlighting next generation movers and shakers and the new ideas that are driving them.

We have a number of opportunities for musicians to come together at the Summer Conference. We’re launching a Worship Collective, a string quartet, and a brass quartet, plus the Union Klezmer Band returns for a second year. To learn more and sign up, follow this link. 

We're also hosting a workshop for Messianic Jewish educators, revolving around creating new curriculum, discussing and sharing successful curriculum, and ending with presenting a new Ashreinu curriculum initiative. 

Along with all this will be our standard bevy of excellent programs for the very young and the young, along with our compliment of guest musicians (e.g. Paul Wilbur), speakers from Israel (e.g. Boaz Michael, Eitan Shishkoff) and, of course, some of our top-notch rabbis bringing their sage perspectives to bear. If you haven’t done so, register for the Summer Family Conference in Boston. This is going to be one for the ages, and you’re going to wish you were there if you miss it.

Throughout the Omer season, we’ve been praying each day for renewal. Counting the Omer will culminate at Tikkun Leil Shavuot, an all-night Bible study on June 1-2 centered on foundational passages for the Festival of Shavuot. 

Presenters include Rabbi Barney Kasdan, Rabbi Dr. Stuart Dauermann, Rabbi Russ Resnik, Rabbi Dr. Joshua Brumbach, Melissa Moskowitz and more. 

Registration is free, but required in advance. 

An appreciation for social advocacy has long served as one of the Union’s distinguishing characteristics. I’d like to commend a group in Israel vying for more recognition in the World Zionist Congress: Israel 365. Every five years the WLC votes on new leadership. If a One-State Solution resonates with you, American Jews can vote, for a party that stands for it: Israel 365. Go to https://israel365action.com/#vote and cast your vote, if inclined. There’s a $5.00 fee. You need to vote by May 3rd 2025.

Whether or not you cast your vote on the above, I hope you’ve cast your vote for the UMJC. I believe all of us should be investing in the future, because all of us will be spending the rest of our lives in the future. The quality of that future is, in part, predicated upon the decisions we make now. The Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations is oriented toward the future. Thank you for being part of it. If you’d like to hear me on some behind-the-scenes updates, check out the below video for a brief update.

Yours,

Dr. Jeffrey Seif
Executive Director
Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations

April Executive Director Address

Greetings Union Friends,

As happens with changes in climate this time of year, the warmer weather brings new growth along with it. The earth rejuvenates, flowers bud, and the earth’s inhabitants behold an exciting moment in nature’s cycle. We see the spring’s “new life” motif within the Passover story and Israel’s rebirth after being set free from bondage. In the same season, we celebrate Messiah’s awakening from the grave during Passover—bringing new life along with him. Much as nature is cyclical and themes of new life are carried along with the cycles, so too there are spiritual rejuvenation moments, and we seem to be enjoying one of them. See my Executive Director video update below. 

If you want to see some of the future, and not just hear about it, come to our 2025 Summer Family Conference outside of Boston. Early registration is open now through April 21.

Paul Wilbur will be returning to the Boston area (where he fares from) and will join us for the Saturday evening concert, along with a variety of musicians of all ages. Speakers from Israel will grace the platform as well (for example, Eitan Shishkoff and Boaz Michael); various committees will convene and tweak platforms (for example, fine arts and education); and some of the world’s greatest Messianic rabbis will share. Our conventions are important, key moments in the Union’s life.

Beyond all this, Boston is a great family getaway—one that can turn into a real educational experience for the whole family. So, plan ahead now to extend your time in the area.

Union President Rabbi Barney Kasdan and Rabbi Dr. Rich Nichol recently travelled to Brazil to participate in a major conference organized by Rabbi Matheus Zandona Guimaraes. Prior to their departure, Baruch Hashem Synagogue in Dallas hosted a select group—from both the UMJC and MJAA—to participate in a mini-conference to process issues associated with including our friends of Anusim/Sephardic descent. Union Delegates will receive information from this seminal meeting at the pre-conference business meetings.

In the summer, Union Delegates will also be presented with approximately 30 new communities for Union membership or affiliation—what will amount to 50 new communities since the summer of 2023. About a dozen are affiliates with Anusim representation. As you see, it’s a timely conversation being held in Dallas and Brazil.

You’ll also want to mark your calendars for our interactive, all-night Bible study honoring the tradition of Tikkun Leil Shavuot. It will be held on June 1-2, 2025 from 9pm-4am EDT. More details on speakers and topics coming soon. TLS comes on the heels of the Omer campaign, during which time we raise funds and awareness of our various outreaches in Israel, Ukraine, and at home. 

Shortly Eric Tokajer and I will travel to Ukraine for a Messianic leader’s conference. Anxious to deliver more than information, I’d like to make sure these communities know they are loved and cared for. Specifically, I’d like to bring some financial relief. Knowing there are many things competing for your time, attention, and finances makes me a bit reluctant to ask. Still, the emergency of the moment forces me to appeal to you—as the Lord reminded us to remember the poor, naked, and imprisoned—to join me in contributing to our Israel-Ukraine funds where monies are split to help those in need.

Someone recently commented: “You don’t stop Jeff. You’re always asking for money!” That’s indeed true, and I am not apologizing for it here. It only becomes a problem if I am asking for myself—and I haven’t done that once. As the Executive Director of the Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations it’s my job to, among other things, (1) inform you where the Executive Committee is taking us and (2) invite your assistance in the journey. 

Lots happening in the UMJC. Hope you’re proud to play a part. I know I am.

Yours,

Dr. Jeffrey Seif
Executive Director
Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations

March Executive Director Address

Greetings Union Friends,

My wife Barri told me recently that March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. I didn’t understand. She explained that she meant the weather; harsh/cold has its last hurrah as the month starts, and then as the month turns, the weather pivots toward a warmer and calmer lamb-like climate.

Weather aside, amidst the turbulence of socially trying times, I look for the day when the lion will lie down with the lamb (Isa. 11:6). We not only hope and pray for better days to come in Israel, Ukraine, and the world, but we labor to that end with loving investments in and through Messianic communities. If you’d like to join by donating to needs in Israel and Ukraine please do so here.

Global Updates:

• In May 2025, I’ll be heading to Ukraine with Boris Goldin and Eric Tokajer to follow up on ministry work spearheaded last year by Howard Silverman.

• Shortly thereafter, I, along with Michael Schiffman and another Union Exec member, are planning a trip to Germany. I’ll report back on doors opening there.

Domestic Updates:

• In a few weeks, Rich Nichol, John Fischer, and Tony Arroyo will be meeting in Dallas with Matheus Zandona and leaders of congregations that include descendants of the Anusim (Jews forced to convert in 15th Century Spain). The group will speak to, for, and about issues facing the Anusim. Barney Kasdan and others will be heading to Brazil proximate to all of this for a Messianic conference there.

• Union delegates will soon be looking at 25 new applications for Union membership and affiliation—a number that might grow to 30 by the summer conference. Add those to the 21 from last year and the Union will have seen approximately 50 new communities onboarding at one level or another in just two years! I know full well that rapid growth represents something of a threat. We’ll process the future carefully and prayerfully and adjust accordingly. This organization’s policies are determined by the votes of its elected delegates, with their decisions, in turn, managed by an elected Executive Committee superintended by an elected president. Though the Executive Director (yours truly) plays a part, the Union is a joint venture—an enterprise we’re engaged in together.

As you may recall, I’ve been talking up our new Friends of the Union program. We garnered over 10,000 views on the reel launching that campaign! That didn’t immediately translate into 10,000 new friends but it does attest to the power of social media and what we can do when we do things together. Thank you. I’m re-attaching another promo now. If you didn’t promote the last one and would like to do so now, please (1) share this link on your social networks and, in your own words, encourage all your friends to learn about the Union, and (2) share this brief 90-second video. With God’s help, there is so much we can do together.

Speaking of together, we'll be rolling out this year’s Omer program starting on the evening of April 13 and culminating in Tikkun Leil Shavuot—an all-night study on June 1, 2025 (more details coming soon). An offering will be received for displaced and needy persons in Israel and Ukraine in conjunction with it.

Lastly, beyond whatever presents we may receive, know that your presence alone is a gift. Thank you for being part of the miracle that is the Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations. If you’d like some behind the scenes news and reflection, view the video.  

Yours,

Dr. Jeffrey Seif
Executive Director
Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations

February Executive Director Address

Greetings Union Friends,

My wife Barri and I recently returned from our Winter Leadership Conference in San Diego, California. Our president, Rabbi Barney Kasdan (with Liz Kasdan), hosted a great conference. We were pleased to connect with old friends and excited about all the new ones, too.

One of those new friends was a videographer named Todd Morehead. He showcased his new video entitled, “Hope in the Holy Land”, which was particularly well received. I’d encourage you to check it out. You’ll find it’s worth the watch.

Speaking of “worth”, at the conference I had the opportunity to talk to leaders about our newly updated Friends of the Union program. In short order, everyone on our mailing list will receive information and will be asked to share it with friends on their social networks—enabling us to expand our reach into the multiple thousands. Previously, all “Friends” showed their friendship by making a small monthly donation; a difference now, however, is that no donation is required. Individuals can sign up for free or sign up and donate monthly. There are four giving tiers, with the first being absolutely free. The new program showcases our distinctives with a mind to, hopefully, help others develop an appreciation for the modern-day miracle that is the Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations. Details forthcoming.

While speaking of friends and donations, I would like to highlight our concern for oft-neglected Messianic Jewish communities in Ukraine. While conducting Holocaust studies at Cambridge University, I was particularly struck by the plight of the Jewish people in Ukraine. Before Hitler built industrial complexes to kill Jews en-masse, Nazi units were dispatched throughout Ukraine and, with the help of ever-willing neighbors and sympathizers, anti-Semites rounded up and killed between 1,300,000 to 1,800,000 Jews: one bullet at a time. The mass exodus of Jews from Russia to Israel is reasonably well known; the story of the unloved Jews who never got out of Ukraine isn’t. Many remain and we want to be with them there—now (Matt 25:36).

The UMJC has eight new communities in Ukraine, and I am asking you to give generously and show that you stand with them. There are a number of photos I had to choose from to introduce them to you—ones that show the ravages of war, devastation and heartbreak. I’ve opted instead to go with one of a Messianic Jewish, Ukrainian child dedication. It shows hope for the future. Please join me in being an agent of hope by donating today. 

If you're interested in some behind the scenes talk, hit the attached video link.

Yours,

Dr. Jeffrey Seif
Executive Director
Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations

January Executive Director Letter

Greetings Union Friends,

In 1899, Charles Holland Duel, Commissioner of the US Patent Office, (supposedly) said: “Everything that can be invented has been invented.” I was shocked that someone in his position could say such a thing, so I was pleased to learn later he was misquoted. Believing as I do that the future belongs to those who dream and strive, accepting the status quo doesn’t abide with me. For me, it’s all about forward!

The Union recently embraced the theme “Kadima”—meaning “forward!” That 21 new communities joined in 2024 says something about forward momentum. We currently have 17 new applicants onboarding—with another new inquiry I have yet to respond to. “What’s the secret?” someone asked me. “Good people” was my answer. Allow me to share just a few of those good people with you.

Our provisional West Regional Director, Suzy Linett, contacts me every few weeks about new interest she’s generating in her region. She wondered if she’s bothering me with incessant emails, questions, and mild debate. . . . All I could say is: “You go girl!” Suzy is a rare breed. We’re fortunate to have forward-thinking leaders like her—and others.

Rabbi Ira Brawer recently took the helm of our Kadima Fund leadership training initiative and is proactive in getting financial resources to those in our community preparing for ministry.

In Europe, Rabbi Boris Goldin and Rabbi Howard Silverman interviewed eight new Messianic communities in Ukraine who are petitioning for entrance into the Union in 2025. I’m planning to go to Ukraine in short order. I’d like to report some financial assistance is on the way, as there is still a great need among Ukrainian believers.

Drs. John and Patrice Fischer recently went to South America and represented the Union at a significant Messianic conference there and met with the communities that have recently joined the Union as affiliates. Those attending the Winter Leadership Conference later this month will meet our new Union leaders from France; K. Moledet Habibi and his wife, Kristine. They are an impressive couple and looking forward to meeting you all as well — despite the language barrier. If you’ve been slow to sign up, hit the link, since registration closes January 10!

A big Strategic Planning Session is slated for Wednesday, following the conference, open to leaders from Union member congregations. Also, at WLC we’ll be formally rolling out our new “Friends of the Union Program.” This is extremely important and I am excited to share the details soon!

In the Spring of 2025, Rabbi Rich Nichol along with other rabbi-scholars will meet with Hispanic Messianic leaders in Dallas.

My wife Barri and I are planning a Friends of the Union Israel tour in the Summer of 2025, and our Executive Secretary, Matt Absolon, will be leading a Union Youth tour in Israel. Check out the links if you’d like to visit the Land and some communities there.

Lastly, I’d like to remind you of a major benevolent effort for this year: our “50-50 Solidarity Campaign”—to service needs in Israel and Ukraine. The Union has responded with financial gifts towards needs in both of these countries in the past, but Messianic communities in Israel and Ukraine still need financial help amidst their current struggles. I implore you to hit the donate link and send relief their way right now—gifts are split evenly between the two countries. Your help is needed!

Want to hear some behind the scenes news? Click the link for the full video update. Hope you enjoy.

Yours,

Dr. Jeffrey Seif

Executive Director

Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations

UMJC Torah Commentary Wins 2024 Word Award

Ben Volman’s drash on Parashat Ki Tavo, entitled "When the Way Seems Uncertain" won the Canadian national 2024 Word Award for best Digital [online] Inspirational Devotional. The awards are handed out annually by the leading Canadian Christian writer's organization, The Word Guild. Ben Volman recently served as UMJC Vice-president and is currently Regional Director for Canada. He is a long-time Messianic Jewish pioneer and congregational leader, based in Toronto.

Click here to read “When the Way Seems Uncertain.”

To subscribe to the UMJC Weekly Torah Commentary, scroll down to the “Subscribe” panel on the UMJC.org homepage .

November Executive Director Address

Greetings Union Friends,

I recently passed the one-year marker as the Union’s Executive Director. Upon this first anniversary, I was asked what it was like leading the Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations in the first year. Though well-intended, I thought it was a poor question for a few reasons—not least of which being that I am not the leader.

The Union is delegate-led. Delegates outline policies that are managed by the Executive Committee, which the Executive Director is a part of. The Executive Director works with the Executive Committee, under the president, at the behest of the delegates. In theory and in practice we all work for you. 

In my managerial capacity, I’m tasked with coming to you from time to time and keeping you looped in to decisions the Executive Committee has made. The Executive Committee met recently to discuss budgetary issues and decided to focus on (1) building up the Union’s General Fund and, in the new year, (2) rolling out a fund-raising campaign to support the needs of believers in Israel and Ukraine—both countries, as you know, have been upended by war and concomitant unrest. 

Contemporaneous with the above, we've been keenly aware of the recent hurricanes smashing against America’s eastern shores and the messianic communities’ needs there—foremost among them being Rabbi Dr. John Fischer’s congregation. Please join me in donating through their Go Fund Me account by using this link.

It's impossible to overstate the appreciation the Union’s Executive Committee has for extensions of kindness represented by the funds that came in for Israel Relief over the last year. Thank you. We’ve sent along those monies you faithfully sent and will continue to do so with monies that come in for crisis relief. (More on that later.) A problem we’ve been faced with, however, is that funds that otherwise would have been earmarked for the Union’s General Fund were, instead, earmarked for Israel Relief. The result is that funds are way down in our General Fund. We processed the situation at the Executive Committee level and I said I’d communicate the need. There’s an argument that I should be ashamed of myself for what I am about to say to you, but I am going to do it anyway.

When I first learned of financial needs in Israel last year, my community sent the Union $2,500 to assist. When months later I was made aware of needs in Ukraine, and that the Union budget couldn’t cover it, my community sent in $5,000. When I learned we needed funds to assist with a conference for Sephardic Jews, we donated $2,200 for that cause. When we needed funds to help launch an upgraded Friends of the Union program, we also donated $1,800. (Details on that TBA.) When I recently learned Dr Fischer’s community was decimated by the hurricane, I immediately sent him $250 and followed up with $1,080 a week or two later. And, by the way, yes, my congregation paid its Union dues. When I finish writing this, I am going to have my congregation send the Union another $2,500 donation—for the General Fund. Shame on me for advertising! 

The reason I am telling you this is to underscore that when I ask you to be gracious, I am not asking you to do something I am not doing myself—and my small community with me! Though I don’t prefer it emotionally, my vocation beckons me to boldly lead and plead, every now and again, and ask you to show you’re a believer by your love. As you think about year-end giving in 2024, please remember the UMJC’s general fund.

There’s lots happening in the UMJC and there’s more I could say—and perhaps should say.  The Union has more new communities coming in, important Winter Leadership Conference updates to convey and other timely news—the likes of which would not risk grading against the sensibilities of some. I know I sound like a pushy salesman. Some may be disturbed by it... I trust the mature among us will appreciate it’s the urgency and the need and not the greed of the one forcefully making the ask. What can I say? The UMJC’s general fund needs your help as do human beings benefitting from the ministries of the UMJC. Make a super-generous year-end gift and make it now! For more information, listen to my attached video.

Yours,

Dr. Jeffrey Seif
Executive Director
Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations

September Executive Director Address

Greetings UMJC Friends:

There’s so much happening in the Union, I’m prompted to think people would be better served by a newspaper than a letter—but a letter it is, with a video.

I am sure that first and foremost on our hearts is our beloved Israel. We are all heartbroken over the recent recovery of six more murdered hostages, and continue to pray for true peace to be reached very soon for the sake of all those impacted. Thank you for your practical support these many months. 

Through all these challenging times in the Jewish world, there is also a significant amount of good news to report. As you may recall, 21 new communities were added to the UMJC at the 2024 Summer Conference—a record for us. I am pleased to report that we already have applications in hand for 10 more and with eight new applicants from Ukraine, we’re growing both at home and abroad.

Rabbi Dr. John Fischer (and possibly Dr. Patrice Fischer) is heading to South America to work with our regional director there; I am slated to go to Russia with Rabbi Dr. Rich Nichol in November to meet with a number of Messianic leaders there. Our president, Rabbi Kasdan, is also traveling to visit new groups in various countries of Latin America. With you, we want to help advance the Messiah’s Kingdom and get needed intellectual, spiritual, and financial resources to people and places in need the world over. 

As the financial needs in Israel and Ukraine remain, so we will continue to sow into ministries in both countries. Donations given to the Solidarity Fund will be split 50/50 between Israel and Ukraine. At the same time, we must not neglect the home front. In order to send Union representatives to these various countries and support the rest of the Union operations, we must not neglect the General Fund. God blesses cheerful givers!

Looking over the horizon toward the next summer of 2025, the Union is planning a Youth Trip to Israel led by Matt Absolon and an Adult Trip to Israel led by myself and my wife, Dr. Barri Seif. I’m hoping and praying things settle by next summer, making travel more comfortable for all. Check it out and make your plans now!

The Union is beginning to prep for Strategic Planning Sessions during which time we’ll work through a SWOT analysis. SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. It’s a corporate management heuristic and a great opportunity for stakeholders to take stock of our group’s (1) strengths and (2) weaknesses and take inventory of (3) opportunities and (4) impediments to success (i.e., threats). We have a consultant (J.R. Klein). Working in tandem with the Executive Committee and then the Steering Committee, surveys will go out from JR and responses collected. Those responses will be gathered and then serve as reflection points at the soon-coming Strategic Planning Sessions to be held at the end of the Winter Leadership Retreat in San Diego (January 19-22, 2025). It will be a time for our leaders to prayerfully and carefully reach forward. Details TBA.

Lots happening... It’s all good. Want more info? Check out the attached video update from me for more—and for some behind the scenes updates.

In closing, speaking on behalf of our president, Rabbi Barney Kasdan, and the entire Executive Committee, I’d like to thank you for being part of the modern-day miracle that is the Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations.

Yours,

Dr. Jeffrey Seif
Executive Director
Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations

August Executive Director Address

This year’s spectacular Summer Conference is behind us—and what a conference it was. Unfortunately for me, I was holed up in the hotel with COVID—an affliction that raised its head, spread rapidly, and impacted others. I’m sorry I missed so much of it. Rabbi Jude Caracelo reported that we needed to bring out extra chairs to accommodate the crowd on Saturday morning. I loved hearing that and am sure others were pleased to see it.

This year’s conference saw a 25% increase over the previous year’s. The uptick follows a trend.This year’s Winter Leadership Conference, for example, was over 40% higher in attendance than 2023’s. Delegates opted to preliminarily receive eight new full and associate member communities and thirteen affiliate communities at the 2024 convention, and we already have paperwork in hand for nine more to hopefully enter in 2025. We’re growing—and doing so in various ways.

Another positive trend—and perhaps the greatest, in my opinion—was the number of men and women who received rabbinic credentials at convention. Congrats to our new, official UMJC rabbis: Jude Caracelo, Jeff Lerman, Boris Goldin and his wife, Shulamit Goldin, and Matheus Zandona, as well as Adam Landsman, who received ordination earlier this year. In addition to the above, we commended two new, official UMJC chaplains: Susan Forshey and Keith Cawthern.

It was election time, too. Delegates voted Rabbi Barney Kasdan in again as President and Matt Absolon was elected to Secretary, as Scott Moore did not run for re-election.

The conference speakers were top shelf; the Business Meeting was robust and eventful; in all, I think the convention was a big win and I hope you do, too! With this, I’d like to encourage leaders who didn’t come to the Summer Family Conference to mark their calendars and take pains to attend the Winter Leadership Conference on January 19-22, 2025, in San Diego, CA. It will be historic.

Executive Directors, of course, endeavor to gin up enthusiasm for various projects and attendance for various corporate events. (It’s the job and you can probably sense me doing that in this letter.) When I say “historic”, however, I am not being hyperbolic. With thirty new communities having been added, we’re staring at the one-hundred member threshold—a milestone for the Union. Against this backdrop, the Executive Committee is, among other things, wanting to have strategic planning sessions at the January 2025 leadership conference to help the organization further lean forward.

There are certain times in every organization’s life cycle when it’s important to pause, take inventory, analytically reflect, think forward, strengthen core values and jettison perspectives and practices that may be antiquated and no longer useful. With the Executive Committee’s blessing, I’ve had conversations with a consultant, J. R. Klein (from Howard Silverman’s congregation). He is minded to lead us in a SWOT analysis at the 2025 WLC. A SWOT is an examination of an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. He expressed interest in putting together a questionnaire to get the ball rolling on the above and then, with those present at WLC, take your perspectives into account and begin collaboratively sorting through the SWOT with the leaders… The Executive Committee is working on this and more. I’ll keep you updated.

This letter is already a bit too long and so I’ll finish. Normally, I’d post a link to a short video clip but will forgo that now. Lots to talk about… Let me simply close by, again, thanking you for your participation in the miracle that is the Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations.

Yours,

Dr. Jeffrey Seif
Executive Director
Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations

July Executive Director Address

I write to you from England, where I am slaving away with further studies. My attention is simultaneously state-side, as foremost in my thinking, labors, and prayers is the upcoming Union Summer Family Conference next month.

We're so looking forward gathering as a community; seeing old friends and making new connections, hearing from our many gifted teachers, and enjoying downtime together. 

Registration is open through July 2 (next Tuesday). Given that our registrations numbers matched the 2023 conference a few weeks ago, I am curious to see what transpires in the next week! 

Rather entrepreneurial by nature, I like investing my energies in the pursuit of increase and talking it up. You may have noticed when I talk up the 21 new communities that are now petitioning for entrance into the Union. (Eight are applying as Full or Associate members; thirteen as Affiliate/UMB members.) I am pleased to report that another eight are in the pike, whose applications will be processed in due time. As excited as I am about those new additions, I’m pleased to talk about some real UMJC heroes below.

Ashreinu School Director Stephanie Hamman recently shared that current registrations are four times the size of what it was last year this time. Under her exemplary and tireless leadership, an increased number of parents are sending their kiddos to learn Hebrew, Jewish Studies and more. It is impossible to overstate the importance of seeing success from that cohort. 

I'm also very pleased to see the (re)launching of the Union Sisterhood by Deborah Pardo-Kaplan. Women across the generations are invited to a meetup on Saturday afternoon to get to know one another and chat about plans for the Sisterhood.

Matt Absolon is investing considerable energies in and for the expansion of the cultural arts within our community. Join him and others for a roundtable discussion on Thursday afternoon.

It's worth it to take time to learn, grow, and connect with one another!

I took a break from my studies and met a young Messianic PhD student in history at St John’s College, Cambridge. The picture shows me standing with Dr. Adam Crothurs, St John’s special collections librarian. 

The room behind us contains famous works from antiquity, affording scholars an opportunity to examine especially important historical documents and, by so doing, take a step back in time to better understand historical moments—and isn’t this what we do? The Union has much to commend to the world, not least of which is our cadre of especially well-trained rabbis and scholars who open up scripture, take us back in time and help us see the Good News through the eyes of the Jews. This year’s Summer Conference highlights a number of them.

I’m getting my monthly communication out a few days early, to encourage lingering registrants to sign up for the conference. Register now and make the Summer Conference a highlight of your summer. If you’d like to hear me out further, listen to the below video.

Take a moment to register and encourage friends to do the same. See you in Orlando!

Yours,

Dr. Jeffrey Seif
Executive Director
Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations

June Executive Director Address

I just returned from Israel with my wife, Barri. We went to provide aid and share joy. Despite the mood there, we did our best to stay upbeat. At times though, Barri couldn’t help but be a bit “catty” (see the photo taken in an Israeli hospital’s underground emergency room).

We all know we are living in a rather upside-down world, evidenced, in part, by the assault on Jewish personhood and statehood being perpetrated from Gaza and reflected on our college campuses. I’m glad for that and am pleased to work together with them and other like-minded Messianic ministries. Please pass along information on CPM’s coming Courage Conference and encourage college-age kids to attend.

Speaking of attending, I have two important Union events to commend—beginning with our annual Summer Family Conference.

With just around two months to go before the conference kicks off, we’ve already seen an uptick in registration. Old friends are coming, as are new ones. As of this writing, the Union has received 21 new member applications.
 
We’ve got a robust conference program planned, full of rich teaching, the launch of a Union Klezmer Band, the return of the Union Sisterhood, and individualized tracks for our teens, children, and nursery.
 
Make plans to be there and please play your part in generating momentum! Talk it up; share it with your friends and family on social media. Bring your family!

Years ago, I would not have referred to an online experience as any sort of coming together—but that was then. Now, however, I am pleased to report, that 68-year-old me is coming to terms with the modern world. The Union’s Tikkun Leil Shavuot virtual event, June 11–12, will afford the young and old alike an opportunity to come together. Those not familiar with Judaism’s Tikkun Leil Shavuot tradition will be well served to go to https://www.thejc.com/judaism/what-is-tikkun-leil-on-shavuot-itl58jl0 for details.
 
Our line-up of speakers will all center their teachings around Ruth, how her manner and message impact us today.
 
Let my brief reminder serve as a little “nudge” for those who haven’t yet signed up. Here's the link with all the details. 

Before I sign off on this month’s Executive Director letter, let me remind you that I include a short video clip for those who’d like to hear me weigh in a bit more. Whether or not you listen to the clip, hear me when I say—from the bottom of my heart—that I appreciate your participation in the miracle that is the Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations.

Yours,

Dr. Jeffrey Seif
Executive Director
Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations

May Executive Director Address

Greetings All:
 
This year’s Passover-related, “Happy Holiday” greetings were eclipsed by the realization we’re living in particularly dark and unhappy times. It’s not enough that Israel was thrown on its heels in October 2023. To add further insult to the egregious injury, support for Hamas and cascading antisemitism is on full display at some of our nation’s best universities—rendering them unsafe for Jews. It all leaves me with a sour feeling.

Proud and defiant, even amidst these turbulent times, in our communities we openly and boldly celebrate the fact we are Jewish, and that Yeshua was and is Jewish. Thankfully, scores of non-Jewish friends unite with us, declare the above and attest that they, too, love Jewish people, love Jewish literature, and love Jewish real estate (Israel). My community’s commitment lifts my spirits. There are various ways people demonstrate their commitments, for example: through presence and presents.

Union Leaders Visit Israel

“Am Yisrael Chai—The People of Israel Lives” projected onto a building in Jerusalem. Photo courtesy of Michael Kashdan

During this time of trial for Israel, leaders in the UMJC are showing solidarity by visiting in person. Executive Director Dr. Jeffrey Seif and his wife, Barri Cae, recently returned from Israel, as did UMJC Rabbi Michael Kashdan. Jeff Seif’s brief report is below, followed by a longer account by Rabbi Kashdan.

Barri and I just returned home from a whirlwind trip to Israel. During that time, we, among other things, visited a variety of Messianic leaders who received financial support from the UMJC. Though this is neither the time nor the place to go into all the details, with our good friend Martha Stern, her son Daniel, and others, we also visited the front lines in Gaza and distributed much-needed supplies—goods purchased, in part, by the monies you’d sent.

Over 300,000 young soldiers were called up immediately after October 7, given coordinates, and told to meet at a specific place and a specific time. Complicated as all that was, it turned out getting them supplies was harder still. The nation was unprepared. Israel didn’t have—and still doesn’t have—supplies of helmets, beds, and necessities to handle such an enormous and immediate influx. We joined an army of volunteers stepping into the gap during this state of emergency and providing those supplies.

I don’t need to say how extremely difficult these last few months have been. I know you know it; I know you feel it. I feel I do need to remind everyone, however, that the need for each other at a time like this simply cannot be overstated! Thank you for caring and sharing.

Dr. Jeffrey L. Seif, Executive Director

Jeff and Barri Cae Seif (left) with Martha Stern (center) and friends in the south of Israel.

Report by Rabbi Michael Kashdan

Many years ago, one of my rabbis was approached by a congregant (who already had children) about the possibility of having more. He did not attempt to instruct the woman authoritatively about enlarging her family, but he made the point that if she and her husband waited until it was the ideal time to have more children, they would probably never have more children. While such counsel may not be one hundred percent applicable under all circumstances, it does apply to the issue of going to Eretz-Yisrael – whether permanently or for a visit.

On my first visit to the Land, I was more than twice as old as my son had been at the time of his third trip. If I had been so inclined, I could have rationalized not ever going. After all, my son’s visits seemed logical: the occasion of his school’s eleventh-grade trip to Poland (principally to visit Auschwitz) and Israel; his free Israel trip with the Birthright organization; and joining his wife’s family to visit relatives who immigrated to Israel after the fall of the Soviet Union. Although I had wanted to visit Israel for decades, no such seemingly natural opportunity had arisen. I could always rationalize my not having gone to Israel with issues of expense, inconvenience, and potential physical danger. Of course, I could rationalize avoiding almost any trip with such reasons as well. When I finally accepted that visiting Israel might be worth seriously exploring, unexpected circumstances arose that made it, if not convenient, at least more realistic than I had previously thought it would be.

My last trip to Israel had been during what for me – a person who does not enjoy hot weather – was an oppressive summer month of June 2022, and the prospect of being in the Land during cooler times held definite appeal. I set my sights on my Winter break (from teaching) of 2023. The unfortunate development of a foot ulcer during the previous June actually facilitated my trip to Israel. If I had not had the podiatric concern, I almost certainly would have planned my trip months earlier with a more inexpensive airline than the Israeli national carrier. But since I had to postpone my plans until my doctor approved a trip, I could not make flight reservations until after the October 7 pogroms in southern Israel, when the international airlines were not flying to Israel. If I had made reservations with a non-Israeli airline, I would have had to cancel my plans. Call it what you like – providence, dumb luck, etc. – but circumstances fell into place to make my trip a reality.

A logistical door had opened despite the war, but whether it was a good idea to visit was another matter. One of the factors that led to my decision to go was that, while some American friends advised me not to go, none of my Israeli acquaintances whom I contacted discouraged my visit. Another factor related to helping people during trying times. Fair-weather friends are good, but foul-weather friends are especially precious. A relative of mine who is a physician volunteered to serve at one of the Israeli hospitals and has been there for several months – away from his family in an affluent section of southern California. In addition, during my visit to an Israeli Messianic synagogue, I met an American who had volunteered to work with a service organization aiding the Israel Defense Forces. My taking a vacation in Israel certainly did not measure up to these servants, but it was an opportunity to support Israel in person and to encourage these men with servant hearts.

When I informed my doctor relative that I would be visiting, he told me that most Israelis either had loved ones who were victims of the October 7 attacks or at least knew a relative of victims. I was not surprised by the clear determination of Israelis to live their lives in as normal a manner as possible, despite the war, but it was still impressive to witness. An Israeli acquaintance whom I had contacted before finalizing my travel plans told me that in Jerusalem one almost wouldn’t know that a war was going on and – other than the ever-present “bring them home now posters” of hostages in Gaza – that was true. One of my tour guides had a daughter stationed in Gaza and has suffered the economic consequences of drastically reduced tourism, but he would not let the trauma unleashed on the nation by the murderous attacks of October 7 define his daily existence. Like the merchants in the souk of the Old City and the shops in Jerusalem’s city center, they demonstrated a determination to not let Hamas dictate how they would live their lives. Our most common toast is “L’chaim” and Israelis showed a commitment to respond to terrorists’ culture of death by continuing to observe a culture of life. This was a powerful lifestyle testimony.

I arranged for day tours with specific guides on four of the nine days that I was in Israel. These tours included Jerusalem’s Old City, Khevron (or Hebron), Kidron Valley, Qumran, Masada, and the Dead Sea. Since our visit to Khevron included only eight tourists, renting a coach bus was out of the question. Instead, we caught the commuter bus that Israelis regularly take from Jerusalem to Khevron. Jerusalem is an urban center of Jewish life. Khevron, on the other hand, is a city deep within the disputed territories of the “West Bank.” In that city, Jews have been a small minority since the Khevron massacre of 1929, yet a Jewish community is committed to living in the city that includes the land which was the first parcel of the “promised land” of which Avraham took possession. Most notably it includes Me’arat haMachpelah, the burial cave of the patriarchs and their wives, as well as the impressive structure built over the graves by Herod the Great.

Jewish-Muslim hostility at the site has not been limited to the 1929 pogrom. Most notably, during Purim/Ramadan 1994, Dr. Baruch Goldstein took it upon himself to murder 29 (and wound over 100) praying Muslims at Machpelah, with many more Muslim and Jewish casualties in subsequent riots. Since then, the site has been divided into Jewish and Muslim sections. The guide pointed out bulletproof glass next to the cenotaph of Avraham that prevents shooting from the Muslim side to the Jewish side, or vice versa. The small crowds and heavy security resulted in a relatively quiet atmosphere, except for a loudly braying donkey at the petting zoo. While I was waiting for the bus back to Jerusalem, a friendly Israeli soldier reminded me not to wander off and end up in a spot where I could theoretically be a target from the Arab section. Things seemed quite peaceful, but there was always a sense of alertness from the security forces.

One of the day tours included neighborhoods in and around Jerusalem’s Old City from which Jews had been expelled in the wake of the Khevron massacre of 1929 and again during the 1948 War of Independence. Poor Jews are being helped (by private assistance) to live and study Torah there. These residents and students (some commute) are not wealthy but are willing to live in these areas alongside Muslims and Christians rather than in more prosperous neighborhoods and suburbs. These people are living out the convictions of their faith. The people facilitating this community have sometimes faced hostility from the Greek Orthodox Church for arranging Jewish life in the shadow of the Holy Sepulcher and the Mosque of Omar – as if it’s fine for Christians and Muslims to reside there, but not Jews. In addition, Arabs who sell property to Jews are sometimes liable to death from fellow Palestinians for this “offense.” In fairness, I should emphasize that this flowering of Jewish life in a part of the holy city from which they had once been excluded would have been much harder without the cooperation of some church authorities. One patriarch who permitted the sale of properties to Jews was subsequently deposed from his position. In addition, we were given friendly greetings from the non-Jewish residents of the Christian Quarter.

Years ago, when my son returned from his high school Israel trip, one of the things that stood out to him about the Land was the normalcy of being Jewish there, which is not so prevalent in most of the Galut. Regarding transportation from the airport to my hotel, I decided to skip the shuttle and instead take the commuter train and the Jerusalem Light Rail. Also, during my time in Israel, I chose to walk, or take a bus, when such was a realistic option, which saved me money and provided an opportunity to live and walk with our people as they went about their daily lives. While privacy has its place, being part of the crowd can also be quite healthy. It may be apopular expression these days to exhort others to step out of their comfort zones, but doing so can be an educating and rewarding experience, physically, mentally, communally, and spiritually.

Life in the Galut can be stressful, with educational and job deadlines, family concerns, making ends meet, and all the other things that we have to deal with in these trying times, but returning to the land of our fathers – even if only for a few days – to spend time with our fellow landsmen who have committed their lives to bear what might be a quite stressful yoke indeed, can help recharge our batteries.

Messianic Leaders Post Open Letter of Support for Israel

An Open Letter in Support of Israel and the Global Jewish Community from Leaders in the Messianic Jewish Movement, Jewish Followers of Yeshua (Jesus) the Messiah

As representatives of the global Messianic Jewish movement and in solidarity with the greater Jewish community, we affirm our standing with Israel in defense of our homeland. Our hearts are broken to see this present evil perpetrated against Israel. The current war against Israel has united the people of Israel and we stand united with them. The attack against Israel by the terrorist organization, Hamas, has also stirred up antisemitism around the world. The Messianic Jewish community takes a strong stand against the rise of antisemitism being perpetrated upon Jewish people in many nations.

We are committed to rally support from the larger Christian circles where we have some influence, encouraging our Christian friends to stand with Israel and our Jewish people at this perilous time. In fact, we call upon our Christian friends in this open letter, “Do not remain silent during this critical time of rising antisemitism!” (Isaiah 62:1)

We are committed to provide relief aid to the more than 200,000 displaced Israelis. We are committed to do whatever is in our power for the sake of Ahavat Yisrael.

As many as 1,000 IDF soldiers on the front lines are Jewish followers of Yeshua (Jesus) and three have already lost their lives in defense of Israel … more have been injured. We are not merely bystanders. We stand in full solidarity and are willing to pay the price for being Jewish and having a national Jewish homeland, Israel, along with our Jewish brothers and sisters around the world.

We do believe in the power of prayer to the Almighty, the G0D of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. We are thankful for the hostages who have been released but continue to pray for release of the remaining hostages who are still being held in captivity. We pray comfort and healing for the families of those who were murdered on October 7 and the following days, for the many thousands who have been injured and for all Israel.

We recognize the suffering among the civilians of Gaza who are forced to pay a terrible price for the misdeeds of their Hamas leadership who instigated the war against Israel. We also stand in earnest prayer for their well-being and healing.

We pray for the safety and courage of our people around the world who have become targets of hate crimes against Jews simply because we are Jewish.

We pray, as the psalmist prayed, that the Maker of heaven and earth who neither slumbers nor sleeps, keeps watch over Israel. (Psalm 121:1)

Signatories:

Jonathan Bernis

President and CEO of Jewish Voice Ministries International

Marty Waldman

President and Executive General Secretary, Toward Jerusalem Council II (TJCII)

David Brickner

CEO and Executive Director of Jews for Jesus

Jonathan Cahn

Author, President of Hope of the World/Beth Israel

David Rudolph, PhD

Director of Messianic Jewish Studies, Professor of New Testament and Jewish Studies, The King’s University

Dr. Richard Harvey

President, British Messianic Jewish Alliance

Ari and Shira Sorko-Ram

Co-Founders of Maoz Israel Ministries

Avner Boskey

Director, Final Frontier Ministries

Matheus Zandona Guimaraes

Rabbi of Har Tzion Messianic Synagogue, Belo Horizonte, Brazil

Marcelo Miranda Guimaraes

Founder of Teaching From Zion Ministry, Brazil

Avi Mizrachi

President of Dugit Outreach Center, Tel Aviv

Dr. Jeffrey Seif

Executive Director, Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations

Paul Wilbur

President/Founder, Wilbur Ministries

Dr. Mitch Glaser

President, Chosen People Ministries

Nic Lesmeister

Executive Pastor, Gateway Church, Director of Gateway Center for Israel

Dr. Sam Nadler

President, Word of Messiah Ministries

Benjamin Berger

Spiritual Leader, Congregation of the Lamb on Mount Zion, Israel

Kobi and Shani Ferguson

President and CEO, CCO, Maoz Israel

Rabbi Dr. Mark Kinzer

President Emeritus, Messianic Jewish Theological Institute

Lawrence Hirsch

Executive Director of Celebrate Messiah, Australia

Dr. Dan Sered

Chief Operating Officer, Jews for Jesus

Benjamin Juster

President, Tikkun America, Inc.

Russ Resnik

Rabbinic Counsel, Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations

Brian Greenaway

Director, Maoz Israel, UK

Rabbi Barney Kasdan

President, Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations

Dr. Michael Brown

Founder and president of AskDrBrown Ministries & FIRE School of Ministry Online

Dr. Daniel Juster

Founder, Tikkun Ministries. President, Restoration from Zion

Hylan Norman Slobodkin

Rabbi Emeritus, Beit Tikvah Messianic Congregation, Seattle

Rabbi Dr. Richard Nichol

Founder, Ruach Israel, Boston

Rabbi Ari Waldman

Senior Rabbi, Baruch HaShem Messianic Synagogue, Dallas

Borys Grysenko

Senior Rabbi, Kyiv Jewish Messianic Congregation, Kyiv, Ukraine

Robert Wolff

Majestic Glory Ministries

Huge Pro-Israel Rally Gathers on the National Mall

A report by Russ Resnik, UMJC Rabbinic Counsel

Jews and their allies from across America converged at the National Mall in Washington, DC, on Tuesday, November 14, to make a three-fold statement: support for Israel in its war against Hamas, demand for immediate release of all hostages, and opposition to the dramatic rise in antisemitism.

Regarding this last point, harassment, vandalism and assaults against Jews soared by nearly 400 percent during the weeks after the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel (ADL Center on Extremism). In some cities and institutions, it is considered dangerous to wear a kippa or a star of David or any other mark of Jewish identity, but the DC Metro system as well as streets all around the Mall were filled with highly visible Jews flowing in a steady stream to the event at the Capitol. As demonstrators gathered, they carried flags of Israel and banners saying, “Am Yisrael Chai,” “Release the hostages,” and even, “We are loudly, proudly, joyfully Jewish.”

Speakers at the event included Natan Sharansky, Israeli President Isaac Herzog on live video from Jerusalem, and Senator Chuck Schumer, joined by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa). Schumer said, “We are here, united, Democrat and Republican, House and Senate, to say we stand with Israel. We are here today to show we will not hide in the face of adversity, in America and in Israel.” He led the crowd in a call and response, calling out “We stand,” with the crowd responding “With Israel,” and concluding “Am Yisrael Chai —the people Israel lives!”

Speaker Johnson declared, “The calls for a cease-fire are outrageous. We stand with you on that.” The crowd responded with a chant of “No Cease-fire,” one of their loudest chants of the rally. Representative Jeffries followed: “Let me be clear: Israel has an absolute right to defend itself against Hamas terror. We must stand with Israel in its efforts to decisively defeat Hamas and make sure that this brutal terror organization will never rise again.”

The show of political unity paralleled a show of Jewish unity within the crowd itself, which included Jews of all ages and backgrounds, secular and visibly religious. Pro-Israel Jewish members of the Socialist Workers’ Party handed out copies of their newsletter, The Militant, while young members of Chabad buttonholed Jewish men to come to their tables and lay tefillin (mandated in Deuteronomy 6:8). Messianic Jews were represented by delegations from UMJC congregations Ohev Yisrael of Northern Virginia; Rosh Pina and Sukkat Shalom, Maryland; Sha’arei Shalom, North Carolina; Zera Avraham, Michigan; Simchat Yisrael, Connecticut; and others, as well as me representing the Union as Rabbinic Counsel.

The event permit was issued for 100,000, but conference organizers claimed attendance of over 200,000. Either number is impressive and registers massive support for Israel, significant opposition to antisemitism, and above all a demand for the release of all the hostages taken by Hamas.

Speaker Deborah Lipstadt, a prominent historian and U.S. State Department special envoy to combat antisemitism, told the crowd, “Do not sink to the level of those who harass you, but do not cower. Jews are strongest at their broken places.” She concluded with the biblical call, “Hazak, ve’ematz, be strong and of good courage!” (Deut 31:7, 23; Josh1:6–7; 10:25).  

Later, near the conclusion of the rally, Israel’s ambassador to the U.S.A. Michael Herzog said, “We didn’t start this war, but we must finish it,” which set crowd to chanting, “Bring them home; bring them home!” He responded, “You are incredible. You give us strength. Now is the time to raise your voice.” He meant for us to raise our voices in protest and advocacy, but it struck me that we’re also to raise our voices in prayer, especially those of us who follow Yeshua the great intercessor. And now is the time.

National Jewish groups call for a "March for Israel" in DC

Supporters of Israel protest near the U.S. Capitol, Oct. 13, 2023. (Daniel Slim//AFP via Getty Images)

Amid mounting opposition to Israel’s defensive war against Hamas, and a sharp rise in antisemitic activity in the US and beyond, major Jewish organizations are calling for a “March for Israel” on Tuesday, November 14. Organizers are calling on Jews from around the country to travel to Washington, D.C., for a rally they hope will rival major Jewish demonstrations in 2002 and 1987 in size and impact.

The March for Israel has three goals, according to Eric Fingerhut, CEO of Jewish Federations of North America, which is organizing the rally jointly with the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.

• A demand for the return of the estimated 240 hostages Hamas terrorists abducted during its Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

• A call for efforts to combat antisemitism, which has spiked worldwide since the attack.

• Support for the solid backing Israel has so far received from both parties in Congress and the Biden administration.

See also: National Jewish groups put out the call for a massive 'March for Israel' in DC on Nov. 14 - Jewish Telegraphic Agency (jta.org)

Global Antisemitism News Roundup, Summer 2023

TREE OF LIFE KILLER RECEIVES DEATH SENTENCE

A federal jury on August 2 voted to sentence Robert Bowers to death for killing 11 worshipers at Pittsburgh's Tree of Life synagogue in 2018, the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history. In June, the jury found Bowers, 50, guilty of dozens of federal hate crimes in a trial held at the U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh in western Pennsylvania. Bowers was convicted of 63 counts, including 11 counts of obstruction of free exercise of religious beliefs resulting in death.

During the trial, prosecutors argued that Bowers deserved the death sentence because he showed no remorse and the attack was premeditated and targeted a place of worship including vulnerable elderly worshipers.

Bowers' defense lawyers did not dispute that he planned and carried out the attack on the synagogue during Sabbath morning services, but argued that Bowers suffered from life-long mental illness and was delusional.

See also: How American Jewish groups are reacting to the Pittsburgh synagogue shooter’s sentence

GERMAN CHURCH REFUSES TO REMOVE ANTISEMITIC JUDENSAU CARVING

A German government official has requested the removal of an antisemitic sculpture from a church, the Jewish Chronicle (JC) reported on August 7.

The sculpture, a Judensau (Jew sow), adorns the facade of the town church in Wittenberg, also known as the Stadtkirche. It has been there for over 700 years, remaining despite multiple attempts to remove it. The Stadtkirche Judensau depicts a pig with its hind leg and tail being held aloft by a rabbi so that other Jews, portrayed as small and hook-nosed, can drink milk from the pig’s teats.

German courts have repeatedly dismissed cases brought up to take the statue down. The body responsible for the church, the Evangelical Academy of Saxony-Anhalt in Wittenberg, has fought hard against any such attempt.

The Stadtkirche lies at the very heart of Protestantism itself and served as a location of the first Protestant services where Martin Luther would preach. Like the church, Luther has a history stained by antisemitism. The church reformer wrote a text entitled “The Jews and their Lies” and repeatedly espoused ideas such as that the Jews are “the devil,” “deceivers,” and “blasphemers,” among others.

NEO-NAZI GROUP TARGETS GEORGIA SYNAGOGUES WITH HATE DEMONSTRATIONS

Two neo-Nazi demonstrations in Georgia over the weekend of June 24-25 sparked shock and outrage among local residents and drew widespread condemnation from state political leaders and Jewish organizations. The incidents occurred in front of synagogues in the central Georgia city of Macon, as well as East Cobb, a suburban community north of Atlanta. Antisemitic flyers were also found in the city of Warner Robins, south of Macon.

The demonstrators, who chanted antisemitic slogans and displayed Nazi swastika flags, were affiliated with the neo-Nazi and white supremacist Goyim Defense League (GDL). The GDL has been responsible for series of similar provocations nationwide, including a large-scale antisemitic flyering campaign promoting conspiracy theories about Jews, over the past two years. Such flyers were distributed in the Atlanta suburbs of Sandy Springs and Dunwoody in February.

GDL leader Jon Minadeo II was arrested outside Temple Beth Israel in Macon on Friday night for shouting obscenities through a bullhorn, according to the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office. He was charged with disorderly conduct and public disturbance. Minadeo was subsequently released and he participated the following day at a similar demonstration at Chabad of Cobb.

See also:  Neo-Nazis Wave Swastika Flags Outside Disney World

STATE DEPT. DENOUNCES ROGER WATERS’ CONCERTS AS “DEEPLY OFFENSIVE TO THE JEWISH PEOPLE”

The State Department denounced former Pink Floyd bassist Roger Waters’ recent concert imagery as being “deeply offensive to the Jewish people” and said that Waters has a lengthy history of antisemitism.

The Associated Press (AP) reported that at a June 6 press briefing, the department was asked if they agreed with a tweet from Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism Deborah Lipstadt tweet condemning Waters’ “despicable Holocaust distortion.” The department replied that Lipstadt’s tweet “speaks for itself.” “The concert in question, which took place in Berlin, contained imagery that is deeply offensive to Jewish people and minimized the Holocaust,” they said. “The artist in question has a long track record of using antisemitic tropes to denigrate Jewish people.”

The former Pink Floyd frontman came under fire for donning a Nazi-like uniform and comparing Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who was killed during an Israel Defense Force raid in Jenin last year, to Anne Frank during his May 17 and 18 shows in Berlin and is being investigated by Berlin police over the matter. Waters responded with a May 26 statement denouncing the “bad faith attacks from those who want to smear me and silence me because they disagree with my political views and moral principles.”

See also: Roger Waters resumes Nazi act in London he dropped following Germany uproar

WHITE HOUSE RELEASES FIRST NATIONAL STRATEGY TO FIGHT ANTISEMITISM

On May 25, the Biden administration released the country's first national strategy for combating antisemitism, outlining over 100 steps that federal agencies have committed to completing within a year, and more than 100 specific calls to action aimed at Congress, civil society, state and local governments, academic institutions, businesses and religious communities. The 60 page strategy is available online at U.S.-National-Strategy-to-Counter-Antisemitism.pdf (whitehouse.gov).

              The strategy was well received by Jewish groups, but with some criticism for embracing the widely accepted International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism, but also affirming other definitions that allow the sort of criticism of Israel that the IHRA definition condemns. The inclusion of the Council on American–Islamic Relations (CAIR) as a supporting organization on an attached fact sheet also drew criticism.

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) tracked 3,697 incidents of harassment, vandalism and assault in 2022, according to a report released in March—a 36% jump from the previous year, and the third time in five years that the tally has been the highest number ever recorded. American Jews account for 2.4% of the U.S. population but are the victims of 63% of reported religiously motivated hate crimes, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

 See also: Jewish groups question CAIR’s inclusion in WH antisemitism fact sheet (jewishinsider.com)

CUNY CONDEMNS COMMENCEMENT SPEECH THAT DEMONIZED ISRAEL

The City University of New York (CUNY), facing widespread criticism from Jewish groups and lawmakers over a May 12 law school commencement speech in which student Fatima Mohammed demonized Israel, issued a statement on May 30 condemning the speech as was “particularly unacceptable at a ceremony celebrating the achievements of a wide diversity of graduates.”

“The remarks by a student-selected speaker at the CUNY Law School Graduation, unfortunately, fall into the category of hate speech as they were a public expression of hate toward people and communities based on their religion, race, or political affiliation,” CUNY Chancellor Felix Matos Rodriguez, as well as William Thompson and Sandra Wilkin, the president and vice president of the CUNY Board of Trustees, said on Tuesday.

In her speech Mohammed alleged that financial interests manipulate school policy towards Israel and said “our morality will not be purchased by investors.” She also accused Israel of “settler colonialism,” charging that it “continues to indiscriminately rain bullets and bombs on worshipers, murdering the old the young, attacking the funerals and graveyards as it encourages lynch mobs.” She called on her peers to oppose “Zionism around the world…by any means necessary,” setting off applause from students in the audience and law school deans sitting behind the podium.

INDIA’S BNEI MENASHE COMMUNITY IN CRISIS AFTER ATTACKS OF ETHNIC VIOLENCE  

On May 3 longstanding tensions between the ethnic majority Meiteis and the tribal minority Kukis in Northeast India resulted in rioting. The Kuki tribe includes members of B’nai Menashe, a “lost tribe” Jewish community with about 10,000 members.  According to Shavei Israel, an NGO that helps “lost tribe” Jewish communities immigrate to Israel, over 1,000 members of the community, or 20% of their total, have been displaced. One community member was killed, and another was shot in the chest and is hospitalized. Two synagogues and mikvahs, or ritual baths, were burned down. 

The Bnei Menashe identify as descendants of a “lost tribe” group, tracing their origins to the Israelite tribe of Menasseh. In 2005, a chief rabbi of Israel affirmed their identity as a “lost tribe” group with historic Jewish ties, but researchers have not found sufficient evidence to back the claim. Bnei Menashe Jews began immigrating to Israel in the 1990s, and because of their “lost tribe” status, they all undergo formal Orthodox conversions upon arrival. Around 5,000 remain in the states of Manipur and Mizoram today, and about 5,000 have already immigrated to Israel.

For other global updates see also: Australia ‘decades behind’ on Nazi symbols ban; Record number of violent antisemitic attacks recorded in Austria in 2022; International antisemitism envoys honored in Israel; Over 100 monthly antisemitic incidents reported in the UK  

Sandra Sheskin Brotman: March 18, 1942 – May 29, 2023

Sandra Sheskin Brotman entered into her eternal rest peacefully surrounded by family and friends on Monday, May 29, 2023. Sandra, a matriarch in the Messianic Jewish movement, was full of life, passionate about her faith, and rarely missed an opportunity to share the love of Yeshua with others.

Sandra was one of the first female Messianic Jewish recording artists and loved singing about Zion and her Messiah. She was active for many years Sandra in Ahavat Yeshua, a Messianic Jewish congregation in Washington, D.C. Throughout her life she tirelessly served the Lord, using her gifts as a singer, songwriter, Bible teacher, pro-life advocate, and writer. She wrote articles on Messianic Jewish topics and was interviewed numerous times on local and national TV and radio. She was truly a pioneer of the Messianic Jewish Movement.

A Celebration of Life Memorial Service will be held July 1 at Ahavat Yeshua, and also made available online. For details visit Sandra Brotman Memorial (canva.site).

Global Antisemitism News Roundup, First Quarter 2023

AMBASSADOR LIPSTADT CITES HAGGADAH TO EXPLAIN FIGHT AGAINST ANTISEMITISM

In an April 5 interview with The Times of Israel, Holocaust scholar Deborah Lipstadt, US Special Envoy to Combat and Monitor Antisemitism, was asked why increased engagement with antisemitism won’t necessarily lead to a decrease in attacks. She responded with lines from the Passover Haggadah.

“The authors of the Passover Haggadah, one of our oldest texts, recognized hundreds of years ago that ‘in every generation there are those who rise up to destroy us,’ which is why historians talk about antisemitism as the oldest hatred,” Lipstadt said. “But there’s a second part to that line from the Haggadah, and it cuts to resiliency: ‘And God saves us from their hands.’ For believers, they say there’s a divine hand of rescue. Others, including believers, say it’s been because of people that we’ve managed to withstand and address [threats against Jews].’”

See also: Biden vows antisemitism fight in Passover message

ATTACK ON MONTREAL SYNAGOGUE TOPS LIST OF 10 MOST SHOCKING ANTISEMITIC INCIDENTS

The website combatantisemitism.org topped its list of the 10 most shocking incidents of antisemitism in March, 2023 with an attack on the Bagg Street Shul, a historic Orthodox synagogue in Montreal. Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante issued a statement condemning the March 28 vandalism attack, saying that the spray-painting of swastikas on the windows and front of the synagogue “have no place in our society,” and that she stood “wholeheartedly with the Jewish community.” Other incidents in March included Michigan Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib posting a fake video of abuse by Israeli police on Twitter; a thwarted attack against Jewish sites in Athens sponsored by Iran; representatives of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) addressing students at University of Cape Town (UCT) via video message during an “Israeli Apartheid Week 2023” event; and continued physical attacks against Jews in New York City.

HOUSTON MESSIANIC CONGREGATION AIDS ARREST OF SYNAGOGUE ATTACKER

A Houston woman, Ezra Law, broke into Congregation Emanu El in the early hours of January 14, causing damage to both the building and a sacred Torah scroll. After spending six hours in the building — including drinking wine and spilling it on one of the Torahs — Law was discovered by security personnel who detained her until Houston Police officers arrived to arrest her. As a condition of her release on bond, she was forbidden from being within 1,500 feet of the congregation. The following Friday, however, she returned to Emanu El on Friday to disrupt a preschool class, harassing young children before fleeing. Law, who was identified by media as holding “Messianic” beliefs, later visited Messianic congregation Beth Messiah, where the security team engaged with her and notified police, who arrested her a second time.

PLANNED 'DAY OF HATE' AGAINST JEWS PASSES WITH PACKED SYNAGOGUES AND NO VIOLENCE

A “National Day of Hate” against Jews planned by white supremacists that triggered sweeping warnings from law enforcement and Jewish security officials came and went without significant incident on Saturday.

Synagogues and Jewish institutions across the United States had spent the preceding days shoring up their security procedures, reassuring their congregants and requesting extra patrols from local police.

But the Anti-Defamation League, which monitors hate, wrote on Twitter that a meaningful escalation of antisemitic activity did not come to pass, despite some white supremacist actions and propaganda drops around the country. “Despite concerns over increased antisemitic activity, 2/25 has so far been a pretty typical Saturday in America,” the organization tweeted.

See also: Was worry over Day of Hate overblown? – The Forward

2023 BEGINS WITH OVER 1,000 ENTITIES USING THE IHRA DEFINITION OF ANTISEMITISM

As of January 2023, a total of 1,116 global entities have adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s Working Definition of Antisemitism. According to the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM), this includes 30 U.S. states, American cities such as Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., El Paso and Wichita, and seven out of the 10 Canadian provinces. The IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism was adopted in 2016 and has since become the most widely-recognized barometer in the collective effort against Jew-hatred, serving as an essential tool to identify and delineate contemporary manifestations of this age-old bigotry. A diverse array of international organizations, national and local governments and corporations are now using it.

FEDERAL CHARGES FILED AGAINST SUSPECT IN SHOOTINGS OF 2 JEWISH MEN IN LA

Jamie Tran, 28, suspected of shooting two Jewish men after they left synagogues in the Pico-Robertson district less than 24 hours apart, was charged in February with two federal hate crime counts: interference with federally protected activities and use of a firearm in a felony, according to a criminal complaint.

He was "motived by antisemitism,'' according to U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada, who continued, "Over the past two days, our community experienced two horrific acts we believe were motivated by antisemitic ideology that caused him to target the Jewish community. It is important, especially in one of the most diverse areas in the world, that we celebrate our differences, and stand together to oppose acts of hate." If convicted of both charges, Tran would face up to life in federal prison, Estrada said.

FEDS ARREST MICHIGAN MAN WHO PLOTTED TO KILL JEWISH ELECTED OFFICIALS

The FBI coordinated with local authorities in mid-February to arrest a heavily armed man who had threatened to kill all Jewish elected officials in Michigan on social media, according to a recently unsealed criminal case. Jack Eugene Carpenter III, of Tipton, Michigan, had tweeted on Feb. 17 that he was “heading back to Michigan now threatening to carry out the punishment of death to anyone that is jewish in the Michigan govt if they don’t leave, or confess,” according to the FBI’s affidavit. Carpenter he claimed to be a former employee of the University of Michigan who “was fired for refusing to take experimental medication.” The University of Michigan has more than 6,500 Jewish students, according to Hillel International.

BDS SHARES CONCENTRATION CAMP PHOTO, CLAIMS IT'S A PALESTINIAN MASSACRE

In a February 15 Twitter post, the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) claimed they were displaying a photo of the so-called “Tantura Massacre” in 1948, but a Holocaust expert proved it was actually a Nazi concentration camp in Germany.  The tweet called on EMBO [European Molecular Biology Organization] to “relocate workshops from ‘apartheid Israel,’ including the one at the site of the Tantura massacre. EMBO has a moral obligation to end its complicity in whitewashing Israel’s crimes.”

Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Minister Amichai Chikli responded, “the racist BDS movement breaks a Guinness record, uses a picture from the German concentration camp of Nordhausen to lie about a fictional massacre during Israel’s War of Independence. Holocaust distortion, appropriation and denial, further victimizing Jewish people. Pure evil.”

BULGARIA BANS NEO-NAZI EVENT AFTER PUBLIC OUTCRY

Authorities in Bulgaria on February 25 banned an annual torch-lit march in downtown Sofia in honor of a late general who led the pro-Nazi Union of Bulgarian National Legions during World War II. The event has been condemned by human rights groups, political parties, and foreign embassies, which criticized the march organizers for promoting racism, xenophobia, and antisemitism. Held annually since 2003, the march over the years has attracted nationalist admirers of Gen. Hristo Lukov, who supported Germany during World War II and was killed by an anti-fascist resistance movement. Police also blocked the streets around the site where Lukov had lived in Sofia to prevent the nationalists from holding a ceremony in memory of Lukov, which in past years was the high point of the event.  Bulgaria, the poorest member of the European Union, has a growing presence of right-wing nationalists, and the Lukov March has been their most important public event.

OHIO HOMESCHOOLING NETWORK REPORTEDLY TEACHING NEO-NAZI IDEAS

The Ohio Department of Education is investigating an online homeschool network that aims to indoctrinate children as Nazis — but insiders say the state has little power to change the white supremacist curriculum, according to a February 2 CNN report. The Dissident Homeschool community was founded in October 2021 by Katja and Logan Lawrence, a married couple with four children based in Upper Sandusky, according to a report published in February by the anti-fascist research group Anonymous Comrades Collective.

In a conversation last year on the neo-Nazi podcast “Achtung! Amerikaner,” Katja — who goes by “Mrs. Saxon” on the channel — told host Gordon Kahl that she started Dissident Homeschool because she “was having a rough time finding Nazi-approved school material for [her elementary-age] homeschool children.”

See also: Jewish org decries Ohio Nazi homeschooling network

Chaim Dov Urbach: February 16, 1951 – March 10, 2023

Chaim Urbach passed away on March 10 after a long struggle with declining health. He was born and raised in Israel, where he came to know Yeshua early in life under the influence of his father, Eliezer, a Holocaust survivor, and mother, Sara. The family immigrated to North America in 1964, settling in Denver after a few years. Chaim earned an MA in Zoology in 1979, and worked in clinical research, including three years at the National Jewish Hospital AIDS lab. Later, he met his beloved Joy and the two were married in 1986.

During these years, Chaim became deeply involved in ministry, helping found Congregation Roeh Israel in 1980, where he went on to serve as an elder and assistant leader. In 1987, he was ordained at Roeh Israel into Messianic Jewish ministry. In 1988, he coordinated the UMJC national conference in Denver, and in 1990 he founded Congregation Yeshuat Tsion. The following year he received an MA in Biblical Studies from Denver Seminary, where he later served as an adjunct professor, teaching in the Messianic Judaism Studies program.

Chaim expressed his learning and ministry with warmth and compassion, as a beloved leader, shepherd, and influencer to many. He was loved and cherished by his family, including his wife, Joy, daughter Hope, grandson Isaiah, and granddaughter Skylah; his sister, Nechama, and her husband Chanan (Allen) Wiseman, and their sons Mordechai and Nathaniel; as well as members of Yeshuat Tsion, Roeh Israel, and the Messianic Jewish community in the USA, Canada, Israel, and beyond.