Community Magazine November 2003

T elephone bomb threats—each by a different caller—plague Yitzchak Geyer, the founder of Derech Emet, on a regular basis. One message left was “If [Yeshu] doesn’t punish you in the com- ing days, then we will.” Last year, a bomb threat was sent by mail, and hate messages continually barrage the organization’s mail- box. But this doesn’t dissuade him from his goal: to save as many Jewish souls as pos- sible from the clutches of a relentless cult. Last month, flyers—featuring recogniz- able symbols such as a Magen David, a Torah scroll, and Shofar—circulated around kosher Brooklyn restaurants in the Avenue U area. The flyer encouraged Jews to participate in a three-day Sukkot Seminar and Oneg Shabbat celebration. To recent immigrants, these flyers—written in their native language—could seem like an invitation to learn more about their reli- gion, which had been suppressed in their native country. Shockingly, the opposite is true. Aggressive, local Christian Missionaries are increasingly using oppor- tunities like these to deceive naïve and unlearned Jews into joining a cult min- istry—and abandoning their true faith. Derech Emet is the modern-day David fighting against the Goliath of well– equipped and well-funded missionaries, who boast an estimated $250 million annual budget strictly devoted to convert- ing Jews. How close to home is this con- frontation unfolding? In the past three years, Derech Emet succeeded in shutting down the three local missionary centers that have been in our own backyard for years, including the Chosen People Ministries on Kings Highway and East 12th St.—a branch with $4 million in assets and $2 million in annual income. “Beth Shalom” in Bensonhurst and J- Witnesses on Neck Road have also been closed due to intense resistance by Derech Emet. On Passover, six Derech Emet vol- unteers intercepted 40 Jews on their way to a phony Seder in Brighton Beach. Though they were grossly outnumbered, the volunteers succeeded in turning away a portion of those Jews and bringing them to an authentic Jewish Seder. The same events reoccur every year, on every Jewish holiday—and Derech Emet continually keeps up the fight to save their brothers. For the missionaries, the main target now is the local Russian Jewish communi- ty. This group is especially vulnerable because of their vague familiarity with Judaism, a result of severe restrictions in their native land and trouble they may be having adapting to a new country. Although Derech Emet has prevented many from falling out of Judaism com- pletely, members of the organization lament over the number of young Jews with the least knowledge about their reli- gion that have been brainwashed by the missionaries. Entire groups in their teens and twenties have been enticed into the cult immediately upon arriving in this country—before knowledge of true Judiasm even had a chance to reach them. Whenever Derech Emet shows up to resist a missionary event, they succeed in diverting and educating a portion of the Jews beguiled into attending. What about the rest? “There are long time converts— Jews—whenever there is an event, they come and participate,” said Geyer, “People who have already been involved in the missionary are hard to influence. What do we do to get to these kinds of people? Theological arguments…but also psychol- ogy. What drives them to leave their com- munity and join these movements? Some people might have a problem within their former community…some might hold a grudge and this is how they rebel.” Many of the people that call Derech Emet for help are relatives or friends of those who have been engulfed in a mis- sionary cult. What is there to do at that s ” xc 32 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE B Y : V I C T O R I A M ATA L O N Can one tiny organization rescue Jews from the deceptive tactics of the multi-million dollar missionary movement?