OU Responds As Jews for Jesus Launches Annual "Summer Witnessing Campaign" in New York

July 22, 1998 - With the Jews for Jesus Summer Witnessing Campaign well underway, the Orthodox Union (OU) is taking steps to educate deaf and hearing impaired Jews about the missionary menace.

In collaboration with Jews for Judaism, a Baltimore-based anti-missionary organization, the OU is offering seminars for the deaf and hearing impaired on combating missionaries.

Led by David Kastor, who is deaf, the seminar will focus on strategies used by groups such as Jews for Jesus, one of the best known and most public of the Hebrew Christian groups. Hebrew Christians attempt to convert Jews by encouraging them to retain their Jewish identities while embracing Jesus.

Kastor, who lives in Baltimore, M.D., and who has lectured about missionaries to deaf Jews throughout the Northeast, including at Gallaudet University (for the deaf) in Washington, D.C., is available to lecture to New York synagogues, organizations and youth groups.

"In recent years, missionaries have specifically targeted the deaf Jewish population, even publishing a newsletter for so-called Deaf Messianic Jews, " said Rabbi Eliezer Lederfeind, Director of Our Way, the OU program for the deaf and hearing impaired. "Deaf Jews are often particularly susceptible to missionaries because they are often excluded from religious experiences in mainstream Jewish life.

Synagogues have yet to provide interpreters and services for the deaf and hard of hearing, so it is not surprising that the deaf population is forced to seek spirituality outside of the Jewish community. Above all, the missionary threat should prompt the Jewish community to be more inclusive," he added.

Aggressively heightening their activity during the summer months, Jews for Jesus recently placed full-page ads in the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal with the headline "Believing in Jesus Makes a Jew More Jewish." In addition, they are aggressively blanketing New York hot spots such as Penn Station and Times Square with pamphlets sporting titles such as "What Will Jerry (Seinfeld) Do Next?" and "G-d for Dummies."

"Messianic Judaism is not authentic Judaism. It is fundamental Christianity dressed up to look Jewish and thereby ensnare Jewish souls. Deaf Jews, who are often religiously estranged from the Jewish community, are particularly vulnerable to missionaries.

During this season of heightened missionary activity, it is our mandate to reach out to the deaf," signed Mr. Kastor, the Maryland Regional Representative of Our Way.

The OU, in addition to offering seminars to synagogues, organizations, colleges and youth groups, is making educational resources available such as "The Real Messiah: A Jewish Response to Missionaries," a book that refutes missionary claims, and "The Target is You," a close captioned videotape produced by Jews for Judaism.

For more information, TTY (410) 769-3786, or email Dkastor@hcfa.gov, or visit the Jews for Judaism website at http://jewsforjudaism.org.

Established in 1969, Our Way is the only Jewish movement reaching out to deaf across the country and bridging the gap between the hearing and the non-hearing worlds.

Through a vast array of programs including holiday celebrations, weekend retreats, religious programs, summer tours, conventions and special signing publications, Our Way provides spiritual and social opportunities for nearly 1,000 Jewish deaf youths and adults.

The Orthodox Union, celebrating 100 years of service to the Jewish community of the United States and countries throughout the world, is a world leader in youth work, advocacy for the disabled, synagogue services, adult education and political action. Its kosher supervision label, the OU, is the world’s most recognized kosher symbol and can be found on over 20,000 products in 56 countries around the globe.

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