Israeli MP publicly tears Christian New
Testament to pieces
- and throws it in the garbage!
Pious Jew and Israeli Member of Parliament Michael Ben-Ari
unleashes his hatred aginst the main scripture of the
Christian religion...
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Israeli lawmaker Michael Ben-Ari rips up, throws out New
Testament
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
July 18, 2012
JERUSALEM (JTA) -- Israeli lawmaker Michael Ben Ari ripped up a
copy of the New Testament and threw it in the garbage.
Ben Ari, of the National Union Party, had his legislative aide,
Itamar Ben Gvir, photograph his destruction and released the photo
Tuesday to the Israeli daily Maariv.
Lawmakers had received in their Knesset mailboxes copies of the
new edition of the New Testament released by the Bible Society in
Israel, which distributes Christian books in the country, Ynet
reported. Some returned it to the society and others quietly
disposed of it.
“Sending the book to lawmakers is a provocation. There is no
doubt that this book and all it represents belongs in the garbage
can of history,” Ben Ari said, adding that it "galvanized the murder
of millions of Jews" throughout history, including during the
Spanish Inquisition.
Government spokesman Mark Regev told Ynet that "We totally
deplore this behavior and condemn it outright. This action stands in
complete contrast to our values and our traditions. Israel is a
tolerant society, but we have zero tolerance for this despicable and
hateful act."
Israel: MP tears up Gospel after calling it an
“abominable book”
By Giorgio Bernardelli
Vatican Insider, Rome, 07/18/2012
Ben-Ari rips the New Testament to shreds |
Michael Ben-Ari a religious conservative was
photographed tearing up a copy of the New Testament which was given
to him by Israeli Evangelicals
Yesterday a photographer captured the shocking scene of
Israeli MP Michael Ben-Ari tearing up a copy of the New Testament
and throwing it in the bin. He did not commit this act in just any
old place; he did it in the Knesset, the Israeli Parliament. Mr.
Ben-Ari is a member of HaIhud HaLeumim
(National Union) a religious Jewish right wing
party close to the Occupy Movement.
The gesture - which brings to mind the action of U.S. pastor
Terry Jones who set fire to a copy of the Koran - was in response to
an “unacceptable provocation” by the Israeli Bible Society, an
Evangelical entity which in recent days sent a copy of the New
Testament in Jewish to all 120 Israeli MPs. ““We are pleased to send
you this book which we hope will help you and illuminate your way,”
the accompanying letter written by Victor Kalisher read. “We hope
and pray that this book may help you in your important position in
service of the people.”
A very unwise move in a country like Israel where Christian
proselytism is a topic that has always caused tension. Arutz
Sheva, the news agency that is most sympathetic to the religious
conservatives, promptly reported the news the other day, with the
headline: “Christians Flood Knesset with ‘New Judaism’”. The article
said many MPs were furious about this gesture and that Tzipi
Hotolevy, a member of the Likud party, has specifically asked
Knesset’s president, Reuven Rivlin, “to put a stop to the
dissemination of what she said is outright missionary material in
the Knesset.”
But yesterday, Michael Ben-Ari decided to go even further and got
a photographer to capture the moment when he publicly ripped the
pages out of the book in question and then threw them in the bin. As
he did so he said: “This abominable book [the New Testament] brought
about the murder of millions of Jews in the Inquisition and autos da
fé.” “This is a provocation by church missionaries and there is no
doubt that this book and those who sent it belong in the garbage can
of history.”
One look at the MP’s CV and it becomes instantly clear as to why
he decided to make this gesture. Mr. Ben-Ari who is 48 years old was
born to Eastern Jewish parents and grew up in one of the roughest
neighbourhoods on the outskirts of Tel Aviv. Today he lives in the
Karnei Shomron settlement and is the first Israeli MP to not hide
the fact that he is a follower of Meir Kahane, founder of the racist
party Kach. The party was banned in Israel for inciting
anti-Arab hatred after the massacre of 29 Palestinians in 1994 by
colonizer Baruc Goldstein at the Tomb of Abraham in Hebron. For this
reason, the U.S. has denied him a visa on more than one occasion,
referring to U.S. anti-terrorism legislation. In 2009 Mr. Ben-Ari
captured people’s attention when he made some inflammatory comments
about Benedict XVI’s visit to Israel: “Giving the Pope a State
welcome would mean turning one’s back on the millions of Jews who
were killed throughout the history of Christianity.”
The MP’s glaring insult to the New Testament could have
repercussions for relations between Israel and Evangelical
conservatives, who have been one of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s
foremost allies in the U.S. The incident comes just a few weeks
before Mormon Mitt Romney’s visit to Israel. . As part of his race
for the White House Romney added a visit to Jerusalem precisely in
order to show a break with the Obama administration on the issue of
the country’s closeness to the Jewish State.
Pious Jew Michael Ben-Ari, elected representative
of the Jewish people.
