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There’s really a lot going on in the reactions to this story, and I think it's is in dire need of a Religious Studies intervention. Here's a thread of some initial thoughts in that direction:
1/ https://www.timesofisrael.com/shock-in-jerusalem-community-as-rabbi-outed-as-undercover-christian-missionary/?fbclid=IwAR2rn4Z1-XbmfRA9vXE2WUDbKfEUW-GtRjtxcL1fnc-UmkHC45oJoMgrtdc
1/ https://www.timesofisrael.com/shock-in-jerusalem-community-as-rabbi-outed-as-undercover-christian-missionary/?fbclid=IwAR2rn4Z1-XbmfRA9vXE2WUDbKfEUW-GtRjtxcL1fnc-UmkHC45oJoMgrtdc
First, though, I should name that there's a strong feeling of betrayal felt by the couple’s many friends, which is totally warranted.
Here's a piece relating to that. 2/ https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/the-real-damage-caused-by-christian-missionaries/?fbclid=IwAR0ER9mR2tzfwHNLFH8ctvsT_BiDh8sHG_AeEdQQ_jQxlyMmxPcG1Zg-_UM
Here's a piece relating to that. 2/ https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/the-real-damage-caused-by-christian-missionaries/?fbclid=IwAR0ER9mR2tzfwHNLFH8ctvsT_BiDh8sHG_AeEdQQ_jQxlyMmxPcG1Zg-_UM
From the RS perspective, I think it's apparent that some of the responses get to the very fabric of Israeli Jewish identity. I’m reminded of the Introduction to Christianity classes I took at Hebrew University in my Religion BA, and how hostile some of the students were. 3/
Students would say things like “it (Christianity, or a given Christian doctrine) is so dumb!” etc.—reactions you certainly didn’t hear in our introductory courses to other religious traditions. 4/
The opinions expressed by my fellow students are often heard in Israeli discourse. (Christian) missionizing is regulated in Israel, and often perceived as illegal; Christian missionaries are often accosted, and non-Israeli ones can be prevented from receiving visas. 5/
What’s this about? Why the sensitivity around this? It’s not like any significant amount of the Jewish population in Israel is all of a sudden gonna convert to Christianity! (Tho ofc, Israeli Jews are very sensitive around demographics). 6/
1) I think this hostility has to do with fragility in Israeli-Jewish identity—perhaps Christianity acts as a stand in for The Exile, reminding Israeli Jews of their powerless past, which they are ofc scandalized by? (almost the inverse of Augustine’s "Mark of Cain") 7/
2) This then relates to ambivalence around Jewish Power—Christianity reminds Jewish Israelis of their powerless past, just as it reminds them also of their powerful present 8/
...the “foreign” religious minority forces them to come to terms with the unresolved issue of being a religious majority and what that means, especially for a people whose identity formed around being a religious minority. 9/
3) Perhaps also the similarity with Christianity, and the perceived Christian co-opting of Jewish traditions, may remind them of their own complicated foreign-but-not-foreign relationship with the Land? 10/
4) Ofc, the evangelical support for Israel needs to be factored in here—anecdotally, I’d say many people who take the money simply don’t care about its theological motivations, and have a “yah, the Theology is dumb, but it’s basically free money” mindset. 11/
5) The Muslim Other is perceived differently, as it's not exactly a minority, & not missionizing, & perhaps as it is seen as “native,” with all that that means for Jewish Israeli identity: when convenient, the similarity is to be celebrated, and when not, it’s not 12/
—but it doesn’t pose the same *theological* issues posed by the Christian, European, Other. 13/
Anyway just some initial thoughts. I really think us Religious Studies scholars have much to add here; would appreciate hearing others’ thoughts/references. 14/fn
