LIFE IN ISRAEL

CARL ALPERT

Special to The Jewish News

H

aifa — Followers of
the press here have
for some years noted
a line of advertisements
which, though they vary from
time to time, present more or
less the same message: "Ra-
tional answers to Christian
missionaries."
At times the public is in-
vited to a series of dialogues
(real or simulated) on the sub-
ject of missionary argumenta-
tion; at times textbooks or
recorded lectures are offered
for sale; at times a course on
combatting missionary work
is announced, with a diploma
awarded on completion of
examinations.
Behind these ads is Shmuel
Golding, a determined,
energetic personality who has
earned the support and ap-
proval of a small group of
followers — but the opposition
and bitter criticism of others.
Golding came to Israel in
1977 and told a strange story.

He had been raised in
England as a Christian, and
at the age of 22 was ordained
as a Baptist clergyman, in
which capacity he conducted
missionary work in many
lands.
It was only when he was 32
that he was told that his
parents had been Jewish, kill-
ed at Babi Yar, and that he
had been smuggled out of the
Ukraine. His spiritual world
collapsed about him, and
upon closer study he became
aware, he says, of contradic-
tions and fallacies in Chris-
tian doctrine. Because of lack
of solid evidence about his
origins, he had himself for-
mally converted to Judaism
in Turkey.
Upon his arrival in Israel
he wore black Chasidic garb,
had a long beard, displayed
tzitzit, and disported himself
as a strictly Orthodox Jew. He
made his home in B'nai
B'rak.
In the last 10 years Golding
has changed. His beard has
been neatly trimmed. The
tzitzit and kippah have disap-

Rabbi Meir Kahane walks with a supporter.

Kahane Announces
Cosmetic Changes

New York (JTA) — Rabbi
Meir Kahane, whose Kach
party was banned by Israel's
highest court from running in
Tuesday's Knesset elections,
said Monday that he intends
to change the name of his par-
ty and make some "cosmetic
changes" in the party's plat-
form so he can run in Israel's
next election.
Speaking at a news con-
ference in New York, the

American-born rabbi said he
will change the name of his
party from Kach, or "thus," to
Koach, or "strength!'
"On the political level, we
will make only cosmetic
changes," he said. "We will
not change our principles!'

Kahane said that the new-
ly named party will use only
quotes from the Bible to ad-
vocate its policies.

peared. He does not follow
any one brand of Judaism, he
says, and no longer calls
himself Orthodox. He
recognizes even secular Jews
as Jews. His avowed goal in
life is to save Jews from mis-
sions and cults.
Golding operates out of a
suite of offices in downtown
Jerusalem, under the name of
Institute of Biblical Polemics.
Today he concentrates on
repudiating what he calls
Bibliolatry — taking the Bi-
ble literally.
"I used to be in that camp,"
he says. "Because of
Bibliolatry more hatred and
violence have been caused
than by any other book. We
can live by the Torah if it is
updated in each generation.
It was radical when it was
first introduced!'

Obviously he does not enjoy
any support from Orthodox
Jewish quarters. Neither is
he beloved by the Christians
whom he charges with at-
tempts to convert Jews by
falsification and fraud.
The premises of the in-
stitute include a meeting hall
where his weekly public lec-
tures are -held. A quick look
around reveals lots of folding
chairs, large bulletin boards
with anouncements of
literature and activities, a
word processor, a photocopy
machine, fax equipment and
a sound recording laboratory
for producing cassettes.
Is the income from his cor-
respondence course sufficient
to keep the institute going?
Golding admits that he has a
sponsor, from Canada, who
provides generous financial
support.
The criticism of Golding
comes not only from the Or-
thodox and from evangelical
Chritians, but also from
within mainstream Jewry.
One source labelled him an
"apocalyptic Christian who is
seeking to fulfill the
apocalypse by bringing Jews
and Christians into conflict in
the streets of Jerusalem."
His counselling service,
ostensibly to combat mis-
sionary teachings, is labelled
a subtle way of actually
bringing the New Testament
to the attention of hundreds,
if not thousands, of Jews. His
life story has been told in
various versions at various
times, and contains many
discrepancies and contradic-
tins, his critics say.
Golding is in his early 50s.
His Hebrew is still weak, and
he conducts his activities in

G. Feinblatt/Media

Is Missionary Foe Golding
Genuine Or A Con Man?

Thousands of Belz Chasidim celebrate the bar mitzvah of the son of the
Admor of Belz. At the reception, waiters distributed 7,000 fish and meat
courses to guests.

English, appealing also to
tourist visitors to Jerusalem.
He talks with intensity and
enthusiasm.
He singles out 10
statements from the New
Testament which he terms
false renditions of the Hebrew
Bible and offers "$1,000
Reward" to any believer in

Jesus who can prove him
wrong.
Example: A reward for he
"who can find any verse in
our Hebrew Bible that says 'a
virgin (betula) shall bear a
child' as is recorded in the
New Thstamentr
Golding has yet to pay out
any part of his $10,000.

New Arab Party
On Israeli Ballot

Jerusalem (JTA) — The new
Arab Democratic Party, the
first virtually all-Moslem list
which took one seat in Tues-
day's Knesset elections, is
part of a phenomenon that
has emerged for the first time
in an Israeli election cam-
paign — the intervention of
Moslem fundamentalists.
In past election campaigns,
Moslem fundamentalists
stood aloof, and the parties
that courted Arab voters
avoided any religious colora-
tion.
Now, however, leaders of the
Islamic movement are urging
Arabs to vote. They favor no
particular party, but clearly
point to the "forces of peace."
In the Arab political lexicon,
that excludes the parties of
the right.
Israeli Arab voters, in
theory, account for at least 14
of the izt..) Knesset mandates.
In the current campaign, they
were wooed by parties that
ranged from Labor, which
represents a moderate, West-
ern European-style socialism,
to the Moscow-oriented
Hadash Communist Party
and Mapam, the leftist
United Workers Party.
But the most likely benefi-
ciary of the fundamentalist
involvement is Knesset
member Abdel Wahab Darou-

sha, 45, who quit the Labor
Party in protest against
Defense Minister Yitzhak
Rabin's measures to suppress
the Palestinian uprising and
formed his own Arab Demo-
cratic Party, which is the first
and only all-Arab political
party in Israel. The first eight
candidates on its election
slate are Moslems. The ninth
is a Christian Arab and the
10th a Druze.

Former Speaker
Savidor Dies

Tel Aviv (JTA) — Menachem
Savidor, a former speaker of
the Knesset and a member of
its Likud faction, died of a
heart attack at Ichilov
hospital Nov. 2 at the age of
70.
Savidor entered political
life in 1977 when Likud
unseated the Labor Party.
He was elected speaker in
1981 and was also, for a time,
director general of the
Transport Ministry and of
Israel Railways.
He was forced out of Likud
in 1984 after he supported an
opposition call for a secret
ballot, which led to the
breakup of the Likud-led
coalition.

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

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