Evangelists target Orthodox Jews with Yiddish translation of Christian Bible

Calling these numbers, the JC heard recorded messages in English offering ways to speak to evangelists or even a minister “live on air” before closing by saying: “Have a blessed day.”

A web address printed inside redirects to an online version of the same Yiddish text, where a chat box allows for direct conversation with “Pieter”.

Upon asking for more information in the chat, the JC was asked: “Did you get a New Testament sent to your place? We are getting chats here about that but we don’t know who sent them.”

Pieter also offered “a good website with more information about Jesus geared toward Jewish people”.

The JC has learned that one of the three phone numbers is linked to Dr Michael Brown, an American radio and TV host and proponent of Messianic Judaism, and another to the New York branch of Jews For Jesus.

So-called Messianic Jews believe in converting Jews to believe in Jesus as the Messiah. They often operate covertly, targeting Jewish communities with teachings intended to persuade them.

The JC has uncovered covert missionaries in recent months in Israel and America.

When contacted by the JC, Stephen Katz, Chief of Staff at Jews for Jesus, claimed his organisation “had no prior knowledge of these books being sent out, nor did anyone approach us about putting our phone number into them”.

Dr Brown told the JC his ministry “had no involvement in publishing or sending out these Yiddish gospels” but acknowledged he had “agreed to have our phone number listed for those who had questions”.

When asked with whom he had agreed this arrangement, his spokesperson responded “that is private information”.

Dr Brown also said: “I get bulk mail sent to my house every day, most of which I throw out, some of which I read. It’s the same with these Yiddish gospels.”

He insists his organisation “wholeheartedly reject[s] all forms of coercive or deceptive evangelism. We simply want our people to hear the message of Yeshua the Messiah, whom we believe is the one way to the Father for Jew and Gentile alike.”

The Yiddish translation was originally done by Henry Einspruch, a Galician-born Jew who converted to Lutheranism in 1912.

He founded Lederer Messianic Jewish Communications, which would go on to become the largest publisher of “Hebrew-Christian” literature in the world.

Rabbi Tovia Singer, Director of Outreach Judaism, an organisation dedicated to bringing Jews in the church back to Judiasm, said the Yiddish edition has been used to target vulnerable, older Jews including Holocaust survivors: “There are basically two main communities of Jews speaking Yiddish today. One is Holocaust survivors, who may or may not be religious, and the other is the Orthodox community. No one else speaks Yiddish today.”

Rabbi Singer says missionaries target the most vulnerable, including “the very young and very old”.

He says the Yiddish translation has been found in old age homes: “They understand many Jewish elderly are dying of loneliness. Their church leaders pose as rabbis and they come to nursing homes to provide free work as volunteers.”

Shannon Nuszen from Beyneynu, an organisation which promotes awareness of covert missionary activity, said: “We are not anti-Christian, but Judaism does not take kindly to deception, and covert methods to convert our people. We demand honesty, integrity, transparency, and mutual respect.”

“Very religious communities would normally be immune to the intense efforts by Messianics. But listing their own synagogue as the return address is part of the deception because it makes Jews more likely to open it.”