Saturday, March 22, 1997

Jewish leaders lend support to campaign against Christian persecution

By KIM A. LAWTON

Religion News Service

WASHINGTON Putting aside sometimes deep religious differences, leaders of several influential Jewish advocacy groups March 18 added their voices to the growing grassroots campaign on behalf of persecuted Christians around the world.

"Jews have a special feeling based on our own experience," said Warren Eisenberg, director of the International Council of B'nai B'rith. "We lend ourselves to battles against persecution."

At a meeting in the U.S. Capitol sponsored by the Center for Jewish and Christian Values, religious and political leaders discussed the 30-year campaign for Soviet Jewry and explored how lessons learned from that struggle could be applied on behalf of Christians facing religious repression in numerous countries.

"The campaign to save Soviet Jewry is an example of a religious community redirecting American foreign policy on behalf of oppressed co-religionists overseas. Unless the American Christian community launches a similar effort, the plight of persecuted Christians will only worsen," said Chris Gersten, director of the Washington-based center, a conservative education and advocacy group.

For more than a year, evangelical Christians and others have been attempting to mobilize an international outcry against the persecution of Christians around the world. According to many religious liberty groups, Christians are currently the single largest group persecuted worldwide on the basis of religious beliefs. They cite China, Egypt, Cuba, North Korea, Iran and Pakistan as examples.

Jess Hordes, Washington representative of the Anti-Defamation League, noted that when the Soviet Jewry campaign began in the 1960s, many in the Jewish community were initially slow to recognize the problem and respond.

"While we think of the Soviet Jewry movement as a great success ... we tend to forget it was a very long and difficult road," he said.

Hordes said the campaign eventually learned to effectively mobilize and coordinate efforts at the local, national and international levels and to reach out for support beyond the American Jewish community to the Jewish community worldwide, as well as to other faith groups.

He said perseverance, consistency and credibility will be key elements to "the effort we may spearhead here" on behalf of persecuted Christians.

Many speakers at the meeting noted that thousands of Christians were involved in the effort to aid the nearly 3 million Jews who were severely repressed in the Soviet Union and often forbidden to emigrate to Israel and elsewhere.

However, Rabbi David Saperstein, director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, frankly cautioned evangelicals many Jews may be reluctant to join a similar campaign for Christians if there is a strong emphasis placed on proselytism and missionary activities.

Saperstein stressed he believes proselytism and evangelism are fundamental rights protected in internationally recognized human-rights covenants. But if an advocacy campaign focuses on those issues, Saperstein said he fears that within the Jewish community "people will still stand up, but there will be a queasiness" about the agenda.

"I will stand there with you, but tactically, it will be a disservice to the cause," he said.

Responding to Saperstein's comments, Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Christian Life Commission, agreed advocacy for persecuted Christians should "focus on the things that unite us, rather than divide us."

Land stressed proselytism is a "fundamental human right" and a key faith activity for many religions, including Christianity.

"But it cannot be and should not be the major focus of this effort," he said, adding the major focus should be on "the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion without fear of being tortured, imprisoned and/or killed."

Land said he believed Saperstein's comments on proselytism "needed to be heard by those in the evangelical community."

Proselytism has been a sensitive issue between the Southern Baptist Convention and the Jewish community. Many U.S. Jewish groups have expressed concern over Southern Baptist statements encouraging evangelism efforts aimed at Jews.

Several speakers at the meeting stressed the need for legislation about religious persecution. According to several sources, Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., who is also Jewish, and other politicians are preparing to introduce the Freedom from Religious Persecution Act of 1997, which will suggest several legislative remedies to attack global religious persecution.