Petition – Revision of Present Anti Missionary Law

Yad L’achim has set up stations throughout Israel to gather a million signatures demanding revision of the present law protecting the public against unwelcome missionary activities. As seen daily by our counter-missionary activists, the numerous loopholes in the existing legislation do not effectively prevent the rain of evangelistic printed material, gatherings, and propagandists from flooding Jewish communities and homes.

Taking advantage of the upcoming elections, scheduled for the month of Shevat, Yad L’achim has sent dozens of volunteers to man petition sign-up stations. Our co-workers inform passers-by of the dangers of missionary activities taking place in their communities. They also ask the voters to support the petition, which calls on the political parties running for office, and particularly those claiming to represent the religious public, to include a special, unambiguous clause in their platforms that their elected representatives will work relentlessly to strengthen the Enticement to Change Religion Law (5238-1977). The suggested revision should completely block all missionary enticement in any form or manner by a member of one religion of a member of any other religion. This amendment would end missionary activities, which ironically are now permitted under the present law, which only bans apostatizing minors or bribing adults to convert with money or gifts.

Yad L’achim management has announced that a team of three first-rank attorneys in Israel have authored and edited the suggested amendment to the 1977 law. These experts in jurisprudence — Dr. Yakov Weinrott, Esq; Dr. Haim Misgav, Esq; and Mr. Yoram Sheftel, Esq — have expressed their opinion that there is no legal or other reason that the existing law shouldn’t changed according to their legal text. The new law would provide an essential and critical for the Jews residing in Israel.be a be a essentialmodified by their

The opening round of this Yad L’achim campaign took place in Jerusalem where the Minister of Religions, Rabbi Yitzhak Cohen, was the first to sign the petition, declaring before the journalists and media that it was long due to end the destructive activities of the soul stalkers among our people.

Following the opening of the million man petition drive, Harav Shalom Dov Lifschitz, chairman of Yad L’achim, stressed the importance of amending the missionary at this time: “With the difficult economic situation the country is facing, it is extremely urgent that the law be strengthened. Decreasing economic security, job loss and personal crises, are the fertile fields for missionary operatives, who have no problem in taking advantage of an individual’s difficult situation and promising him the false magic wand of the mission to solve his problems. Now is the time to take that wand away from them.”