Sderot Chief Rabbi Consults with Yad L’Achim’s on Combating Missionaries

Over the past week, Yad L’Achim has been inundated with calls from Sderot residents complaining of missionary material being distributed in their neighborhoods.

An investigation revealed that Christian tourists were behind the distribution, and that they were taking advantage of the emotional state of many Sderot residents, shaken by the security situation, to try and convert them.

Yad L’Achim field workers dispatched to the city collected the materials and replaced them with pamphlets warning the public about the missionary threat.

Some of complaints were originally received by the city’s chief rabbi, Hagaon Harav Dror Tawil, shlita, who contacted Yad L’Achim to gain a better understanding of the nature of the problem and how to deal with it.

A meeting was held at Harav Tawil’s office earlier this week, with the participation of Rabbi Hanoch Gechtman, director of Yad L’Achim’s counter-missionary department, and Rabbi Shimon Abergil, the organization’s field coordinator.

At their meeting, Rabbis Gechtman and Abergil expanded on the modus operandi of missionaries in Israel, the scope of their activities, and how to stop them. They also spoke of how missionaries exploit economic hardship and war, and why they therefore view Sderot residents as easy prey.

The Rav, stunned by the figures he was presented with, agreed on a joint plan of action with Yad L’Achim for raising awareness in Sderot and nipping the danger at the bud.

“We thank Harav Tawil for his great dedication to the city’s residents and for his desire to help us halt the activities of the dangerous missionaries,” a Yad L’Achim official said. “We are confident that our joint effort will succeed in repelling any missionary attempt to harm the city’s residents.”

Harav Dror Tawil, shlita, meets in his office with Yad L’Achim activists.