The Israel foreign ministry is looking to grant Evangelical Christians a recognized status which would confer a package of benefits–including tax and customs breaks for clergy–enjoyed by a number of other “recognized” religious groups in the Jewish state.
According to Army radio, the Ministry would recognize Evangelicals “as a sovereign group or an independent church, like other churches recognized by Israel,” said Bahid Mantzur, head of the Religious Affairs Division of the Foreign Ministry, according to the Jerusalem Post, which noted that Foreign Ministry officials are particularly eager to grant the status, given the tremendous support Evangelical Christians have shown consistently for Israel.
Officials from the Interior Ministry, however, are reluctant to support the move: “If the Evangelicals are added to the list, dozens of additional streams of Christians will demand to receive similar recognition and be eligible for benefits, and the state is not able to withstand such a surge,” an Interior Ministry spokesman told Army Radio.
While officials from the two ministries work it out, we at SFI would like to grant our own special status to our readers and other Christian lovers of Israel. In a world in which the Jewish people and Jewish state have known so much hate and prejudice, we are deeply grateful and moved by your loyalty, generosity and love.
What do you think?
11:33 am
We Evangelical Christians worship the same God and believe in the Old Testament also. We just acknowledge the existence of Jesus and his role as stated in the New Testament. Messianic Jews believe the same as us. We are your best friends, not just another group.
4:52 am
Well, this is quite a shock to me but on the other hand Evangelical Christians should keep praying for Israel. I think change will come along the way…at least Israel now saw that they still have friends.
9:33 am
What!? Evangelical Christians are not even recognized as a religious group in Israel! This is ridiculous after so much Christian support for israel. Yeah, we should continue supporting it anyway… (LOL)