An outraged Jewish Orthodox Jewish family have filed a lawsuit against Facebook over our videos!
It is not the first time that Orthodox Jewish pressure has tried to silence our ministry through the law courts. The evangelistic videos that we are able to produce and circulate with the help of our supporters are having a profound effect, and it is troubling the religious community. Many Israelis are responding to the gospel of all ages, from young to old, but not everyone is happy about it.
The accusation is that we are targeting children on purpose, in a deliberate attempt to prey on the vulnerable. Of course, we are doing no such thing. The fact that young people are watching our videos is beyond our control. If you have seen our content, you’ll know that our videos are designed for an adult audience, not for little children.
Evangelism to minors, under the age of 18, is against the law in Israel. It is perfectly legal for a believing teenager to share their faith with their teenaged friends, but adults sharing with children is illegal. Facebook is being sued on the grounds that they are allowing ads about Jesus to be delivered to minors.
The family who are suing Facebook are furious that their eleven year old son had seen one of our evangelistic presentations about the gospel, as it had affected him deeply. After several months, he told his family that he had been troubled by a gospel message he had seen on the phone of his babysitter.
“He had a few questions about Christianity, but it didn’t worry us too much,” said the boy’s mother. “We just thought he was curious… it was only when it all came out that we realized he had been traumatized”.1
The video about what Jesus had gone through on the cross affected their son deeply, but we believe that it is important for the whole world to know the truth – not only about the death of the Messiah, but also his resurrection, and the new life he offers us today.
“So they called for them and ordered them not to preach or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, “Which is right in God's eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges!”
(Acts 4:17-18)
Far from being a “troubler of Israel”, we know that God himself wants this truth to be known throughout all of Israel and the world. Quite to the contrary of their accusation, we are pursuing what is right, not wrong, according to God. In fact, we are following his command – Yeshua's last words before he ascended were these:
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20)
1. https://m.ynet.co.il/Articles/5619046
Photo by Alex Haney on Unsplash
