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Jewish and evangelical groups clash over 'conversion' of Jews

A U.S. Jewish advocacy group has denounced a call by the World Evangelical Alliance to continue its commitment to proselytise European Jewry, and described it as a "serious affront" to the Jewish people, reports Ecumenical News International.

"We urge on the WEA to withdraw its call to target the Jews of Europe for conversion, and immediately begin serious dialogue with Jewish interfaith representatives," the New York-based Anti-Defamation League said in a 5 September statement.

The statement followed the issuing of a document called "The Berlin Declaration on the Uniqueness of Christ and Jewish Evangelism Today", by a 13-member WEA task force at a meeting in Berlin. The Rev. David Parker, executive director of the WEA theological commission, however, said that a "fair reading" of the Berlin declaration would see that it "condemns anti-Semitism, as well as deceptive and other dishonest forms of evangelism".

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TAGS: U.S. Jewish advocacy Europe World Evangelical Alliance European Jewry anti-Semitism evangelism

[09/17/2008]

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