Jerusalem, Israel - Christian missionaries in a religious neighborhood were accosted by hareidi-religious youths. "Missionary activity here is like waving a red flag at a bull," one resident said.
Details of the incident are sketchy. It began shortly after 10 AM, when a group of tourists, apparently from Germany, walked into the religious neighborhood of Meah She'arim wearing orange shirts, emblazoned with the missionary slogan 'Your G-d is my god, Your people is my people." Some eyewitnesses reported seeing a missionary emblem on the back of the shirts.
A group of religous youths and men very quickly surrounded the group and started yelling at them to get out of the neighborhood. It was not clear whether the hareidim pushed them before or after an orange-shirted man kicked one of the hareidim. There were also conflicting reports as to whether the hareidim chased the Germans up the street, or whether another group of suspected missionaries was encountered nearby in a separate incident.
A spontaneous protest rally was held afterwards in Sabbath Square, between the traditional religious communities of Meah She'arim and Geulah, and two hareidim were reportedly arrested.
Arutz-7 has received anecdotal evidence of increased missionary activity in downtown Jerusalem. Jerusalem-area tour guide Yoni Berg told Arutz-7,
"I'm in downtown fairly frequently, and I have seen them of late. Friends of mine who work there have also noted them. They wear shirts with the words 'Your G-d is my god, Your people is my people', and they pass out pamphlets that have Jewish themes but are designed to lead the misinformed to believe in Jesus."
"Most of the people refuse to take the pamphlets," Berg said, "but unfortunately, I have seen several cases where the missionaries engage Jews in conversation."
IsraelNationalRadio "Light Unto the Nations" co-host Jeremy Gimpel says, "Over the last few months, I've seen several different missionary groups in Jerusalem - more than I remember in the past. They claim to love us and support us unconditionally, but their actions prove their hatred and their desire to destroy the Jewish Nation. I always tell them that if every Jew converted to Christianity and gave up their belief in One G-d, there would be no Jewish Nation to love and bless, as they claim to want to do."