Rabbi Tovia Singer, a leading activist against Christian missionaries attempting to convert Jews, is suing the wife of Israeli Opposition leader Yair Lapid for defamation. World Israel News spoke to Singer and to Lihi Lapid’s spokesperson.

By Atara Beck, World Israel News

Counter-missionary activist Rabbi Tovia Singer, founder of Outreach Judaism, has filed a lawsuit against Lihi Lapid, wife of Israeli Opposition leader Yair Lapid, citing “defamation.”

In an interview with World Israel News (WIN), he said he cannot understand why she’s suing him, and not Chaim Malespin, a prominent figure in Christian Zionist circles who initially broadcast multiple times that she believes in Jesus.

In a video clip that went viral in October 2022 – just days ahead of the November 1st Israeli national election, when Yair Lapid, then caretaker prime minister of Israel, was seeking re-election – Malespin stated, “We’re in a time with more congregations, more openness to the Gospel. Even the government, the Prime Minister’s wife, is a believer right now… Yair Lapid’s wife, Lihi, is a believer…a confirmed believer.”

The clip was part of an hour-and-a-half-long video of a lecture Malespin gave in 2021 at Beth Emanuel Messianic Jewish Congregation in Phoenix, according to documents filed with the court. The video was public and available on the church website for almost a year before going viral.

Lapid rejects allegations

According to a Jewish Chronicle (JC) report in October 2022, “Sources close to Lihi Lapid, wife of Prime Minister Yair Lapid, strongly rejected the allegations.

Malespin apologized, claiming that he was mistaken. “After that I realized the information I had was not correct, I was wrong, I did not mean to say something that was not true, and I apologize. I did not ask either Yair or his wife Lihi and I apologize for the mistake,” he said.

In his apology, considering the timing, Malespin added, “I ask all those watching me now not to use my mistake as a tool of political warfare.”

Singer, who has tens of thousands of followers, showed the video with Malespin making his allegations as well as his apology in a podcast, titled “Shocker! Is the Wife of Israel’s Prime Minister a Christian?”

Singer called on Lihi Lapid to clarify her position in the video below, posted on Dec. 7, 2022.

Yet in another video, named in the lawsuit, which was recorded at Or HaOlam Messianic Synagogue in Overland Park, Kansas, at about the same time as the one that went viral, Malespin makes the same claims about Lihi Lapid, saying that “she is not vocal about it, but she’s a believer in Yeshua.”

Not only that, but he expresses optimism that when her husband becomes prime minister, perhaps he’ll “drain the swamp…Will they fire everybody in the ministry of interior” who blocks missionaries from coming to Israel?

As of the date of this writing, the video, posted on Nov 20, 2021, remains on the church’s public YouTube channel.

‘I sued the man who spread the lie’

Meanwhile, more recently, Lihi Lapid announced to media that she had sued Singer.

In a Jerusalem Post article dated December 1st, titled “Lihi Lapid sues man who said she’s Christian,” she is quoted as saying on Instagram:

“I sued the man who spread the lie that I am not Jewish, because I am [in fact] the great-granddaughter of Rabbi Amiel of blessed memory. Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv.”

According to the article, Lihi Lapid said that she “sued Rabbi [Tovia] Singer because no one will place doubt on my Jewishness.”

Furthermore, “It never occurred to me that they would spread fake pictures of me and Yair with a cross, that a rabbi by the name of Tovia Singer would come and start a delusional interview campaign about my support for Christianity and spread horrific videos against me,” she wrote.

Indeed, there were fake photos like those she describes on the internet, and she was hacked. However, Singer insists he had nothing to do with any of that, including any political attacks, saying he focuses only on counter-missionary activity.

World Israel News (WIN) contacted Singer with several questions concerning the lawsuit. Following are excerpts of the discussion:

WIN: Why are you suing Lihi Lapid? Also, did she ever sue you? Is this a counter-suit? 

Singer: “In November 2021, Chaim Malespin, a prominent Israel-based missionary, claimed in a talk in a U.S. church that Lihi Lapid is a believer in Jesus. He made this claim as part of a larger claim that belief in Jesus is growing in Israel and in the Israeli government, and he publicly speculated about how Yair Lapid, Lihi’s husband who was then alternate Prime Minister, might help Malespin’s missionary cause.

“Video of Malespin’s claim went viral in October 2022. On October 30, 2022, in response to a Jewish Chronicle inquiry, Malespin apologized to Lihi and Yair Lapid  for ‘something’ that he had said ‘about six months ago … in a conference abroad to Christians, friends of Zion, contributors to Israel about the honorable wife of the honorable Prime Minister Yair Lapid’ that was ‘mistaken’ and based on ‘faulty information.’

“I reported on Malespin’s claim and his apology on October 31, 2022. I included in my show a video compiled by the Jewish Chronicle that showed Malespin claiming Lihi Lapid was a believer on November 16, 2021 and apologizing on October 30, 2022.

“Mine was not the first nor the last report on Malespin’s claim.

“Lihi Lapid’s response, as published in the Jewish Chronicle, was through a spokesperson: ‘Somebody said something that is not true. This is the situation. It’s not true. It’s a lie. I don’t know why he said that. I don’t know what his interest is. I don’t know. But it’s a lie.’

“I next heard about the story in mid-November when I read in Israel Hayom that Lihi Lapid’s lawyer had sent me a warning letter claiming I had defamed her (he hadn’t sent any letter at the time, but he sent one several days after his press release). I was surprised because it was Malespin, not I, who had claimed that she was a believer in Jesus, and I was just one of many people to report on it.

“Several weeks later, Lihi Lapid claimed that she had sued me – she hadn’t, but she did several days later – in a lengthy post on Facebook and Instagram. In her post, she insinuated that I was part of a conspiracy that had hacked into her website and distributed fabricated photographs of her and that my reporting was subject to the control of a mysterious ‘them.’ She claimed that I had denied she is Jewish, she claimed that I had said she was a missionary, and she claimed that I had admitted my ‘mistake’ and apologized to her and agreed to apologize publicly.

“Every single one of those claims by Lihi Lapid was a lie,” he alleged.

Name ‘Malespin’ never mentioned

“What’s most bizarre about this,” Singer continues, “is that in Lihi Lapid’s attack on me, she never once mentioned the name Malespin. Anyone reading Lihi Lapid’s printed attack on me would get the idea that I was the one who came up with Malespin’s claim that Lihi Lapid is a believer in Jesus. Certainly, no one would know that Malespin’s claim was widely reported by people other than me.

“My work in reporting about missionaries and responding to them depends crucially on my credibility and accuracy in reporting the facts. Her lies about me not only harm my reputation; they threaten to destroy my life’s work. That’s why I counter-sued Lihi Lapid for her defamation.”

WIN: Have you ever claimed that Lihi Lapid is a believer in Jesus?

Singer: “No. I reported that Chaim Malespin had publicly stated that she is a believer in Jesus—as it turns out, he’s done that multiple times.

“I don’t know whether Malespin lied when he claimed she believes in Jesus, or whether he lied later, when he apologized for ‘something’ he said.

“I’ve suggested that Lihi Lapid clear the air and publicly state that she does not believe in Jesus in order to put Malespin’s claim to rest, but she has declined my suggestion for reasons she has not publicly shared.

“I have never stated that she believes in Jesus, and I can tell you why. She hasn’t made any public statements either way, and I don’t know Lihi Lapid well enough to know what her beliefs are beyond her public statements.”

WIN: Do you know if she’s suing anyone else?

Singer: To the best of my knowledge, she has not sued anyone, warned anyone, threatened anyone or publicly attacked anyone other than me in relation to Malespin’s claim that she is a believer in Jesus. As far as I can see, she hasn’t even publicly commented on Malespin. As far as I can see, all the reports about Malespin’s claim are still publicly available.

“My response to Lapid’s defamation was originally published by the Jerusalem Post, but was removed by that newspaper without explanation one day later.”

Lapid spokesperson: ‘Absurd and offensive’

WIN also emailed Lihi Lapid, asking if she had sued anyone else who publicized the video claiming she was a believer in Jesus and why it appears she had never sued Malespin.

Also, WIN asked, “would you like to take this opportunity to clarify whether or not you are a believer, notwithstanding any Jewish traditions that you observe or your lineage? If you have already done so, please send me a link to that statement.”

WIN received the following response from her spokesperson:

“Mrs. Lapid is proud of her Judaism, which makes up an essential part of her identity. She has made clear on multiple occasions that she is neither a messianic Jew nor a missionary. The attempt to call that into question is absurd and offensive.

“She is the granddaughter of a Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv, and the hurt caused by these lies and the refusal to apologise for them is significant.”

(WIN asked for links where she has clarified that she is not a messianic Jew but received none.)

Furthermore, “The repeated invasion of her privacy is outrageous. The timing of the circulation of this issue, a few days before Israel’s general election was no coincidence, and the manner in which it was amplified by those seeking to politically harm Mr. Lapid makes that clear.

“The initial video claim has been deleted and an apology was issued. Mrs. Lapid, through her representatives, reached out to those who published and circulated this claim asking them to retract and remove it. The majority did so and apologized for any offense caused.”

WIN asked the spokesperson who else had apologized but received no answer.

‘Singer is the exception’

“Mr. Singer is the exception to that and has insisted on continuing his campaign against Mrs. Lapid despite knowing the truth. Any claim to the contrary is clearly misleading and he should long ago have retracted his comments and ended his attacks on Mrs. Lapid,” the spokesperson continued.

“His refusal to do so has left Mrs. Lapid with no other recourse except the courts, where her aim is clear – to force Mr. Singer to remove the offensive videos and apologize for his campaign against Mrs. Lapid.”

WIN: “You write that Singer ‘is continuing his campaign against Mrs. Lapid despite knowing the truth,’ and my understanding is that Singer has denied this. Just to make sure I understand you correctly, are you saying that Singer knows the truth that Mrs. Lapid does not believe in Jesus? And how do you know that Singer ‘knows’ this?”

There was no response to that question either.

“Let me be clear,” the spokesperson repeated in a new email. “Mrs. Lapid does not believe in Jesus, and any claims to the contrary, by Mr. Singer or anyone else, are false.”

WIN then asked if Lihi Lapid would provide a direct quote saying that she does not believe in Jesus, rather than receiving it from a spokesperson, but that request was denied.

The post ‘I never stated that she believes in Jesus’: Rabbi sues Lihi Lapid for ‘defamation’ appeared first on World Israel News.

This conflict is actually about missionizing and missionaries in Israel, not recriminating assertions by public figures against each other.

By Donald Zev Uslan, Vision Magazine

Israel has been mildly distracted from terrorism, political horse trading and the World Cup by accusations and counteraccusations between two notable personalities: the wife of the outgoing prime minister and a world-renowned countermissionary.

This is a “battle royale” of “He said, She said,” covering potential lawsuits and allegations about who is or who may not be a “Messianic believer.” But is the spotlight being thrown in the right corner?

American Jews have no idea about what this fuss is about, and Israelis are too thoroughly entertained and preoccupied to see the point.

The irony

This conflict is actually about missionizing and missionaries in Israel, not recriminating assertions by public figures against each other.

The conflict between these two public figures, Lihi Lapid and Rabbi Tovia Singer, is at the instigation of missionary Chaim Malespin, who has inculcated himself into Israeli media and social services. Malespin made allegations about Lapid’s religious beliefs, however, he removed himself from the line of fire by “apologizing.”

This is emblematic and symbolic of the issue of missionaries in Israel: they are now so well integrated into the public sphere of social services, media, politics, and activism that the fight isn’t with them, that is, their legal and social right and ability to convert Jews to a belief in Jesus, but, rather, fighting over them.

Evangelical missionaries are not obvious, not transparent to the vast majority of Israelis.

To American Jews, missionizing in the U.S. is simply an irritant. To Israelis, missionaries are the trifecta: You hate ‘em, you love ‘em, or they don’t exist.

Ironically, evangelical missionaries have successfully segmented Israelis along a complex continuum by exporting their theological view of the right to “freedom of religion” a la western democracy. Subsequently, this has had a stifling and deluding effect on our Jewish culture and heritage.

The evangelical missionary presence, to those Israelis who are aware of them, brings out a deeply rooted Israeli obstinate toughness and pride: “No one can convert me. Let them try.” These are complex and confusing problems. Thus, we do what we do best: We fight amongst ourselves. while the missionaries, and the world, take a ring-side seat as spectators.

Fundamentalist Christians primarily from America are exporting and financing missionaries to Israel with the intent of influencing Jews toward Christ-centered beliefs and to ultimately fulfill their eschatological dreams of “One New Man” under Jesus. This is far more sophisticated than the images of the white-gowned conversions in the baptismal pools on the Jordan River and the colorful characters handing out tracts on Jerusalem’s Ben Yehuda street.

In Israel, we have the 21^st century continuation of the 2,000 years of imperialistic Christianity to supplant Judaism using high tech methods and linguistic artistry.

Our Dilemma

As noted in the excellent book “Judaism and Christianity: A Contrast,” by Rabbi Stuart Federow:

“…the idea of responding to the efforts of Christian missionaries presents a great problem. Let us say I am standing between two Christians. The first is a missionary Christian, …, and who therefore attempts to convert me to his faith. The second is a liberal Christian, … who does not even consider trying to convert me to his faith…I make the very simply, most basic disagreement with the missionary Christian that Jesus was not the Messiah.

“By doing this, I have not only denied the faith of the missionary Christian, I have also denied the faith of the liberal Christian. This means that it is virtually impossible to respond to a missionary without the possibility of also insulting the faith of all Christians everywhere, including those who are our friends. This is a problem for Jews, because we have been trained from birth not to hurt another’s feelings, especially those who are our friends and would never consider attacking our beliefs.”

I have spoken at length with Jews in Israel who work tirelessly to gain and encourage the support of Christians for our country. They have difficulty distinguishing between those “good” Christians who really do want to aid and support the development of Israel (no matter their personal beliefs or theology), and those who have predatory designs on our demise as Jews. They are all against missionizing but cannot (and will not) make the effort to distinguish between the two, in part because of the financial and political support, and in part because of the social/theological dilemma outlined by Rabbi Federow.

The ‘Nintendo Effect’

The “Nintendo Effect” (named after the gaming console) is a quasi-psychological concept concerning becoming desensitized to destruction by watching and playing video games of destruction. Similarly, Israeli’s have become desensitized to evangelical missionaries because of their becoming intertwined in so many areas of daily Israeli life. They have attempted, and succeeded, to make themselves largely invisible, part of the landscape.

By misappropriating Judaism and by simplistic religious interpretations, evangelical missionaries in Israel blur the demarcating line of Christian cultural condescension that has been its hallmark for 2,000 years. Now, with new, slick marketing and slogans such as “One New Man.”

We need to change our focus from each other as “the other” to evangelical missionaries as “the other” who are disrupting our efforts to develop an independent, evolving Jewish Israel.

While some argue that we benefit from right-wing Christian financial and political support and kind-hearted actions, it’s a gamble that puts our very essence at risk for the non-discerning and uninitiated. The evangelical missionary efforts to undermine Judaism and to target the Nation of Israel is an attack on our very souls. It is a form of Jew hatred, or of anti-Semitism if you will.

We have to look beyond our tragi-comic headlines and realize this seemingly ridiculous rumble is much larger than we could ever imagine. We need to throw the spotlight on missionary influence in the Jewish State and how it will determine how we define ourselves as Israelis and as Jews.

Donald Zev Uslan is a medical and rehabilitation psychotherapist from the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington, now living in Jerusalem. His specialty over a 45-year career has been working with individuals and groups with complex chronic illnesses, most of whom had been psychologically, physically, or sexually abused in childhood.

The post Battle of the Titans v. the real problem of missionaries in Israel appeared first on World Israel News.