This is from some messianic believers in Israel today. I'm sure they would welcome some comment and some public outcry. What do you think?
"
Dear friends in the Lord,
This is the third time I write a letter to all of you
regarding the lesbian law suit against Yad Hashmona, and this time with a heavy
heart over our loss in this case.
The judge ruled against us, claiming that our refusal
to allow gay marriage in the Yad Hashmona guest-house is against the law. We
were fined 80,000 shekels and together with our expenses in this case, its very
heavy on us.
This is a quote from the ruling: "“Every
person who opens a public business in Israel should know that they must
serve the whole public equally, without discrimination... which covers sexual
orientation as well. As soon as the defendants opened their doors to all, they
cannot close them for those who they believe do not meet the requirements found
in the Bible or New Testament."
Needless to say, we do not close our doors to anyone
who comes to Yad Hashmona, on the contrary, we are a living testimony of good
news of the Messiah to many Israelis that pass through us. This is what I am here
for.- to be a testimony but to hold a marriage ceremony of a lesbian couple in
Yad Hashmona is to violate God's requirement over this place that we claim to
be a Messianic village, and we could not do that.
The Lesbian couple's lawyer, claims that the verdict is
a precedent in the sense that "the court decided that the principal of
equality trumps the argument for freedom of religion and beliefs”.
So when it came to our right for freedom of faith, and
their right to wed at our village, they won.
What happened yesterday was a shock to me. I know how
biased the media is, but the extent of the blindness and aggressive responses,
took me by surprise. Immediately upon advertising the verdict as a lesbian
victory in the main page of YNET, the Israeli on-line news page, and Ha'aretz,
tens of responses appeared praising the couple and calling us many names. No
one even considers the small community in this village and its rights, the
right to hold on to scriptural principles, the right to be respected and not
violated in your own home.
No one approached us for responses or wanted to hear
our side, because the media is not interested in our "primitive
stand". When I tried to write a comment to the article, like hundreds of
others, it was not posted! They rejected again and again my comment and other
friends comments who tried to stand with us. Talk about freedom of speech.
[Israelprayer: This was also the case at the Israeli newspapers in the Beer
Sheva congregation lawsuit]
Letters of mockery were sent to our reception and this
morning we received phone calls by angry Israelis attacking our place, saying
they did not know we "believe this foolishness" or are "so
old-fashioned". Two people called to say they are thinking to cancel their
events here.
In Haaretz, it was quoted that the couple "...
expressed hope that the owners of the hall wouldn’t refuse to hold gay or
lesbian events. Everyone needs to choose where they celebrate. I would be
interested to know if they (Yad Hashmona) accept or reject same-sex couples in
the future..."
So this morning more phone calls were made by guys
asking about wedding details, and the receptionist was afraid it is a trap done
on purpose, and asked for guidance what to say to avoid another law suit.
But also good came of it: I received phone calls by
religious people, praising our courage to stand on God's word, some even said
they wished they had a stage to respond to this gay issue abuse of society. I
had a chance to share with some that I believe God sees and hears and He will
bring blessing from this.
I always felt that God's verse for our place is from
Mathew 5: "You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot
be hidden." Being a group of believers on this hill, a known Messianic
village, we cannot hide, even if we wanted to. We cannot hide who we are and
that is why we are attacked, it is not us but God on the stand.
I may be offended (which I am today, believe me), but
God isn't. He was not surprised when His son was crucified and He is not
surprised when people are mocking His principles. He will have the final word
and we should not lose heart.
Very soon major decisions will have to be made now in
regard to our small little hotel's future. We need to redefine what it is that
we serve and what is the name of our business. And if this case means to close
the hotel and make it something else..a Bible campus, or a Messianic retreat
place... I don't know what, but we will have to do it.
We are carried in Yad Hashmona on wings of grace, I
know that. I pray for guidance, clarity of direction and much peace in the
process for the people who live here.
Continue to pray for our nation who is so much in the
dark, continue to pray for the light to shine in Israel, continue to pray for
the "messenger of good news" to do their work.
I usually don't say this, but please DO pass this
e-mail around, to other believers, other churches or friends of Israel, we need
all the prayer we can have to lift this case up before our father for great
testimony!
Thank you for standing with me in prayer,
I appreciate it with all my heart, Ayelet"
If you want to see more, or comment to Yad Hashmonah, use their website link here: http://www.yad8.com
The question is asked in the Good Book, "How shall a man keep his way pure?" I wonder if that's a question that's beyond n...
2 comments:
How is it that the judge ruled in the favor of the gay couple??
Homosexual marriage is not lawful in Israel. check it out for yourself.
I'm pretty sure that the judge did not rule on homosexuality, but rather on the legality of renting a space to people and then backing out of the rental agreement. Public space was and is the issue in this case.
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