FAKE NEWS: Israeli authorities want to ban the Christian faith

FAKE NEWS: Israeli authorities want to ban the Christian faith
© EPA-EFE/ATEF SAFADI   |   Orthodox Christians hold candles lit during the 'Holy Fire' ceremony at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, in Jerusalem's Old City, 15 April 2023.

Israel will outlaw the Christian faith, according to an anti-Semitic publication in Romania.

Romanian anti-Semites are following last year's news

NEWS: “The Netanyahu Cabinet wants to introduce a ban on Christianity in Israel. The outlandish proposal by Israeli MPs comes on the eve of Holy Week, and seeks to ban any promotion of the Gospels in Israel, making the spreading of the teachings of Jesus Christ punishable under criminal law”.

NARRATIVE: The Israeli government will adopt a law to criminally incriminate the Christian faith and the promotion of Christian religious messages.

BACKGROUND: Anti-Semitism experienced a poignant revival with the outbreak of the conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, producing a mobilization of extremists in numerous states, including Romania, a country with a well-known history of anti-Jewish militancy.

One aspect of anti-Semitism is related to conspiracy theories that claim a secret Jewish cabal rules the world by controlling finances/politicians/states, etc. Over the years, people have been spreading several myths that demonize the Jews, some, for instance, claiming they could turn into demons and other devilish creatures or accusing them of ritually murdering Christian children in order to use their blood to make Easter unleavened bread. The most widespread accusation levied against the Jews, regarding their desire to establish absolute control over the rest of the population of the planet, appears in a text invented and spread by the secret police of Tsarist Russia, “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion”. Such theories led to the persecution and mass murder of Jews, culminating with the Holocaust.

The bill mentioned by the article in question would make Christian proselytism a criminal offense. It was tabled in the Israeli Parliament in January 2023 by two ultra-Orthodox Jewish lawmakers. The fact that the draft law is brought to the attention of Romanian audiences now, more than a year away, is actually connected to the recently concluded Easter Holidays, in a childish attempt to emotionally speculate on the exacerbated faith that some compatriots display around Easter.

The website that published the article is a motley mix of xenophobic, racist and anti-Semitic articles, as well as anti-abortion or anti-LGBTQ religious materials. Currently, it has been banned on several social networks. The Russian networks Vkontakte and Telegram are currently the only ones where its articles are available. Over the years, the publication promoted several false narratives concerning Jews, such as the one claiming that Romania had pledged to receive three million Jews in case the State of Israel disappeared, or that Jews suppress freedom of speech in the US .

PURPOSE: To promote anti-Semitic and anti-Western rhetoric, to stir and amplify social unrest, to validate self-promoted conspiracy theories.

The Israeli Parliament dismissed the bill in question a year ago

WHY THE NARRATIVE IS FALSE: Right from the start, we should mention the fact that the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 guarantees freedom of religion, regardless of faith. At the same time, it is true that most Jews are deeply offended by any effort to convert them to Christianity, owing to centuries of persecution and forced conversion to which they have been subjected in some Christian states. For this reason, the Israeli Criminal Code does prohibit proselytizing minors without their parents’ consent, as well as any religious conversion in exchange for material benefits, as early as 1977. The ban, however, refers to all religions, not just to Christianity in particular. The legislative initiative of the two religious extremists was rejected as early as March 2023, in the Knesset’s preliminary committees, and it never reached a vote in the plenary session of the Israeli Parliament. Moreover, contrary to the claims of Romanian anti-Semites, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is the one who insisted that the proposal be dismissed as quickly as possible, in order to appease the community of American Evangelical Christians, some of the strongest and most influential supporters of the State of Israel. In the midst of the full-blown scandal caused by the appearance of a news item about the bill in a well-known Evangelical publication, Netanyahu said that “we will not endorse any law against the Christian community”.

The chairman of the Finance Committee of the Israeli parliament, Moshe Gafni, one of the people who spearheaded the draft law, later said that he introduced the bill only for the sake of procedure, as he had done in the past with other legislative proposals of the community he represents, and that he had never intended forcefully subject the bill to a plenary vote.

This story was published as part of the project „Investigating the impact of disinformation targeting the Israel-Hamas war in the Black Sea region”, financed by the European Media and Information Fund (EMIF).

Unica responsabilitate pentru orice conținut susținut de Fondul European pentru Media și Informație (EMIF) revine autorului și nu reflectă în mod necesar pozițiile EMIF și ale partenerilor Fondului, Fundația Calouste Gulbenkian și Institutul Universitar European.

The sole responsibility for any content supported by the European Media and Information Fund lies with the author(s) and it may not necessarily reflect the positions of the EMIF and the Fund Partners, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and the European University Institute.

  • Publication / Media:
    INCORECTPOLITIC.COM
  • Date of publication:
    01/05/2024
  • Target audience:
    Anti-Semites, Ultra-conservatives, populists, anti-Christian and anti-Western audiences
  • Amplification:
    Social media
  • Key narrative:
    Israel will outlaw the Christian faith
Report
Fake News

Disinformation uses a variety of manipulation tactics. Disinformation stories can easily be created by combining provocative topics.

Report
Other news
FAKE NEWS: There are no extremist anti-Western parties in Romania

FAKE NEWS: There are no extremist anti-Western parties in Romania

There are no anti-EU, anti-NATO or far-right parties in Romania, claims Ion Cristoiu, a well-known promoter of narratives of Russian origin.

FAKE NEWS: The EU wants to use Georgia as a military ally against Russia

FAKE NEWS: The EU wants to use Georgia as a military ally against Russia

The West supports the protests in Georgia in order to sow instability, acquire another ex-Soviet colony and have a military ally in the region, Russian propaganda writes.

DISINFORMATION: The leniency of the authorities allowed the coup d'état in Ukraine

DISINFORMATION: The leniency of the authorities allowed the coup d'état in Ukraine

There was a coup in Ukraine because the authorities at the time did not resort to force to stop it, the pro-Kremlin press is lying 11 years after the brutal police intervention at Euromaidan.

EBOOK> Razboi si propaganda: O cronologie a conflictului ruso-ucrainean

EBOOK>Razboiul lui Putin cu lumea libera: Propaganda, dezinformare, fake news

More
FAKE NEWS: Maia Sandu supported Lasconi in the presidential election because Soros told her to
FAKE NEWS: Maia Sandu supported Lasconi in the presidential election because Soros told her to

Soros asked Maia Sandu to support Elena Lasconi, said a former pro-Russian prime minister from Chisinau after the USR (Save Romania Union) candidate obtained the majority of votes in polling stations in the Republic of Moldova.

Veridica
29 Nov 2024
WAR PROPAGANDA: Zelensky wants to eliminate three quarters of Ukrainians
WAR PROPAGANDA: Zelensky wants to eliminate three quarters of Ukrainians

The pro-Kremlin press writes that Zelensky wants to keep the war going until only 10 million people are left in Ukraine. The reason? The EU will accept it more easily because it will have fewer MEPs.

Marin Gherman
28 Nov 2024
FAKE NEWS: Vaccines have caused a 74% increase in mortality rates
FAKE NEWS: Vaccines have caused a 74% increase in mortality rates

Anti-Covid vaccines are responsible for the huge and sudden increase “sudden deaths” and serious illness, a conspiracy publication claims.

Cezar Manu
27 Nov 2024
WAR PROPAGANDA: Zelensky, an MI6 agent seeking to destroy the EU
WAR PROPAGANDA: Zelensky, an MI6 agent seeking to destroy the EU

Zelenskyy is a foreign agent who wants to prevent Western leaders from talking to Putin, so that peace in Ukraine is not achieved, pro-Kremlin propaganda writes.

Marin Gherman
26 Nov 2024
FAKE NEWS: Moldova wants to build a wall on the border with Ukraine
FAKE NEWS: Moldova wants to build a wall on the border with Ukraine

Moldova wants a wall on the border with Ukraine, similar to the one proposed by Donald Trump between the USA and Mexico, according to an obviously false item of “news” published on several websites in Russia and the Republic of Moldova.

Veridica
22 Nov 2024
WAR PROPAGANDA: The Ukrainian Nazis’ Russophobic sentiments makes it impossible to end the war
WAR PROPAGANDA: The Ukrainian Nazis’ Russophobic sentiments makes it impossible to end the war

According to pro-Kremlin propaganda, Ukraine rejects Russia's peace initiatives because the authorities have adopted an anti-Russian and neo-Nazi ideology.

Marin Gherman
21 Nov 2024