Discord over King Day event: Jewish groups worry of misrepresentation

Seattle Times ^ | 1/20/02 | Janet Tu

[Silvertip]

The Martin Luther King Jr. Day event at a local shopping mall was meant to be a pleasant community celebration of diversity. Instead, the plan has unleashed a religious conflict that dates back thousands of years.

Several local Jews and Jewish groups are upset that the city of Bellevue invited Newcastle-based Beit Tikvah Messianic Congregation to perform Israeli and Jewish songs and dances at the city-sponsored celebration tomorrow at Crossroads Shopping Center.

They contend that since Beit Tikvah is the only group performing exclusively Jewish and Israeli pieces, that the audience will see it as representing the Jewish community, when they differ on a core belief: whether Jesus is the Messiah.

"They selected a group to represent our community that is totally offensive to the entire community," said Rick Harkavy, executive director of the American Jewish Committee's Seattle chapter. "We're not asking to exclude other groups. We're saying when asking to represent our community, we do not want a group that our community would object to."

Rabbi Jim Mirel of Temple B'nai Torah in Bellevue said the move was not a wise one for the city. "It's going to leave bad feelings among the Jewish community in Bellevue. ... This too will pass. But we aren't too happy about it."

City officials, however, say that Beit Tikvah, a 20-year-old congregation with about 200 members, was never meant to represent the Jewish community. And Rabbi Hylan Slobodkin, of Beit Tikvah, says: "They're blowing it out of proportion. We are not pretending to represent the whole Jewish community. That's not even in my thinking."

Most Jews — whether Orthodox, Conservative or Reform — don't consider Messianic Jews to be Jewish, and think that one of their goals is to convert Jews to Christianity.

A core belief of Judaism is that the Messiah has not arrived.

But Messianic Jews believe that Yeshua — the Hebrew name for Jesus — is the Messiah and worship him "in the context of Jewish lifestyle and identity," according to Beit Tikvah's Web site. They do not call themselves Christian in part because of "the baggage (including millennia of anti-Semitism) that goes along with the terminology," Slobodkin said.

The King event, scheduled for noon to 3 p.m. at Crossroads' Market Stage, is intended to celebrate the life and message of King through performances, speakers and displays.

Beit Tikvah was placed on the performers list after the city's cultural-diversity program issued a call for groups to perform at city events throughout the year.

"I said yes because they asked us," Slobodkin said. "It wasn't deeper than that."

Invitations most likely were sent to groups that the coordinator of the city's cultural-diversity program was familiar with, said Colleen O'Grady, a city spokeswoman. No other Jewish group signed up for the King event, she said.

"I would assume his (call for performers) wasn't totally comprehensive," O'Grady said. But "we certainly welcome anybody who would like to come. It wasn't intended to be exclusive."

Other performers this year include a youth theater, a gospel ensemble, a belly dancer and a group performing international music that has some Jewish members opposed to Beit Tikvah's appearance.

After community members began objecting, the city of Bellevue early last week decided that Beit Tikvah should not perform. But it reconsidered later in the week.

"This particular event is about cultural awareness and diversity and entertainment," O'Grady said. "It would be inappropriate for the city to prohibit entertainment based on religious belief."

O'Grady said the experience was new for the city. "We'll probably learn from this in the future how to make these things go a little smoother, more comfortably."

The irony of the conflict is not lost on some.

"Here you've got a small group that feels included and the larger group feeling left out in the cold," said Harry Zeitlin, an Orthodox rabbi in Seattle.

"It's such an ironic thing that a Martin Luther King celebration is turning into such a divisive thing."

Janet I. Tu: jtu@seattletimes.com.

[Howlin]

Ah, how can that be? How can Jews believe in Jesus?

[Howlin]

You mean they follow "some" of the Jewish rituals, except "the big one?"

[RJCogburn]

So, they are a part of the "Jews for Jesus" thing, I take it.

[John Locke]

These people are NOT Jewish. They are Christians calling themselves Jews...

In contrast to Seattle's liberal Jewish establishment, who are atheists calling themselves Jews.

[Silvertip]

In contrast to Seattle's liberal Jewish establishment, who are atheists calling themselves Jews.

YOWWWCH!! :-)

[College Repub]

If they are atheists, professed atheists, they are not Jewish religiously either. I suppose they can call themselves Jews in the ethnic sense if they want to though...