Editing Messianic Judaism (section)

===Response of Israeli government===
{{See also|Religion in Israel#Christianity}}
Messianic Jews are considered eligible for the [[State of Israel]]'s [[Law of Return]] only if they can also claim Jewish descent.<ref name="Berman"/> An assistant to one of the two lawyers involved with an April 2008 [[Supreme Court of Israel]] case explained to the ''[[Jerusalem Post]]'' that Messianic Jews who are not Jewish according to Jewish rabbinic law, but who had sufficient Jewish descent to qualify under the Law of Return, could claim automatic new immigrant status and citizenship despite being Messianic.<ref name="JIJ"/> The state of Israel grants {{transliteration|he|[[Law of Return|Aliyah]]}} (right of return) and citizenship to Jews, and to those with Jewish parents or grandparents who are not considered Jews according to halakha, such as people who have a Jewish father but a non-Jewish mother. The old law had excluded any "person who has been a Jew and has voluntarily changed his religion", and an [[Supreme Court of Israel|Israeli Supreme Court]] decision in 1989 had ruled that Messianic Judaism constituted another religion.<ref name="New York Times - 1989"/> However, on April 16, 2008, the Supreme Court of Israel ruled in a case brought by a number of Messianic Jews with Jewish fathers and grandfathers. Their applications for {{transliteration|he|Aliyah}} had been rejected on the grounds that they were Messianic Jews. The argument was made by the applicants that they had never been Jews according to {{transliteration|he|halakha}}, and were not therefore excluded by the conversion clause. This argument was upheld in the ruling.<ref name="JIJ"/><ref name="Wagner2008"/><ref name="CBN2008"/>

The International Religious Freedom Report 2008, released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor in the US, stated that discrimination against Messianic Jews in Israel was increasing.<ref name="IRF2008"/> Some acts of violence have also occurred; in one incident on March 20, 2008, a bomb concealed as a Purim gift basket was delivered to the house of a prominent Messianic Jewish family in [[Ariel (city)|Ariel]], in the [[West Bank]], which severely wounded the son.<ref name="JPost2008"/> Eventually, [[Yaakov Teitel]] was arrested for the attempted murder.<ref name="Mitchell2009"/>

This antagonism has led to harassment and some violence, especially in Israel, where there is a large and militant Orthodox community. Several Orthodox organizations, including [[Yad L'Achim]] and [[Lehava]], are dedicated to rooting out missionary activity in Israel, including the Messianic Jewish congregations. One tactic is to plaster posters asking Israelis to boycott shops where Messianic Jews are owners or employees; another is to report Messianic Jews to the Interior ministry, which is charged with enforcing an Israeli law forbidding proselytizing.<ref name="Azulai2009"/> In another incident, the mayor of Or Yehuda, a suburb of Tel Aviv, held a public book-burning of literature passed out to Ethiopian immigrants. He later apologized for the action.<ref name="Time-IMJUA"/> On other occasions, Lehava activists attempted to interrupt Messianic Jewish and violently harass the participants.<ref>{{Cite news |title='Messianic Jews' Say Police in Jerusalem Didn't Protect Them From Right-wing Mob |language=en |work=Haaretz |url=https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2019-06-14/ty-article/.premium/messianic-jews-say-police-in-jerusalem-didnt-protect-them-from-right-wing-mob/0000017f-e60a-dea7-adff-f7fbffd30000 |access-date=2023-10-27}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Horovitz |first=Michael |date=2023-06-23 |title=Jewish extremists try to interrupt Messianic Jewish event in Jerusalem |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/jewish-extremists-try-to-interrupt-messianic-jewish-event-in-jerusalem/ |access-date=2023-10-27 |website=The Times of Israel |language=en-US}}</ref>