For Immediate Release
Toronto… (June 6, 2001) At least twenty Jewish households received copies of videos espousing Missionary philosophy over the last two weeks taking the Ottawa Jewish community by surprise. Over one hundred videos were mailed directly to the Ottawa Jewish Community Centre and addressed to specific individuals. It is evident that Jews were being targeted for this onslaught as Jews in apartment buildings and homes received copies while their non-Jewish neighbours did not.
The spine of the video states that it contains a ten-part series. The video "Israel in Prophecy" is couched in the language of biblical analysis. The narrator, Steve Wohlberg, claims that Jesus is the fulfillment of the prophecies found in the Old Testament. Wohlberg, whose website claims is Jewish-born, is the author of a number of books designed to convert people to Christianity, so they will not be “left behind on earth” upon the return of Christ.
As the calls of concern started to come into B’nai Brith Canada's offices, Rochelle Wilner, President of B’nai Brith Canada, expressed her outrage: “Particularly disturbing about the distribution of this video is the time and resources expended to target members of the Ottawa Jewish community. The Missionary movement is obviously well-funded and will try anything to try to convert Jews.”
Leaders of the Jewish Community in Ottawa are working together with Canada Post and other authorities to try to trace the origins of the video’s distribution.
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B'nai Brith has been active since 1875 as the country's senior advocacy and volunteer agency.
For further comment, please contact:
Amelia Golden, Community Relations Coordinator - (416) 802-2163 (cell)
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