Rabbi Binyamin Vulcan: "It's Terrifying; A Person Wants to Return to Judaism and Ends Up in the Arms of Missionaries"

The wedding that Rabbi Binyamin Vulcan recently attended was incredibly moving. On the surface, it appeared like any other wedding in the Haredi community. It was held in one of the well-known halls in Bnei Brak, with many yeshiva students present to celebrate with the groom and notable figures from Israel participating in the festivities.

Few knew this wedding was entirely miraculous. The happy groom, with distinguished lineage, had lived for nearly fifteen years within a messianic community in Tel Aviv. With extraordinary divine assistance, Rabbi Vulcan and the 'Or L'Achim' organization succeeded in rescuing him from the clutches of the mission, guiding him step by step until he recovered and married according to the laws of Moshe and Israel. "Attending his wedding was the greatest gift we could have received," he says excitedly.

The Concert That Turned Out to Be a Cult

Rabbi Vulcan is the manager of the rescue department for missions and cults at 'Or L'Achim'. "We founded the organization a few years ago following numerous requests from all over the country," he explains. "Having dealt with this issue for over a decade and recognizing the great need, I decided to join forces with other Jews to establish an organization providing professional responses in the struggle against the mission".

Rabbi Vulcan emphasizes the importance and necessity of this action. "Today, there are organizations dealing with almost every issue: some focus on youth at risk, others combat abortions, and some offer support to others, welcoming brides, and helping orphans and widows. However, in the fight against cults and the mission, there was almost no response, while the missionary activity in the country unfortunately continues to grow. We felt that if we didn't stand firm, the danger would increase daily; it was a pressing need."

Where do you mainly encounter missionary activity?

"In general, such activity is hardly seen in Haredi areas, although we occasionally receive reports of missionary material distribution in these neighborhoods. But once we step outside those areas, we see the missionary materials lurking almost everywhere."

Rabbi Vulcan, who travels throughout the country, attests to this. "Missionary activity exists almost everywhere," he says. "We attend events organized by the missionaries and, unfortunately, see that these places thrive and have successes. By being vigilant and warning people not to attend these events, we prevent new people from joining. We explain who they are and distribute theological materials at the entrance. We have specific materials for each group and cult, and that's how we operate."

Rabbi Vulcan highlights that the missionary activity is done very sophisticatedly. "The events they organize are funded by churches abroad, but locally, they insist on calling themselves a 'community' instead of a 'church', so as not to deter potential members. Simultaneously, their pastor is referred to as a 'community shepherd'. Those who investigate can easily visit their websites and see that not only are they affiliated with overseas churches, but these 'communities' in Israel are presented as extensions of those churches."

But what attracts normal people to their activities?

"Their offers often sound very tempting," Rabbi Vulcan explains. "For instance, they promote concerts to the general public. Just two weeks ago, a special concert was held in Ramat Gan, allegedly to acquaint audiences with Korean culture. It featured Korean music and traditional food. Many religious people, observing the advertisement on Facebook, decided to attend. They managed to attract a significant crowd, unaware of the event's true nature since the advertisement never mentioned it was a messianic community. Only upon entering and seeing the missionary symbols did they start making connections."

Do the people you encounter at these venues usually get convinced and leave?

"Yes, most people, when they understand what it's about, generally turn back, but some insist on going in to verify our claims. After about fifteen minutes, they exit and admit, 'You were right'. Unfortunately, some get caught in the net, and that's the major problem we face. It's crucial to understand - those caught aren't necessarily there by free choice. Even Israeli courts have labeled 'messianic Jews' as a cult because they operate deceptively."

And what about 'messianic community' members? How do they react when they see you at these venues?

"They're not pleased, to say the least. They sometimes resort to violence to remove us and regularly call the police. However, the police can't help them since we are in a democratic state. Just as missionaries can advertise their events, we can protest against them. Of course, we don't enter the events themselves because religiously, it's forbidden as it's a place of idol worship. Some venues employ their own ushers who tell everyone, 'Don't listen to them, they're lying', pointing to us. It's clear we're not welcome, and they do everything to prevent us from being there."

How do you even find out about their activities and events?

"Some events are directly advertised online, so that's how we learn about them. Additionally, we have our intelligence sources, which I can't disclose for obvious reasons. Furthermore, some 'messianic communities' have fixed schedules, prompting us to visit regularly to deter new members from joining. From experience, we know how crucial it is to 'catch' individuals at the first moment since that's when it's easiest to reveal the truth and get them out."

Caught in the Net

Beyond field activities, Rabbi Vulcan shares that the organization invest heavily in educational efforts through the internet, and one-on-one outreach. "We receive referrals from all organizations involved in outreach, including Hidabrut. Whenever they encounter mission-related cases, they direct them to us, and we get dozens of new inquiries daily.

"A very moving case we handled not long ago was on Thursday of the last intermediate days of Sukkot. A referral came to us about an Israeli girl who met an American boy and established a connection with him, only to later find out he was a 'messianic Jew' who believes in that man and is linked to one of the missionary communities in the U.S. She, of course, called us shocked, asking for help to rescue him from the cult. During our conversation, we understood two major constraints - he only spoke English, and he had a flight scheduled for the evening. The inquiry, as mentioned, reached us on Thursday afternoon. We quickly arranged for an English-speaking theological expert. The boy and girl, who were in southern Israel, came to us and we had a long and complex meeting, during which the boy received a barrage of questions he couldn't answer. We maintain regular contact with him, and he is soon expected to visit Israel again, during which we'll meet him again and do everything to extract him from the messianic belief.

"We receive numerous reports of children reporting on their parents, or parents reporting on their children, friends reporting about family members, and various others who fall into dangerous cults. We make sure to meet with them all to rescue them.

"Another activity we engage in is combating active street missions. Whenever we are aware of missionary activists operating kiosks distributing their flyers and brochures anywhere in the country, we go to those places and warn the public about it. We have volunteers and activists in every city, ready to act whenever we hear of such cases, and usually succeed in quickly expelling the missionaries from the location."

Who are the people getting caught in the net?<\/strong><\/p>

"Missionaries typically don\u2019t target well-established populations; instead, they focus on the average and weaker layers of society. They are also adept at reaching out to people searching for spirituality, and as known, the secular Israeli public frequently seeks spirituality. The question is who reaches them first \u2013 a missionary or a representative of return-to-faith organizations. Consider how terrible it is \u2013 someone seeking to strengthen their faith only to end up in the arms of missionaries. Sadly, they are also very strong in the digital world. We\u2019ve reached a point where people watch a children's movie on YouTube, and in the middle, an ad pops up inviting them to watch a movie about that man. This is entirely against the law since minors cannot be exposed to content that could potentially convert their faith. We've approached the police several times over this issue, but each time the case was closed due to lack of public interest."<\/p>

Rabbi Vulcan stresses: "Of course, our educational activities are strictly according to the law. We fear no one, on the contrary \u2013 the missionaries should be afraid, and we see time and again that the moment we appear, they often disappear."<\/p>

In conclusion, he recalls a particularly moving case: "A 16-year-old Haredi girl was sent to us by her dedicated counselor, who is commendable for noticing and reported that her prot\u00e9g\u00e9 had fallen into the mission\u2019s clutches and was deeply involved with things like the New Testament, etc. We managed to provide an answer and sat with her for prolonged discussions, eventually successfully rescuing her. These cases arrive almost daily, emphasizing how dangerous missionary activity is. Saving Jews from such situations is unequivocal life-saving and liberation, and it\u2019s known that saving one life in Israel is akin to saving an entire world."<\/p>

Have you encountered material in your mailboxes that appears missionary? Heard of a conference about to take place? Please contact 'Or L'Achim' and help save souls for generations: 1700500506<\/strong><\/p>