Tuesday, January 25, 2005

Violent Acts

Ruth Tucker wrote a book several years ago about Jews for Jesus. It was not an "expose" of JFJ; on the contrary, the book was commissioned by Jews for Jesus, and the final edit was done by JFJ staff. One would expect such a book to be a whitewash of the organization and its negative aspects, and for the most part, it is. It glosses over most of the problems that JFJ has had in the past and continues to have in the present. But it is surprisingly frank about how Moishe Rosen would occasionally lose his temper and become violent.

Here is a quote from the book, on pp. 33-34: "He [Moishe] certainly expected the staff to respect his authority as executive director. No one bowed down to him as a cult leader. But there are those -- some who have left and some who are still with the organization -- who say that he has the ability to intimidate and that he used it, more so in the past than today. Through the years, they recall, his displeasure sometimes cut the air like a razor-sharp knife. If he felt people were not listening, he would yell. He would glower. And there was a time or two when, in a very deliberate display of disapproval, he threw something across the room. Though he never aimed at or intended to hurt anyone, these were nonetheless intimidating experiences. This is not top-secret information, disclosed behind closed doors. According to Moishe, he intended such scenes to provide shock value to drive home hispoint. (Perhaps, but sometimes those on the receiving end were too shocked to appreciate the value)."

The following links describe similar kinds of "violent acts" perpetrated by Moishe Rosen:

http://www.exjewsforjesus.org/j4jquestions/phone.html

http://www.exjewsforjesus.org/stories/baruch2.html#control

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I understand that a few former staff of Jews for Jesus have contacted Ruth Tucker concerning her book about Jews for Jesus and the fact that the final edit was done by Jews for Jesus, not Ruth Tucker or her regular editors.

She was not happy about the book.