It seems that it cannot be conceived that former JFJ staff might spontaneously come together to speak out about past hurts experienced through Jews for Jesus as a consequence of JFJ's own actions.
The truth is Ex-Jews for Jesus are individuals who served with Jews for Jesus at different times and in different places. Many of us have never met one another face to face, but we all share do share a common bond and we do share common experiences. No one former staff person leads us, but the desire to share what happened to us while serving and after serving with Jews for Jesus does.
http://www.exjewsforjesus.org/
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I do remember Moishe Rosen making it clear during lectures he gave as well as informal conversations in his home, that his goal was to keep former Jews for Jesus staff "Isolated" from each other.
He seemed to think that as long as people who left Jews for Jesus thought of themselves as a small group of people they wouldn't be any threat to Jews for Jesus itself.
Once former Jews for Jesus staff started getting together, the current administration in Jews for Jesus, including David Brickner and Susan Perlman began playing damage control. They would have planning meetings with a few other selected staff, like myself, who would come up with names of former staff who might be "behind a move to hurt Jews for Jesus." Then certain staff were assigned, or ask to volunteer, to build closer relationships with the more open former Jews for Jesus staff members.
We were asked to get close, find out what we could about any organized activities of the former Jews for Jesus staff, and report our finding back to Brickner.
During our "getting close" to former staff, we were encouraged to try and win them back as much as we could, and win them over so we could keep former staff from getting together in numbers and thus really be an organized threat to Jews for Jesus. We even made lists of people we thought would have something against us and went out of our way to apologize to them, in order to take them out of the ex-Jews for Jesus world and, though we may not have brought them back into the Jews for Jesus fold, we at least kept them from being actively involved with organized ex-Jews for Jesus activities.
Susan Perlman was given the responsibility of figuring out how to get a "mole" or two into the ex-Jews for Jesus discussion groups online and get us email copies of discussions so we would know what was being planned and do damage control.
Yeah, I remember the lectures and talks and implications that whoever had left had committed some terrible sin and that Rosen had stated they (us - the leavers) would get together to have a "pity party".
I remember grappling with leaving for so long, wondering if I was doing the will of God or not, but the abuses and maltreatment continued and I basically made up my mind for me in the end to leave.
When I hooked up finally with experiences akin to my own, from the 70s, 80s and 90s and onwards, we figured something had to be done to document the terrible treatment of people in the cult that once had such honorable beginnings.
For me, it's no vendetta, it's no sitting around feeling bitter, it's just making sense of the experiences we had, telling others about it with the hope that they won't go through what happened to us.
Sadly, JFJ feels its existence to be threatened and like every abusive husband who cannot face up to his wife speaking out - will put the blame on the victim, the thing is... this abuser has no hold over us any more, and the abuser (JFJ) has to face the consequences of the abuse.
I'm an ex-Jews for Jesus staff member and I believe this is the most pathetic small group of people I've ever seen on Yahoo forum.
People aren't shunned...it's just understandable that someone like me would not continue a relationship with someone who only complains, whines and blames all of his/her difficulties on one organization...in this instance JFJ. Most of you are so nasty and cruel in your revengeful hatefest, that it's impossible to want to be in communication with you. You're tiresome in your hate.
Sorry, but you are truly pathetic. You want supporters to continue to send you money even though you are no longer with the ministry, you want more naps and songtime during campaigns, possibly some sightseeing. What a witness you are. You blame your failures on Moishe, David, Sue..JFJ in general...even the failure of your marriage.
I can't even bear to read this drek anymore. I know this won't make it in. Never does anymore and that's ok. Somebody has to read it to knock it out. I'll come back in two years and find the same nonsense flowing. This is your life...and you're more than welcome to it.
PS: You are NO threat to Jews for Jesus.
Oh well, I guess I'm pathetic, nasty, revengeful [sic] and a drek. I think that I really did want an easy ride and to sleep more. I suppose that all my failures are Moishe's, David's, Sue's and JFJ's fault.
Sadly, I heard this style of responses being formulated when I sat with Moishe Rosen, it seems that the culture of abuse in this group and to its acolytes is rife, very much alive and kicking.
Odd thing is, I still can't find in the scriptures anywhere that Yeshua (Y'shua)proscribed such virulous responses to his enemies - and we are not his enemies, just wishing to see justice brought for the consquences of abuse... oh well, pardon me, I think I have to take a nap.
Regarding the comment:
"PS: You are NO threat to Jews for Jesus."
Well, thank you for letting us know that!
Even if we are not a threat to JFJ, we will not go away.
Didn't JFJ use the line, "We will not go away" with the unbelieving Jewish community?
I remember Rosen giving a lecture to missionaries during Brickner's time as Executive Director, where Rosen made it clear that the greatest threat to Jews for Jesus would be if a group of former staff got organized and started to compare stories about what happened to them. He said it would go even worse if they tried to do something in retaliation, because, "some of them just might have a case."
I thought it was strange for Rosen to be admitting something like that to a bunch of current missionaries.
Some ex jewsforjesus worker who claims that there is no shunning, is doing damage control, and is not being honest. Moishe went on, at great length to large staff meetings about the virtues of shunning. He even referred to it as shunning. It was not one of the many unwritten rules, or unspoken understanding. Specific ex staff were NOT to be spoken too. The male staff, I heard adhered to it, but the wives kept in touch, and were friendly, anyway. Which at the time seemed shocking, unseemly, having total disregard for JFJ taboos, and also seemed courageous, and proper, to continue relationships with your longtime friends, in spite of the politics, of JFJ.
The biggest threat to Jews for Jesus would be if those donating the big bucks for inner-city evangelism talked with the churches the donated money was to help. If Jews for Jesus is "partnering with churches for the purpose of Jewish Evangelism"
then why do they say they "save" 10 Gentiles for every Jew?
And if Jews for Jesus' employees average 3 Jews total a year, how is it that they say they don't "have time" for the Gentiles they "saved?"
And if Jews for Jesus' employees actually are too busy, then why haven't they "partnered with inner city churches" to take this work load off their hands? You can't say that Gentile pastors are too busy to take rotating shifts or that by rotating the shifts across many denominations wouldn't eliminate the stated objection of appearing to favor one denomination. Favoring denominations is the current practice but since it isn't known makes it OK.
The only reason for not considering what happens to the 10 Gentiles "saved" is damage control. The 10 weren't really "saved" and Jews for Jesus is hiding their lousy gospel presentation. If it was good, others would be using it.
So the real threat to Jews for Jesus is if they were forced to be accountable to those they claim to have "saved." Or forcing Jews for Jesus, Inc to "partner with inner-city Gentile congregations" if Jews for Jesus isn't going to have time for the Gentiles they say they have "saved."
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