I have written about pro-Israel advocate Hananya Naftali before – he’s a YouTuber and creator of many videos which have gone viral. He has reached even greater prominence recently – he seems to now be in the employ of The Israel Project, churning out videos for them, and even interviewed Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu!
Yet despite this good work, I have a real issue with him. He has not been truthful with us, and when someone resorts to lying, I don’t trust them. Call me old school.
To what I am referring?
Last year, I uncovered that he is a Messianic Jew, and that he was subtly missionizing while in the IDF. He actually responded to my post, characterizing me as a hater and saying unequivocally that he is NOT a messianic Jew. See for yourself:
Following his video, I uncovered more evidence that he is a indeed messianic.
Blogger Varda Epstein at the EoZ blog just wrote her own post about him, in which she tells of asking a former evangelical missionary about him:
Yup. Shannon was definitely the one to ask. And so I asked her, “Shannon, have you heard of Hananya Naftali? I’m fairly certain he’s an undercover Christian missionary.”
Shannon corrected me: “He’s not undercover. He flat out admits as much,” she said.
After this post was drawn to my attention,I decided to do some more digging, this time on Twitter. What I found was enlightening.
For a start, it confirms Hananya DOES very much identify as a messianic Jew, despite his protestations.
https://twitter.com/HananyaNaftali/status/698836995422994432
https://twitter.com/HananyaNaftali/status/672779680546689024
https://twitter.com/HananyaNaftali/status/622461709928693761
https://twitter.com/HananyaNaftali/status/622461560888299520
https://twitter.com/HananyaNaftali/status/499099141255884800
In other words, Hananya flat-out lied.
Remember, messianic Jews believe the Jewish people need to accept Jesus – or Jesus will not return.
But in case it was not already clear, it is ALL about his belief in Jesus. I assume that includes his Israel advocacy work – after all, he clearly states his mission.
https://twitter.com/HananyaNaftali/status/506652948265697280
https://twitter.com/HananyaNaftali/status/632401665119887360
https://twitter.com/HananyaNaftali/status/277820128987582464
And this means “making” disciples.
https://twitter.com/HananyaNaftali/status/422231896089976832
Which he seems to have attempted while serving in the IDF.
https://twitter.com/HananyaNaftali/status/424562467344486400
https://twitter.com/HananyaNaftali/status/657997646410457088
Update: He has deleted the tweets (ask yourself why if this is all innocent). Here are screenshots.
Clearly, it bothers him when Jews do not accept Jesus. It does not seem to me he is content to live and let be, but rather wants to influence us to believe in him.
https://twitter.com/HananyaNaftali/status/641823815476080641
Now let me be clear. I love my Christian brothers and sisters and welcome their support. This is not about objecting to their beliefs. What I DO object to is missionizing Jews (which I believe most are not doing).
Hananya’s posts and nonchalant lying indicate to me that is exactly what he is trying to do. And given his growing audience – including many who almost idolize him – I feel the need to speak out loudly and strongly.
