This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TEL AVIV 000189 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: CASC PHUM IS KIRF ISRAELI SOCIETY
SUBJECT: AMERICAN PASTOR ASSAULTED IN RELIGIOUS 
PROTEST THAT TURNED VIOLENT 
 
¶1. SUMMARY: Amcit Howard Mitchell Bass (25-Jan-1950 VA) 
told Conoff on January 4 that on December 24, 2005, he and 
his Messianic Christian congregation were physically 
assaulted by ultra-Orthodox Jewish protestors in Beer 
Sheva, who apparently believed and spread rumors that 
"busloads" of Jews were to be baptized that day.  His 
reports have been corroborated by other sources.  Bass 
claimed that this level of violence is rare.  He said that 
most Messianic Christian congregations experience some form 
of harassment from time to time from groups like Yad 
L'Achim, but in general they are thankful for the degree of 
freedom they generally enjoy.  End summary. 
 
¶2. Howard Bass, who introduced himself as the pastor of 
Kehilat Nachalat Yeshua, a "Messianic Christian" 
congregation, said that he moved to Israel in 1982 and that 
his wife and three children are also American citizens. 
According to Bass, the majority of his 120 congregants are 
Israeli citizens, including around 25 American citizens who 
regularly attend services.  Bass said that on the morning 
of December 24 two women were scheduled to be baptized. 
According to him, Yad L'Achim, to which he referred as an 
"anti-missionary" ultra-orthodox Jewish organization, heard 
about the planned baptisms and publicized on their website 
that "10 busloads of Jews" from all over the Negev Desert 
were to be baptized.  Bass said that the Yad L'Achim 
website encouraged a vigorous response to the alleged mass 
baptisms, comparing it to the Jewish Macabbees' resistance 
against Greek religion in the second century B.C. 
 
¶3. According to Bass, a handful of protestors came 
early to the service and were welcomed in with the 
understanding that they would not be disruptive.  By 
10 a.m., however, Bass continued, several hundred 
protestors had gathered outside and the police were 
called to ensure that the protest remained peaceful. 
The city's chief Sephardic rabbi, Bass claimed, 
oversaw the events and appeared to be the protestors' 
leader.  As the crowd grew, Bass reported, the 
protestors broke into the church past the police 
line, and began to destroy the property of the 
church, overturning and throwing tables and chairs, 
breaking the overhead projector, spitting on 
congregants, and throwing objects into the baptismal 
pool.  At this point, Bass claimed, he himself was 
assaulted, punched, slapped and ultimately thrown 
into the baptismal pool himself.  Including his 
broken glasses and the broken overhead projector, he 
estimated damage to the building and to church 
property to be several thousand dollars. 
 
¶4. Independent corroboration of the events includes a 
website with video clips (www.ha-makom.com), and the 
account of an official American, the Beer Sheva staff 
member of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, who was 
present to attend services that day.  This U.S. 
citizen told Conoff on January 4 that he supports 
what Bass' account, adding that he himself was spit 
upon numerous times and hit with a stone.  He said 
that he also saw police vehicles being vandalized 
during the protest.  This Amcit said that his wife's 
Bible was torn from her hands and thrown into the 
mud.  He speculated that the majority of the crowd 
was there simply because their rabbis told them to be 
there, and that only a minority became violent.  As 
to whether he believes that this type of violent 
protest was supported by Israeli society as a whole, 
he said that most Beer Sheva residents were disgusted 
with what happened, and that he subsequently received 
numerous calls from Israeli friends who expressed 
their outrage and sorrow over what happened.  He also 
said that the police were very proactive in trying to 
protect the church and were firm with the crowd. 
 
¶5. Another American citizen present at the scene, an 
engineer for Lockheed Martin, said in a January 1 
email to the Regional Security Office that an angry 
mob surrounded his car, spitting on it, rocking it 
from side to side, tearing off a side mirror, and 
denting and scratching it.  No media reports appeared 
about the event, save for one December 28 op-ed piece 
written by Bass himself, published by the Jerusalem 
Post.  Bass asserted to Conoff that had a synagogue 
been invaded, and a rabbi assaulted by a mob, it 
would have been front-page news, and he charged thatt 
the near-total media silence demonstrates that 
religious liberty for non-Jewish faiths in Israel is 
simply not a priority for the Israeli government.  He 
claimed that no arrests were made at the scene 
despite the damage done to church property and the 
physical violence against him and other members of 
the church. 
 
¶6. The Beer Sheva police spokesman confirmed to 
Conasst on January 4 that the incident occurred 
largely as described by Bass, but he said that four 
people were later arrested.  While he would not say 
with which crimes they were charged, he said that an 
investigation into the incident in ongoing. 
 
¶7. Bass claimed that while events like this do occur 
in Israel, this level of violence is rare.  He said 
that most Messianic Christian congregations 
experience some form of harassment from time to time 
from groups like Yad L'Achim, but in general they are 
thankful for the degree of freedom they generally 
enjoy.  He claimed that seven years ago, another 
rumor was circulated that his church was kidnapping 
Jewish children and baptizing them, and though a 
crowd of around 1,000 showed up to protest, it did 
not turn violent.  He also claimed (in an event that 
has gained some press coverage) that a church in the 
Negev Desert city of Arad has been the object of 
regular demonstrations, and that the business of one 
of the congregants burned down under as-of-yet 
unexplained circumstances.  He added that, in light 
of what he described as the inaction of the police, 
he is considering legal action, possibly against Yad 
L'Achim or the head Sephardic rabbi of Beer Sheva. 
 
JONES