“Are Missionaries Winning?” That was the question posed in advertisements for a speech by Rabbi Tovia Singer, a crusader against Christian missionaries, who spoke at the Rutgers Hillel Wednesday night. Singer addressed a mix crowd of both Jews and non-Jews.
Attendees told CampusJ that said Singer didn’t offer a direct answer to the question of whether missionaries are winning, and that the controversial title was just used to draw attendees. Instead, Singer mostly spoke about missionaries’ strategies.
Singer explained the difference between Christians who missionize and Christians who do not. He also explained the methods that some groups use to missionize, such as hosting a Passover seder for Jews and explaining to them how various parts of it represent the story of Jesus. He told the students in the room their best defense against missionaries was to continue to learn about the Torah. He also addressed the non-Jews in the crowd, telling them he felt sorry if they are missionaries, that he was sorry that other missionaries had got to them and made them missionaries.

The Rutgers Maimonides Leaders Fellowship, an ultra-Orthodox outreach program of Jewish Awareness America has increased its advertising on campus lately.
In addition to its ads on Facebook, and in the Targum,the Maimonides program has a large poster hanging over the Browner Commons entrance, alongside posters for organizations like the Rutgers Telefund.

Effective this semester, Joshua Reback is no longer the head of the Israel committee. Reback explained he stepped down because he did not have enough time to devote to his studies, work, and Hillel. This is the second time the leader of the Israel committee has stepped down this year. Avi Kravitz, the previous leader of the Israel committee, had stepped down following the ‘Peace in Lebanon’ rally. Reback, who displayed leadership skills during the planning of this event, was appointed to take Kravitz’s place.
Internal Vice President Nina Sherman said no one will replace Reback as the head of the Israel committee. Instead, those who are interested will form subcommittees to run individual programs. Additionally, the two interns from Caravan for Democracy, an organization that helps teach students how to lobby for Israel, will run additional programing with their budget. Sherman hopes this will help foster leadership within the Israel committee. She will be running the Israel committee meetings until a new leader is elected in late spring.
The Israel committee will have its first meeting, Monday, Jan. 22 at 9 p.m. on the first floor of the Hillel.

I am a Rutgers College junior, majoring in Political Science with a minor in Religion. I have lived in New Jersey my whole life, aside from the generic year in an American yeshiva in Israel, and a one-year stint at Yeshiva University. I currently reside in Highland Park, two minutes from the local Rutgers L bus stop. Aside from school, I work in a three-person technology startup, as a Hebrew School teacher, as a Kadima youth adviser, and I write here. In the little time that remains I like to read the New York Times cover to cover - or rather link to link, blog, read about the intersection of politics and theology, play my Wii, and occasionally go out and see people.