Jews for Jesus: Coming to a Street Corner Near You

By now you've seen them on every street corner in Philly. You've avoided them like the plague. You've sidestepped them, waved them off, and glared at them when they tried to shove a flyer at you. That's right: Philadelphia has been invaded by Jews for Jesus.

Jews for Jesus is on a whirlwind East Coast tour, trying to convert us all first to Judaism (for those of us who aren't already Jewish) and then trying to convince us that Jesus is the son of God instead of just a prophet. Philadelphia still has two weeks left of the siege. Over the last week, we've seen them in Rittenhouse Sqare and on the street corners of Walnut and Chestnut. Today they trekked North, to Arch Street (coincidentally, they are competing for attention at the corner of 17th & Arch with some guy protesting outside the Bell Atlantic Tower, yelling about how he was wrongfully terminated) and the Ben Franklin Parkway. We're sure they've been handing out flyers all over the city. Will they be in your neighborhood next? One never knows.

Before the Philly invasion, the Jews for Jesus soldiers had a nice visit in Baltimore. They did not receive the warmest of welcomes, according The Jewish Exponent:

One man who clearly did not want to know was Dr. Hillel Grossman, a father of five who brought his family down from northern New Jersey to see Baltimore's sights.

[...] Grossman explained that it was Katz's insistence that really got him steamed.

"I think they're highly offensive," said Grossman. "In this country, it's wonderful they believe what they want to believe, but any time they want to impose their beliefs, the underlying statement is that you're not entitled to your own belief."

Will Jews for Jesus receive a better reception in the City of Brotherly Love? Judging from our observance of their street activities, no. And they are likely to have no better luck with their door-to-door canvassing. It remains to be seen whether their gospel-music concert for college students and a Russian-language video aimed at Northeast Philadelphia's Jewish population will bring in the converts, either.