Messianic Jew Wins Supreme Court Battle in Israel

July 17, 2009 – 10:47 am

Bakery owner had lost her Jewish dietary law certificate because of her faith

CDN:

JERUSALEM, July 15 - For three long years a Jewish believer in Christ struggled to keep her bakery business alive after the Chief Rabbinate of Israel, the country’s highest religious governing body, annulled her kashrut (Jewish dietary law) certificate because of her faith.

Pnina Conforti, 51, finally gave a sigh of relief when the Israeli Supreme Court on June 29 ruled that her belief in Jesus Christ was unrelated to her eligibility for a kashrut certificate.

While bakeries and restaurants in Israel are not required to obtain the permit, the loss of one often slows the flow of customers who observe Jewish dietary laws and eventually can destroy a business.

Conforti, who describes herself as Messianic Jew, said that in the last three years her Pnina Pies bakeries in Gan Yavne and Ashdod had lost nearly 70 percent of their customers. “We barely survived, but now it’s all behind us,” she said.

A Jew of Yemenite origin, Conforti said she was raised in religious family but came to trust in Christ following her encounter with a Christian family during a visit to the United States.

“There I found Christ and embraced him as my personal Savior,” she said. “I do not engage in [evangelistic] activity, but if someone starts a conversation about my faith, I will speak openly about it.”

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