The secular Jewish way of life can be just as rewarding – spiritual, moral and productive BRUNSON’S LESSON

Odd how perspective changes the way we view things. Missionary activities in Israel are, for the most part, forbidden. Those arriving with the intent to proselytize are kindly – and sometimes not so kindly – asked to board the next plane home.

Yet Pastor Andrew Brunson, a self-proclaimed missionary, is welcomed here with open arms (“Turkish Nightmare in his Rearview,” November 18). Granted, evangelical Christians have been our political and financial allies for some time, but just as a leopard cannot readily change his spots, neither can an avowed missionary change his focus and objectives. The pastor’s dreadful experiences during his imprisonment in Turkey should not make us less wary of hidden agendas.

There is, in addition, a somewhat sobering lesson to be learned from the way Brunson was treated. It’s clear that he was not given a fair and impartial trial to counter the charges of terrorism that were added to his indictment for engaging in missionary activities. Mainly because, in Turkey, there is no such possibility.

It would seem that both the executive office as well as the legislature of the Turkish government have the authority to impose verdicts and sentences regardless of what the court decides. Remember the Queen of Hearts’ instruction during the trial of the Knave of Hearts in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland: “Sentence first… verdict afterwards.” The decisions of the Turkish courts, in other words, can be overridden.

Sound familiar? It should, since it’s not at all unlikely that Netanyahu’s new government may implement the very same policy, thereby turning the third branch of government into something virtually useless. Israel is not – well, not yet, anyway – despotic or theocratic, so it’s highly unlikely that the nightmare that Pastor Brunson went through can happen here. But unless we are extremely cautious in the coming months, the democratic values upon which we base our independence and development can become extremely vulnerable.

Turkey has not yet reached Israel’s achievement of balancing national religious identity with an appreciation of secular culture and impartial jurisprudence. Local efforts have been made in the past, as well as in the present, to undo these achievements.

Perhaps a closer alliance with Israel will influence President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to revise existing protocols – and to ensure that what Pastor Andrew Brunson experienced will not again occur.

BARRY NEWMAN

Ginot Shomron