Tovia Singer (born September 20, 1960) is an American

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

and the founder and director of Outreach Judaism. Outreach Judaism is managed under the Eits Chaim Indonesia Foundation, which describes itself as an advocate for the Jewish faith, the Jewish people, and the

State of Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. After five years in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

, Singer moved to Jerusalem, Israel on the 9th of May 2019 where he now lives in the Jewish quarter of the Old-City.

Outreach Judaism

Singer is the founder and director of Outreach Judaism, a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

counter-missionary organization. It describes itself as "an international organization that responds directly to the issues raised by missionaries and cults, by exploring Judaism in contradistinction to fundamentalist Christianity." Singer cautions regarding congregations that "are designed to appear Jewish, but are actually fundamentalist Christian churches, which use traditional Jewish symbols to lure the most vulnerable of our Jewish people into their ranks."Simon Schoon, "Noachides and Converts to Judaism", in

Jan N. Bremmer Jan N. Bremmer (born 18 December 1944) is a Dutch academic and historian. He served as a professor of Religious Studies and Theology at the University of Groningen. He specializes in history of ancient religion, especially ancient Greek religion ...

, Wout Jac. van Bekkum, Arie L. Molendijk. ''Cultures of Conversions'', Peeters Publishers, 2006,
p. 125
Outreach Judaism was described by

J. Gordon Melton John Gordon Melton (born September 19, 1942) is an American religious scholar who was the founding director of the Institute for the Study of American Religion and is currently the Distinguished Professor of American Religious History with the Ins ...

in 2002 as an example of "the current state of Jewish counter-cult activity."

Other activities

From 2002 to 2010 Singer hosted ''The Tovia Singer Show'' on

Arutz Sheva ''Arutz Sheva'' ( he, ערוץ 7, lit=''Channel 7''), also known in English as ''Israel National News'', is an Israeli media network identifying with religious Zionism. It offers online news articles in Hebrew, English, and Russian as well as l ...

's Israel National Radio. The show launched again in October 2013. The radio show had many prominent guests, including Israeli and American politicians, rabbis, terror victims, and authors. Among those who came on the show were: 47th Governor of Texas

Rick Perry James Richard Perry (born March 4, 1950) is an American politician who served as the 14th United States secretary of energy from 2017 to 2019 and as the 47th governor of Texas from 2000 to 2015. Perry also ran unsuccessfully for the Republica ...

; American stand-up comedian in political satire,

Jackie Mason Jackie Mason (born Yacov Moshe Maza; yi, יעקב משה מזא; June 9, 1928 – July 24, 2021) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. His 1986 one-man show ''The World According to Me!'' won a Special Tony Award, an Outer Critics Cir ...

; former US ambassador for the UN,

John R. Bolton John Robert Bolton (born November 20, 1948) is an American attorney, diplomat, Republican consultant, and political commentator. He served as the 25th United States Ambassador to the United Nations from 2005 to 2006, and as the 26th United Stat ...

; businessman

Ronald Lauder Ronald (Ron) Steven Lauder (born February 26, 1944) is an American businessman, billionaire, philanthropist, art collector, and political activist. He is the president of the World Jewish Congress since 2007. He and his brother, Leonard Lauder, ...

; Israeli Ambassador

Dore Gold Dore Gold ( he, דורי גולד, born 1953) is an American-Israeli political scientist and diplomat who served as Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations from 1997 to 1999. He is currently the President of the Jerusalem Center ...

; American-born Israeli historian, author and politician,

Michael Oren Michael Bornstein Oren (Hebrew: מיכאל אורן; born Michael Scott Bornstein; May 20, 1955) is an American-born Israeli historian, author, politician, former ambassador to the United States (2009–2013), former member of the Knesset fo ...

; Dead Sea Scroll expert Prof.

Lawrence Schiffman Lawrence Harvey Schiffman (born 1948) is a professor at New York University (as of 2014); he was formerly Vice-Provost of Undergraduate Education at Yeshiva University and Professor of Jewish Studies (from early 2011 to 2014). He had previously ...

; American conservative political activist,

Alan Keyes Alan Lee Keyes (born August 7, 1950) is an American politician, political activist, author, and perennial candidate who served as the Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs from 1985 to 1987. A member of the Repub ...

; Israeli politician,

Danny Danon Danny Danon (Hebrew: דני דנון, born 8 May 1971) served as Israel’s 17th Permanent Representative to the United Nations, and currently serves as Chairman of the World Likud. Danon previously served as a member of the Knesset from the Liku ...

; former American ambassador and an ardent anti-communist,

Jeane Kirkpatrick Jeane Duane Kirkpatrick (née Jordan; November 19, 1926December 7, 2006) was an American diplomat and political scientist who played a major role in the foreign policy of the Ronald Reagan administration. An ardent anticommunist, she was a lo ...

and many others. Singer was also one of the first who interviewed

Walid Shoebat Walid Shoebat ( ar, وليد شعيبات) is a Palestinian American speaker, author and a critic of Islam. He was born in the West Bank to an American mother, and converted to Christianity from Islam. Shoebat has claimed to be an ex- PLO terrori ...

. In 2006, Singer interviewed Wafa Sultan on the show.Michael Cappi. ''A Never Ending War'',

Trafford Publishing Trafford Publishing is a company for self-publishing using print-on-demand technology, formerly based in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, and now based in Bloomington, Indiana, USA. History The company was founded in 1995, by Bruce and Mars ...

, 2007,
p. 326
Singer is the author of the book and audio series ''Let's Get Biblical: Why Doesn't Judaism Accept the Christian Messiah?'' His new expanded edition is a two-volume book that takes a critical look at long-standing Christian charges against the Jewish faith. According to

David Brickner David Brickner (born September 29, 1958) is an American ordained Baptist minister who has been head of the Messianic Jewish missionary group Jews for Jesus since 1996. Background and family Brickner was born in Beverly, Massachusetts. Brickner d ...

it has "grabbed the attention of many evangelicals simply because it has been so widely distributed."

, "Encountering Jewish Resistance", in J. Dudley Woodberry (ed.) ''Reaching the Resistant: Barriers and Bridges for Mission'',

William Carey Library William Carey Publishing, previously known as William Carey Library, is a book publishing company based in Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and ...

, 1998,
p. 90
A book review by Jewish Values Online described Singer as "a master of his material" and that "his meticulous research and command of Biblical sources is most impressive." Together with Eits Chaim Indonesia Foundation, whose founders are of Dutch Jewish descent, Singer started the only Jewish Center legally acknowledged by the Indonesian Minister of Religious Affairs - Torat Chaim. Since Judaism is not yet a recognized religion in Indonesia, religious freedom for Torat Chaim and its members is guaranteed and protected by the Christian Desk of the Indonesian Religious Affairs Department. On November 25, 2022, the Jerusalem Post reported that Lihi Lapid, the wife of Prime Minister

Yair Lapid Yair Lapid ( he, יָאִיר לַפִּיד, transliterated: , ; born 5 November 1963) is an Israeli politician and former journalist who has been serving as the 14th prime minister of Israel since 1 July 2022. He previously served as the alt ...

, sued Singer for reporting a claim by missionary Chaim Malespin that Ms. Lapid believes in Jesus. Lapid claimed that Singer apologized for this, which Singer denied in a response published in the Jerusalem Post on November 27.

Works

* *

Notes

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Singer, Tovia Living people 20th-century American rabbis 21st-century American rabbis American Orthodox rabbis Jewish apologists Jewish counter-missionaries Jewish radio Orthodox Jewish outreach Critics of Christianity Baalei teshuva institutions 1960 births American Zionists Jewish Indonesian history

Outreach Judaism

Other activities

Works

See also

Notes

External links