In 1967, Saul Colbi wrote that “the mere existence and operation of a Ministry of Religious Affairs [in Israel] underlies the importance which the state attaches to the spiritual aspect of the life in the land that is called Holy.” While non-Jewish religious communities had to adapt to this new framework of governance, the ‘Missionary Question’—whether Christians could continue proselytization efforts in the Jewish State—became a central concern.
Using the controversy surrounding the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints’ (LDS) establishment of a campus in Jerusalem in the 1980s as a case study, this paper explores Israeli efforts to legislate against Christian missionary activities. It will focus on the legal, religious, and political justifications used to enforce such restrictions, and examine how the concept of ‘religious liberty’ can be mobilized as a political tool of governance to both protect religious identity and limit individual freedoms.