Hebrew Catholics - History

History

Hebrew Catholics are constituted of people with both Jewish and non-Jewish origins. Some are Jewish converts to Catholicism who live in Israel with Hebrew as a first language; the vast majority are the children of foreign workers who were already Catholics, but were born and grew up in Israel, and also have Hebrew as their first language. The main associations of the movement are the Association of Hebrew Catholics (AHC), Remnant Of Israel (ROI), and Miriam Bat Tzion. The AHC and the ROI are English-speaking organizations, and Miriam Bat Tzion is French-speaking. There is also a group of Spanish-speaking Jewish Catholics in Maracay.

According to David Moss (2000), the current president of the AHC, their number is around 10,000 people. The countries with the largest membership are the USA and Israel, but members are also found in Canada, France, Italy, Australia, Spain, England, Venezuela, Colombia, Argentina, Mexico, and Germany.

Hebrew Catholics should not be confused with Messianic Jews, who are independent Jewish Christian denominations, many of them Sabbatarian Protestants, some of whom celebrate Jewish holy days and emphasize Jewish elements of Christianity. Hebrew Catholics are in full communion with the Bishop of Rome and are not an independent movement, and may be either liberal or traditionalist.