Tuesday, November 02, 2021
Father and son posing as Jewish Orthodox rabbis exposed as evangelical Christians
Michael and Calev Isaacson have performed sacred Jewish rituals including marriages and written holy scrolls and conversions for about 12 years. But the father-son duo who currently reside in Phoenix, Arizona, allegedly aren't even Jewish.
That's according to an investigation conducted by Beyneynu, a group combatting missionary influence in Israel, who believe the men changed their family name from Dawson to Isaacson.
The group has alleged that neither man is Jewish, making the rituals they have taken part in invalid. An additional investigation by the Jewish Chronicle found that the father, Michael, grew up in a Lutheran home, and was married in 1995 in a Lutheran church in Michigan.
They would later obtain a Jewish marriage certificate in 2013 from a Rabbi Rich in Dallas, having told him they became religious after their non-Jewish marriage.
Rabbi Rich has since told investigators he was unaware of their true background and would 'readily renounce his signature'.
Marlene Gruenfelder, Michael's 65-year-old aunt, said that he had been raised Lutheran, confirming 'No, my family is not Jewish'.
The aunt also denied claims made by Michael that his maternal side had Jewish roots, and that they spoke Swedish, not Yiddish like he claimed.
Similar claims made by Michael's wife Summer were also squashed by investigators, who found a genealogical report showing a string of Baptisms and Christian marriages in her family.
Yet the father and son, donning the last name Isaacson, have been accepted and welcomed in several Orthodox Jewish communities spanning several states including Texas, Oregon, Wisconsin and now Arizona.
Investigators with Beyneynu claim the family would relocate when confronted by suspicious rabbis or members of the community in fear that they would be found out.
Rabbis told the Chronicle they fear the family are Messianic Jews, who live as Orthodox Jews but maintain a belief that Jesus is the Messiah. Members of this group want to convert Jews to Christianity in the belief that will bring about the second coming.
Neither investigation concluded that the family has attempted to convert Jews to Christianity. In emails viewed by the Chronicle, the family also said they do 'reject missionary tactics and do not support any person or organization who seeks to target or convert Jews away from the Jewish faith, heritage and birthright'.
The family was not able to be reached for comment.
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