B.Y.U. in Zion

A dozen Christian groups, ranging from Greek Orthodox to Evangelical Protestant, have long operated educational centers in Jerusalem without difficulty. So have the Mormons, but their local branch of Brigham Young University has now come under fire from Jews who fear that its real purpose is to serve as a center for convert-seeking missionaries.

B.Y.U.'s Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies opened quietly in 1968, operating in various rented quarters and offering semester-long courses to students from the main Utah campus. In 1980 the university was offered a long-term lease for its own campus on a plum site: a 6.6-acre plot near Hebrew University with a panoramic view of the ancient walled city. B.Y.U.'s plan, calling for a $15 million seven-story building, including a 500-seat concert hall, was approved by Israeli authorities in 1984. Now half finished, the structure is due to be completed by the spring of 1987.

The size and conspicuous location of the project helped bring the center to the attention of Israelis, particularly Orthodox Jews who are wary of Mormons' missionary zeal. "We are convinced that this group wishes to Mormonize the people of Israel," declared 96 Israeli intellectuals in newspaper ads urging a halt to construction. The nation's two chief rabbis called for a mass rally against the center, and protests by black-hatted, ultra-Orthodox demonstrators have become commonplace at the site. Mayor Teddy Kollek, who approved the project, and the center's Mormon director have even received death threats. Last week 40 rabbis from communities outside Jerusalem joined the growing protest by picketing the office of Prime Minister Shimon Peres.

To calm the waters, B.Y.U. President Jeffrey Holland went to Israel and pledged last August that any Mormon teacher or student who proselytizes will be sent home. Church President Ezra Taft Benson last week wrote to Kollek, promising that Mormons will honor all Israeli laws. These commitments have not mollified Rabbi Moshe Porush of Yad 1'Achim (A Hand to the Brothers), an antimissionary organization that is spearheading the protests. He points to a 1979 Mormon handbook on how to convert Jews, which the church says is no longer in use.

Responding to the growing pressure, a committee of the Israeli Knesset (parliament) wants the project halted, and a special government panel is pondering what to do. Meanwhile, several influential Israelis have come to B.Y.U.'s defense. Mayor Kollek stated last week that all faiths "should be free to practice their own religion among their own people here in Jerusalem." Former Foreign Minister Abba Eban declared that the "free exercise of conscience and dissent in a democratic society" is at stake.