A father and son practicing as Orthodox rabbis in America have been accused by anti-missionary investigators of being secret evangelical Christians, the British Jewish Chronicle reported.
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According to the report, the claims regarding Michael and Calev Isaacson – who have changed their family name from Dawson — would cause disastrous halachic problems for the Jewish community if true.
The two men reportedly performed sacred rituals such as writing Torah scrolls, washing the dead, and conducting weddings, divorces and even conversions.
Investigators allege neither man is Jewish, making any rituals in which they took part invalid, the Jewish Chronicle reported.
They two are suspected of being a "sleeper cell" of evangelical Christians who may ultimately attempt to make aliyah and embed themselves within Israeli society, the report continued.
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"Extensive research" has found that the Isaacsons, who have been accepted and welcomed in a number of Orthodox Jewish communities across the US, has reportedly "shown no evidence of traceable Jewish heritage or any official conversion by members of the Isaacson family," according to the Jewish Chronicle.
An investigation by the Jewish Chronicle revealed that Michael Dawson grew up in a Lutheran home and he and his wife were married in a Lutheran wedding.
An aunt of Michael Isaacson was shocked to hear about his professed Jewish identity, telling the Jewish Chronicle she found his claims over his background "bizarre".
There is no evidence that the Isaacsons are attempting to convert Jews to Christianity, but, it should be noted, they have also refused to renounce their belief in Jesus.
The Isaacsons currently reside in Phoenix, Arizona. The family was based in Texas between 2014 and 2016, when Michael Isaacson worked as a supervisor in the Houston Kashrut Association.
They have also lived as Orthodox Jews in Portland, Oregon and Milwaukee.
Investigators at anti-missionary organization Beynenyu claim the family always moves to a different location once confronted by suspicious rabbis and fellow members of their community.
According to a letter sent by investigators at Beyneynu to the Chief Rabbinate's office in Israel, the Jewish Chronicle reported, the Isaacson family was questioned in the past by suspicious rabbis who had heard rumors of their Christianity. The letter said: "They do not deny their beliefs in Jesus and give detailed explanations regarding their belief that Jesus is the Jewish messiah."
Beyneynu says that immediately after these confrontations, they have more than once fled the community, only to resurface elsewhere.
During their travels, the family has reportedly acquired documentation from rabbinical authorities attesting to their Jewish identity without proper checks being made to ensure their claims were accurate. This has enabled them to build an identity as Jews, which Beyneynu fears they plan to use eventually to immigrate to Israel.
Talking to the Jewish Chronicle, an Orthodox teacher in America who wished to remain anonymous, said he met Michael Isaacson and his wife, Summer, multiple times.
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"I would have no reason to suspect that they were anything more than just sort of California-style Ba'ale Teshuva," he said.
He believes their ultimate aim is to create "a backstory" that will allow their children to marry Jews. Ultimately, he told the Jewish Chronicle, he thinks they are part of a wider Messianic plan to create a sleeper-cell of fake religious Jews in Israel.
"There is some movement afoot… for some reason, they need there to be an Orthodox looking, observant, Christian body in Israel. I don't know exactly how this fits into their Messianic scheme, or the whys, but this seems to be what they're doing.
"It's very important that they all become rabbis, that they all have beards and payot (sidelocks) like they have to be full-on Haredi. It's very important that they all have this look, they do this dance, and yet they don't."
