"…Kay Wilson of whom my wife Julia and I have known for many
years. Indeed, Kay brought a team of
youngsters with her from Israel
under a group called 'Amiti' to our church near Middlesbrough
about 15 years ago. We then went into
schools to speak regarding Israel. Though Kay is British-born, she made Aliyah
in 1991. Apart from her being an Israeli tour guide, jazz musician and
cartoonist, she is now a lecturer for StandWithUs, OneFamily Together, MDA and
is registered at the Israel Speakers’ Agency."
(David Soakell, DavidSoakell.com, archived March 30, 2016)
AMITI was a Christian Messianic music project based out of Israel.
AMITI put on its first concert in K'far Saba in May 2001, and brought its first tour to the UK in November 2001, featuring Christian Messianic musical acts based out of Israel, including one called
Kishkooshay K [2][3][4].
"Way back in May, the Amiti 'baby' was born in to the world.
Over 250 Israelis crammed into a building in K'far Saba, Israel, to hear Dror
Lahat and Alon Grimberg perform. A rather insignificant demonstration by the
anti-defamation league (people who intimidate and persecute believers in Israel) was
quenched, as the name of Jesus was sung and proclaimed at full volume, much to
the delight of the participants."
(Amiti.co.il News, archived December 1, 2001)
"'Amiti' music (Hebrew for 'genuine') presents you with a first hand experience of what is happening today in the Israeli Body of Messiah, offering you a chance to listen to the very latest music which has all been written by Israelis… for Israeli."
(Amiti.co.il Menu, archived December 17, 2001)
“AMITI has proven to the UK that there is more to Israeli
music than just those dreaded minor chords and the token tambourine. Alon
Grimberg, Kishkooshay-K and Michelle Zeitun successfully raised (or should we
say raized?) the roof in over 14 venues in a two week AMITI tour of the UK.
The church in the UK
tasted real Israeli music and were properly awestruck as they experienced a 2
hour evening aglow with music, worship, testimony and teaching. People left the
building excited, thrilled and struck with a new song in their hearts, the
Brits were talking about the goodness of the Lord and opening their diaries for
the next UK
tour.”
(Amiti.co.il News, archived June 3, 2002)
From as early as November 21, 2001 to as late as September 5, 2005, the
AMITI.co.il Store sold CDs and cassettes by four Christian Messianic musical acts based out of Israel, including
Kishkooshay K [5][6].
- Dror Lahat: "Freedom"
- Kishkooshay K: "Way Beyond"
- Alon Grimberg: "Searching," and "Going To Sinai"
- The Ma'ayan Congregation: "There Is No Other Name"
(Amiti.co.il Store, archived November 21, 2001)
By October 4, 2002,
AMITI was promoting an imminent follow up tour of the UK for that October and November, which included
Kishkooshay K [7].
"Now is the time to get your diaries out and be sure not to
miss the imminent AMITI UK
tour. This time Andre Villeneuve, Gitit Ezaguori and Kishkooshay-K will be
bringing you fresh insights into the Hebrew Scriptures, authentic testimony and
the kind of worship music that Israelis really love. If none of this really
appeals then please come for the coffee and the cakes.
In our last UK
tour AMITI proved to the church that there is more to Israeli music than just
those dreaded minor chords and the token tambourine. Alon Grimberg,
Kishkooshay-K and Michelle Zeitun last year successfully raised (or should we
say raized?) the roof in over 14 venues..."
"Herein is the venue for the up and coming tour of the UK to
which you are all cordially invited. For more details please contact Bob or
Pennie Cranham at bookings@amiti.co.il or tel. UK 01737 270594"
(Amiti.co.il News, archived October 4, 2002)
Kishkooshay K's, or
K's, "Hebraic roots" teachings, cartoons, and musical contributions to
AMITI and to Christian Messianic music in Israel general were described in an
AMITI News post archived on October 2, 2003
[8].
"Kishkooshay-K… Up close and personal…
or ‘K’s Doodles’. Kishkooshay-K brings to life the Hebraic
roots of the Christian faith and among other many teachings shares gems from
the Hebrew Scriptures (sometimes with a stunning display of cartoons). Also
part of the AMITI music quartet, she is an accomplished pianist and almost
solely responsible for the expulsion into exile of the dreaded tambourine,
bringing instead authenticity to Israeli Messianic music and of course wherever
possible, a toe-tapping touch of jazz.
Pennie… Up close and personal…
Pennie is the heel on the shoe, the spoke in the wheel, the
feather on the bird, the mayonnaise in the sandwich… shall we go on? Without
Pennie’s tenacious spirit and determination to see truth proclaimed we wouldn’t
even be having an AMITI tour, in fact AMITI probably wouldn’t get out of Tel
Aviv thank-you-very-much. As well as volunteering her energies to AMITI Pennie
heads up her own ministry Enncompass that sheds Scriptural insight and Hebraic
thought as to how we ‘tick’ as people. After completing a Biblical Hebrew
course in Israel, Pennie is
now affiliated and working together with ‘Keren L’karen’ an indigenous Israeli
Messianic project linked with the Bible Translators in Israel which
seeks to provide emotional and spiritual healing for believers in distress. We
all thank Pennie from the bottom of our hearts!"
(Amiti.co.il News, archived October 2, 2003)
Archives of
AMITI's UK site were accessible as recently as June 2017, but have since been made inaccessible by robots.txt. However, a couple of screenshots mentioning
Kishkooshay K were taken before the archives of the site became unavailable.
The first screenshot captured part of a blog by an
AMITI correspondent, who described
Kishkooshay K as a female individual, as archived on October 26, 2005
[9].
"We met up with the Amiti team and a small but select group
of really lovely people in the foyer of the British Library. Kishkooshay-K
looked as though she’d put on a few grams."
(Jackie Stratton, Amiti.co.uk, archived October 26, 2005)
The second screenshot captured part of a blog by
AMITI's
Pennie Cranham, who described bringing Christian Messianic youths from Israel on a tour to the UK with
AMITI, and
Kishkooshay K's "Hebrew roots" involvement in that tour, as archived on October 13, 2006
[10].
"Youth Tour Report by Pennie Cranham
The visit coincided around the same time as the London bombings, which
was rather poignant. People were still stunned and shocked, and our Israeli
kids were amazed at how passive the reactions were and how uninformed everyone
seemed to be…
We began with an icebreaker, a multiple-choice quiz all
about Israel.
This was followed by one of Kishkooshay-K’s infamous Hebrew roots. The rest of
the evening was frame-worked around a couple of slide shows put to music,
showing the many aspects of what it is like to live in Israel as a young
believer. This was the catalyst for me to interview our team in pairs. It
proved to be a powerful method of communication. Most of the young people knew
about Israel
from what they see on the television or might read in a newspaper. Suddenly
they had real live young Israeli people standing in front of them! They could
hear what things were really like. Carmella and Adi shared about life in their
youth groups and how different the ‘dating’ scene was in Israel. They
also presented a clear picture of the difficulties of being a believer in Israel."
(Pennie Cranham, Amiti.co.uk, archived October 13, 2006)
Both
David Soakell (in 2016) and
Pennie Craham (in 2006) described
AMITI tours that brought youths from Israel to the UK between 2001-2006.
David Soakell described
"Kishkush" Kay Wilson's
participation in an
AMITI tour that brought youths from Israel to the UK.
Pennie Cranham described
Kishkooshay K's participation in an
AMITI tour that brought youths from Israel to the UK.
Kishkooshay K, as previously noted, was one of the four Christian Messianic musical acts based in Israel whose CDs were sold on the
AMITI site from November 2001 to September 2005. Her album was produced by
Pennie Cranham's husband,
Bob Cranham.
Kishkooshay K's Israeli Messianic Praise album called "Way Beyond" was released in 1996 on
Kishkoosh Records.
Kishkooshay K was credited with the Keyboards and Cover Design on the album.
Bob Cranham produced the album, and was credited with the Guitars and Banjo on the album. Both
Kishkooshay K and
Bob Cranham were credited with the Arrangements on the album
[11].
Words and music for the album's ten songs were credited to five different authors, one of whom was named Kay Wilson:
- Caroline Henry: "Yeshua Is Alive"
- Zipporah Bennett: "Arise O Lord"
- David Loden: "Everything Is Yours," and "High & Exalted Is The Messiah"
- Tony Sperandeo: "Our Wonderful Saviour," "Holy, Holy, Holy," and "There's No Other Name"
- Kay Wilson: "Hallelujah For The Lord God Reigns," and "He Will Wipe Every Tear"
The lyrics for
Kay Wilson's song "Hallelujah For The Lord God Reigns" are difficult to make out from the available screenshots of the album's notes. One of the legible lines reads, "to the One upon the throne and to the Lamb."
The lyrics for Kay Wilson's song "He Will Wipe Every Tear" read:
"He will wipe every tear,
Every tear from their eyes
And there shall be
no more pain,
mourning or death
For you are the Lamb
That was slain
The Victor! The One who makes
All things new!
All salvation and might
Here's to our God!"
Bob Cranham's website promoted the album he produced in 1996 for Kishkooshkay K as early as January 10, 2002, and had added the CD cover and album information by May 22, 2003 [12][13].
"Kishkooshay - K | WAY BEYOND
An instrumental album of Messianic praise songs written by
Israeli believers. Styles as different as jazz, country, soul, classical and
rock - "music as diverse as the people of Israel
themselves...." - all feature on this cd which has become one of the most
popular contemporary gospel albums in Israel. With his vast experience in
just about every musical style, Bob was Kishkooshay's first choice as producer."
(BobCranham.com, archived May 22, 2003)
Though
Bob Cranham's site still includes a page for the
Kishkooshay K album he produced, the album's cover and information were completely removed some time after the archive of that page of the site taken on July 27, 2013
[14][15].
Kishkooshay K was not the only
AMITI musical act whose album was produced by
Bob Cranham. He also produced the album "Freedom" by
Dror Lahat, as promoted on his site as early as December 8, 2002.
Dror Lahat, as previously noted, was among
AMITI's founding musical acts in 2001, and his CD was available through the
AMITI store along with
Kishkooshay K's album as early as November 2001
[16][17].
"Dror Lahat | FREEDOM
Twelve new songs from Israeli singer, Dror Lahat. Available
in both Hebrew and English versions, this album has touched many in the
Messianic congregations in Israel
and is having an impact on those who have not yet discovered a faith in Yeshua.
In addition, it has been the inspiration behind the new music ministry, AMITI,
which seeks to encourage an international awareness of all that is happening in
worship among local Arab and Jewish believers in the Holy
Land. A unique blend of Israeli and western musical styles, Dror
gives "special thanks to Bob for his wonderful arrangements." Thanks,
Dror. It was a blessing to be asked to produce such a ground-breaking album.
For further details of AMITI
email: kishkush@bezeqint.net or write to AMITI, POB 36412,
Tel Aviv, 61363, Israel."
(BobCranham.com, archived December 8, 2002)
Note that the bottom of
Bob Cranham's page for the
Dror Lahat album he produced says to email
kishkush@bezeqint.net for further details about
AMITI.
On October 22, 2009, a video was posted on YouTube featuring a recording by
Dror Lahat covering the song "[He Will Wipe] Every Tear" written by
Kay Wilson for
Kishkooshay K's album back in 1996. The person who posted the video explained that the song was written by
Kay Wilson, and that
Dror Lahat (
dror_lahat@yahoo.com) gave his permission to post the music video
[18].
In the years leading up to 2009,
"Kishkush" Kay Wilson worked for Shoresh Tours, a sub ministry of The Church's Ministry among Jewish People (CMJ), which is a missionary organization that targets Jews. The Shoresh Tours site has consistently stated that all its tour guides are "believers" since as far back as February 3, 1999
[19][20][21].
On July 1, 2008, a tourist posted a picture of his tour guide
"Kishkush" Kay Wilson, and described her as a "Messianic Jew and a wonderful sister in Christ."
On December 24, 2010, a tourist recounted the Shoresh tour
"Kishkush" Kay Wilson guided him and his two daughters on two years earlier, and described her as having a great love "of her Lord and savior"
[22].
"My parish has had over a decade of close ties with Christ
Church Jerusalem. I have taken three study tours with Shoresh, bringing my two,
then-high school-aged, daughters along on the last one, two years ago. Kay "Kishkush" Wilson
was our guide. My daughters in particular made friends with Kishkush, who has a
great gift for reaching young people, in addition to being a brilliant
expositor of the significance our Lord’s Jewishness to the proper understand of
what He reveals in scripture. You will learn things from her that you’ll never
get from a book. And there’s nothing to compare to learning it where it all
happened. Kay is a marvelous teacher with a great love for her adopted homeland
and her fellow Jews. And of her Lord and savior."
(KendallHarmon.com, comment posted December 24, 2010)
On July 12, 2010, a tourist posted a picture of her tour guide
"Kishkush" wearing a Messianic symbol that combines the Christian fish with a Magen David and a Menorah
[23][24].
On December 22, 2010, Leah Ortiz, wife of Ariel, Israel-based Christian Messianic pastor and missionary David Ortiz, described
"Kishkush" Kay Wilson as a "Jewish Messianic believer," and "well-known and loved by believers in Israel and outside Israel," in her coverage of the vicious Arab terrorist attack on
"Kishkush" Kay Wilson and murder of her American Christian friend
[25].
December 22, 2010
Happy holiday greetings to all!
We want to update you on a very tragic event that happened
this past Shabbat, and we appreciate your prayer for this situation. Kristine
Luken and Kay Susan Wilson, both believers in the Messiah, were hiking in an
area around Beit Shemesh (near Jerusalem)
when they were attacked by two men, allegedly Arabs. Both were brutally
stabbed, and Kristine was killed. Kay was badly wounded, but played dead until
the men left, at which time she was able to walk to a nearby parking lot where
she called out for help. She is currently in a hospital in Jerusalem recovering from severe wounds. More
on that later.
Kristine was an American living in England. She
was working for an organization called CMJ which reaches out to Jewish people
with the Gospel. Kay is a Jewish Messianic believer, an Israeli citizen and an
independent tour guide. She has often worked with Shoresh Tours in Jerusalem who are
affiliated with CMJ. Both women are well-known and loved by believers in Israel and outside of Israel.
(Leah Ortiz, AmiOrtiz.org, posted December 22, 2010)
That same day, the missionary Caspari Center's Media Review described
Kaye Susan Wilson as a former editor of the review in its coverage of the attack, and included quotes from various mainstream news articles that described
"Kishkush" Kay Wilson as "Messianic Jewish"
[26].
A 2006 issue (#46) of Caspari Center's Mishkan Magazine included a four page column by
K. Wilson, who reported on Messianic "News From The Israeli Scene." That
K. Wilson had an
AMITI UK
email address:
info@amiti.co.uk [27].
Much of the initial coverage of the barbaric Arab terrorist attack on
"Kishkush" Kay Wilson from mainstream Israeli and Christian Messianic websites and blogs in December 2010 identified her as a "Messianic Jew," as has been excellently documented in previously articles
[28][29][30].
To this day,
"Kishkush" Kay Wilson has still not come out with an explicit acknowledgement of her well documented Christian Messianic past and involvements, let alone renounced them.
[1] https://web.archive.org/web/20160330213112/https://davidsoakell.com/2016/03/30/standing-in-the-gap-for-israel-0331/
[2] https://web.archive.org/web/20011120120156/http://www.amiti.co.il:80/newspage.htm
[3] https://web.archive.org/web/20011217000846/http://www.amiti.co.il:80/menu.html
[4] https://web.archive.org/web/20020603072259/http://www.amiti.co.il:80/newspage.htm
[5] https://web.archive.org/web/20011121042904/http://www.amiti.co.il:80/catalog.html
[6] https://web.archive.org/web/20050905104800/http://www.amiti.co.il:80/catalog.html
[7] https://web.archive.org/web/20021004170020/http://www.amiti.co.il:80/newspage.htm
[8] https://web.archive.org/web/20031002134645/http://www.amiti.co.il:80/newspage.htm
[9] https://web.archive.org/web/20051026130730/http://www.amiti.co.uk:80/whatson_museum.htm
[10]
https://web.archive.org/web/20061013140610/http://www.amiti.co.uk:80/whatson_youthreport_1.htm
[11]
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Israeli-Messianic-Praise-Kishkooshay-k-Way-Beyond-Cassette-Tape-Rare-Vintage-/252759713173?rmvSB=true&clk_rvr_id=1276486736009&nma=true&si=h6qIFbr9tNhumLovs93jHVTy4r8%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557
[12]
https://web.archive.org/web/20020110183226/http://www.bobcranham.com:80/production.htm
[13]
https://web.archive.org/web/20030522122750/http://www.bobcranham.com:80/k.htm
[14]
https://web.archive.org/web/20130727055847/http://bobcranham.com/the-way.php
[15]
https://web.archive.org/web/20140812060750/http://bobcranham.com/the-way.php
[16]
https://web.archive.org/web/20020111145410/http://www.bobcranham.com:80/musictracks.htm
[17]
https://web.archive.org/web/20021208160756/http://www.bobcranham.com:80/dror.htm
[18]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4peiIKmChs
[19]
https://web.archive.org/web/19990203072324/http://www.cmj.org.uk:80/shoresh1.html
[20]
https://web.archive.org/web/20061207095905/http://www.cmj.org.uk:80/shoresh/index.html
[21]
https://web.archive.org/web/20080919164109/http://www.cmj.org.uk:80/shoresh/index.html
[22]
http://web.archive.org/web/20170715214153/http://kendallharmon.net/2010/12/very_sad_news_from_christ_church_jerusalem_an_attack_on_kristine_luken_and_/
[23] https://web.archive.org/web/20170807125806/http://sheilaspotpourri.blogspot.com/2010/07/
[24] http://web.archive.org/web/20170807130224/https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtfufRGvSeS3LlMNtP-KMLNLJmDKfXyYFiUbNjywVbWKbjzcJZDkLjU6Ua77MCGEH4Hn19ib7Wiv7LW67VbnJ09farxU5Lj4xZ6QQtFM2aaaUq7jMDCqbDB_yXNmgsKys6AuOv153Pjg/s1600/Israel_2010_A+045.JPG
[25] http://web.archive.org/web/20170807131058/https://amiortiz.org/leah-s-updates/blog/december-22-2010
[26] http://web.archive.org/web/20170807131323/https://www.caspari.com/2010/12/22/december-22-2010/
[27] http://web.archive.org/web/20170807131710/http://www.caspari.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/mishkan46.pdf
[28]
http://jewishisrael.ning.com/profiles/blogs/will-the-real-kishkush-please-stand-up
[29]
http://thejudeanhammer.blogspot.com/2017/05/kay-wilson-exposed.html
[30]
http://thejudeanhammer.blogspot.com/2017/05/kay-wilson-exposed-part-ii.html