There are currently just over seven million [7,000,000] people in the modern state of Israel. Israel's population is very diverse and heterodox. The political views of the people range from ultra-conservative "hawks" to leftist, liberal "doves." In regard to religion, viewpoints range from secular/agnostic/atheist, to Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox/Hasidic. There are also Christian and Moslem Israelis.
The opinions voiced in the article above are from the ultra-Orthodox viewpoint. However, the ultra-Orthodox are an extremely small minority in Israeli society. Also, it is necessary to place the viewpoints expressed in the article in a much larger context. Many Jews, irrespective of their religious and/or political stance, resent it when Christians attempt to convert them. For Jews, being a Jew is far different than being a Christian is for Christians. Even for secular Jews, Jewish identity involves, entails, much more than does Christian identity for Christians. Jewish identity involves a very profound level of awareness. Moreover, from a sheer numerical, or statistical, point of view, Jews are a small minority world-wide. There are over one billion Christians, and just about as many Moslems on Earth. There are very few Jews in comparison to Christians and Moslems. Many Jews view resistanace to religious conversion as literally a matter of life and death. Because there are so many Christians and Moslems, there is little or no need for them to feel threatened or intimidated by people who seek to convert them. But the situation is different for Jews. They are right to feel threatened because there are so few Jews in the world, relatively speaking.
I should say that I am neither an Israeli, nor a Jew, nor a Zionist. Although there is sometimes a certain overlap in these three terms, they are not equivalent to each other. Not all Israelis are Jews, and not all Jews are Zionists. Not all Zionists are Jews. And, of course, not all Jews are Israelis.
In short, modern Isaeli society is extremely complex, like all modern societies. Even though it is a small nation in geographic terms, there are profound regional differences. For example, Jerusalem is very different than Tel Aviv, or Haifa, or Jaffa, or Hebron etc. As for the Witnesses in Israel, the situation is complex for many historical and cultural reasons. There are many different attitudes towards the Witnesses in Israel. It behooves Witnesses to be aware of, and sensitive to, the cultural realities of the various societies in which they operate. In the case of Israel, there are a very solid historical and cultural explanations for the hostility that they encounter. In fact, the problem is not limited to Witnesses. All Christian evangelists should be sensitive to the situation of the soceties that they visit.
