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WASHINGTON — Former presidential candidate Michele Bachmann called for an intensified effort to convert Jews to Christianity.Bachmann, a former congresswoman from Minnesota who ran for the Republican presidential nod in 2012, was in Israel last week on a tour organized by the Family Research Council, a conservative Christian group.Toward the end of the week, she spoke on FRC President Tony Perkins’ radio program, Washington Watch, and discussed the meaning of the recent intensification of violence in Israel and the West Bank. She cast the violence as a signal of the return of Jesus, which would necessitate mass conversions.“We recognize the shortness of the hour,” Bachmann said, “and that’s why we as a remnant want to be faithful in these days and do what it is that the Holy Spirit is speaking to each one of us, to be faithful in the Kingdom and to help bring in as many as we can — even among the Jews — share Jesus Christ with everyone that we possibly can because, again, He’s coming soon.”First to report Bachmann’s call was Right Wing Watch, a project of People for the American Way, a church-state separation advocacy group."A statement like Ms. Bachmann’s should serve to remind Jews that missionizing is, unfortunately, alive and well, and that we must always be on the lookout for it," said Agudath Israel of America spokesman Rabbi Avi Shafran. "It also should be a reminder of the importance of Jewish education, since the surest defense against missionizing is authentic Jewish knowledge."Sam Sokol contributed to this report.