I was raised in a Jewish home in the United States. My great grandfather fled to the US following persecution during pogroms in Eastern Europe in the late 1800s. Like most Jewish children, I was raised against a backdrop of fear – fear of persecution, especially from those who call themselves Christians.
For 2,000 years my Jewish people had been widely ostracised and smeared as those who had rejected Jesus and stood responsible for his cruel death, resulting in 2000 years of persecution as ‘Christ killers’.
This backdrop caused me to become very anti-Jesus. I would go so far as to say that I despised Jesus growing up. One of the first things I’d say to anyone who enquired into my Jewish beliefs would be, as my parents taught me, ‘I’m Jewish. I don’t believe in Jesus!’
