Sharing my thoughts after hearing an account of the the audience’s responses to our documentary, i was 8814, screened at the Museum of Jewish Heritage, A Living Memorial to the Holocaust, NYC, on August 2, 2026.

There were two main issues raised: 

• questions about a Jew following Jesus, and
• the idea of forgiveness

Hearing the audience’s responses after they viewed my life story was painful. Their words stayed with me, filling the screen of my mind.

But I was challenged to ponder and ask, Who am I? 

• DNA identifies me as an Ashkenazi Jew.
• I was born a German Jew.
• I was rescued from death by the Kindertransport.
• My parents were gassed in a truck in Poland.

Yes, I first heard the name of Jesus at the age of seven in the home of foster parents in the UK after being rescued by the Kindertransport. 

Yes, I was drawn to believe as a vulnerable child, at a time of great loss.

Nicholas Winston, the hero of the Czech Kindertransport, was criticized for placing Jewish children in Christian homes. He answered that his priority was saving Jewish children’s lives and placing them wherever a home was available. I landed among Christadelphians. 

In adolescence I questioned, and then rejected, the Christadelphian belief system where I had first heard the name Jesus. By my early twenties I became increasingly aware of my inner turmoil caused by the trauma of my childhood losses. Then came several years of searching.

But then He found me! I was an adult when I made a personal and thoughtful decision to open my heart to Jesus as my Messiah. 

The conviction was strong, but I felt alone, imagining there were no other Jews in the world who wanted to follow Him.

How wrong I was! Since then I have discovered long lists of Jews throughout history who believed the longed for Messiah is Jesus. His earliest followers were Jews.

Today we are a multitude!

Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger was the Jewish born Archbishop of Paris from 1981 to 2005. His mother was murdered in Auschwitz.

His body is buried in Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris. The memorial plaque marking his tomb is inscribed with his own words,

I was born Jewish

I received the name

Of my paternal grandfather, Aaron,

Having become Christian 

By faith and by Baptism,

I have remained Jewish

As did the Apostles…

Who are my heroes?

Edith Stein inspires me.

She was born into an Orthodox Jewish family, in Wroclaw, Poland. Her journey to becoming a Jesus follower began while  reading, in one night, the autobiography of Teresa of Avila (1515-1582) whose family had Jewish roots.

Edith Stein became a Carmelite nun. She was arrested with her sister in Holland on August 2, 1942. Her last recorded words to her sister Rosa were: Come, we are going for our people. 

They both were murdered in Auschwitz.

Judaism is a big tent, embracing many streams of belief, from Hasidic Judaism extending to Secular Judaism. 

As a Messianic Jew I belong to this company.