Interview

This page is an informal, self-written interview meant to answer the questions readers most often ask—about faith, identity, writing, and why a Jewish Israeli believes in Jesus. Some answers are serious. Some are playful. All are honest.

Q: Are you Jewish or Christian?
A: Yes.

Q: Who are you exactly, and what are your religious beliefs?
A: I believe in the faith of my Jewish forefathers, and the books that my people created, which is the entire Bible, the Old and New Testaments. Some would call me an Evangelical Baptist Christian Jew. Some would prefer the term Messianic Jew, as I keep the Jewish biblical holidays rather than the Christian ones and maintain a Jewish identity. To me, however, which label you put on me doesn’t really matter. I was born in Sweden as the grandson of a holocaust refugee from Germany, and I moved to Israel at the age of 13. I am in my 40s, and I live in Jerusalem with my wife, four children, and dog.

Q: How can you believe in Jesus if you’re Jewish?
A: I am a fourth-generation Jew who believe in Jesus. It’s more common than many people think.

Q: But the Jews rejected Jesus.
A: Incorrect. Not all of them. I didn’t reject him. My father, grandfather and great grandmother didn’t. The disciples didn’t. Paul the apostle didn’t. Michael Solomon Alexander, the Jewish Anglican bishop to Jerusalem in 1841 – 1845 didn’t. Benjamin Disraeli, Jewish Christian Prime Minister of the United Kingdom 1874 – 1880 didn’t. Felix Mendelssohn didn’t.

Q: But a majority of the Jews rejected Jesus and reject him to this day.
A: True. And a majority of the gentiles also rejected Jesus and continue to reject him to this day.

Q: Why should I want to read your articles, stories, and books?
A: Because I write for readers who are curious, thoughtful, and not afraid to wrestle with faith and history.

Q: When is your first book coming out?
A: I’m currently writing my first traditionally published book. It’s a devotional that will be published by Bethany House in 2028.

Q: Why do you speak so much about Israel?
A: Because Israel is my home. I live here, raise my family here, and read the Bible here. It would be strange if it didn’t shape my writing.

Q: Why do you say Jesus and not Yeshua?
A: It’s his name in English. When I speak Hebrew I say Yeshua. If I find myself in a Messianic English-speaking context where Yeshua is the common way to refer to Him, I will adapt.

Q: Do readers need to understand Hebrew?
A: As long as my book is in English and goes from left to right, then no. My goal is to make Hebrew accessible for readers who don’t know a single Hebrew letter.

Q: Why do you write about Hebrew instead of just teaching Hebrew?
A: Because my goal isn’t to teach people a language. It’s to help them read the Bible more deeply. Hebrew is a tool, not the destination.

Q: What do you think about the Israel-Palestinian conflict?
A: That’s a much longer answer than fits in a Q&A page. I generally prefer writing about history, faith, and the Bible rather than commenting on today’s political debates. There are other online writers who speak to this a lot better than I do.

Q: What do you think of (insert political issue)?
A: I reserve those opinions for the ballot box.

Q: Free Palestine!
A: Blocked.

Q: You only started writing in your late 30s? What did you do in the earlier part of your life?
A: I am an accountant with a BA in Economics and two professional licenses in accounting and payroll administration in Israel. I spent my twenties and most of my thirties advancing professionally and making babies with my wife. Once those babies grew into teenagers and young adults, and I had fulfilled all my professional ambitions, I finally started pursuing my crazy dream of becoming a writer. I had told myself I would be a published author and a marathon runner before my 40th birthday. It turns out both are harder than they look. I ran my first marathon in 2023, and my first book comes out in 2028—so I did manage both before turning 50.

Q: How many languages do you speak?
A: Fluently? Still only the same three I spoke when I was eighteen: English, Swedish, and Hebrew. I’ve tried learning Arabic a number of times, have some basic knowledge of French and Spanish, and have studied New Testament Greek. If we’re counting languages I can read or understand reasonably well without speaking, I’d add Danish and Norwegian—and perhaps Biblical Hebrew, if you consider it a separate language from Modern Hebrew, and perhaps some basic Biblical Aramaic. Latin is also surprisingly approachable once you know a bit of French and Spanish. My wife has studied Russian and Korean, and her German is far better than mine. We share the goal of speaking ten languages before we die—but not necessarily the same ten.

Q: Who are you writing for?
A: Evangelical Christians who love the Bible and want to understand it more deeply—especially its Jewish language, land, and history—without needing academic training or political alignment.

Q: You’ve never taken a professional writing class, you’re growing a beer belly, and you will never be able to write as well as *insert huge international bestseller here*
A: Well, hello there inner critical voice who tries to push me down, pointing out all my insecurities. You know what? I’m not afraid of you anymore. I’m even going to spell out what you told me on the interview page of my website. How’s that? Hah! (Also, I’m shrinking, not growing that belly, thankyou very much).

Q: What is that mountain on the top logo?
A: That is mount Arbel above the lake of Galilee. It’s a beautiful cliff filled with caves that is stretched right above Magdala. There are numerous amazing stories about things happening on that cliff, from the Assyrian era to the 18th century.

Q: Do you have other published authors in your family?
A: Apparently writing runs in the family. My grandfather, Heinrich Pollack, who fled from Berlin to Sweden in 1939, published his memoirs in German in 2007, “Deine Treue Ist Gross”. His grandfather, Saweli M. Perlmann, wrote several books on the Jews in China. He wrote in German, English and Hebrew (first ever book in Hebrew about China, published in London in 1911). My grandfather’s aunt, Erna Meyer, came to the British mandate to Palestine as part of the 4th immigration wave in the 1930s, and wrote for Wizo. She wrote the first ever cooking book in Hebrew (with English and German next to it) in 1936, where she encouraged “Zionist cooking”, telling the German Jewish housewives to use local products from kibbutzim rather than importing ingredients from nazi Germany. Another relative, Walter Pollack, wrote on the philosophy of science and moved in intellectual circles that included Albert Einstein. Judge Heinrich Pollack published works on the history of the European witch trials. Several other relatives have written memoirs, local history, and historical studies over the years. Do I feel any pressure to become a writer? Not at all…

Q: Which Bible translation are you using in your books?
A: I generally use the NIV, unless otherwise stated. Sometimes I need to make a point pertaining to the Hebrew that comes forward better in a different translation.

Q: Is it true you wrote a book about Israelis being jerks?
A: No, but wrote a non-fiction manuscript a few years ago exploring God’s grace through the messiness of Israeli society. I’ve since recycled many of its ideas into articles and other writing, so I doubt it will ever be published in its original form.

Q: I hate your writing. It’s horrible.
A: Great! I love getting constructive criticism. Please let me know what you disliked, and if there’s anything I can do to fix it. No tiptoeing. Be upfront. I can take it.

Q: Is it true you wrote a historical fiction starting in 2015 and failed finding a publisher?
A: Yes. Turns out that being a debut writer, writing a book of 700-page novel exploring the historical foundations of the Christian faith in the language of a tiny and very secular nation (Sweden) was an unwise move. Who knew? I rewrote about half of it and made it a book in English, and the other half will, God willing, eventually become part 2 of the trilogy. Some day. Maybe.

Q: When did you switch from fiction to non-fiction?
A: It wasn’t on purpose. I started writing articles to get a little extra income and noticed people like my writing. And then just one thing led to another. Before I knew it, I got an agent who wanted me to write non-fiction instead of fiction, and here we are.

Q: I am a journalist and…
A: Yes, the answer is yes, I’d love for you to interview me on the front page and make me world famous.
Q: That’s not what I…
A: Just book me a flight from Tel-Aviv to your glamorous office in London or New York, and I’ll be there. Email me the details.
Q: I just wanted to…
A: See you in London!

Q: Who wrote all these questions?
A: Me. This entire page is essentially just a weird internal monologue with myself. I might be losing my mind.

Q: You are extremely handsome and talented.
A: Thankyou.

If you have additional questions, send them through my contact page, and they may appear here.