Redemption in Paris: From Antisemitic Hate to Gospel Hope

In March of last year, our team was horrified to discover antisemitic graffiti scrawled across our storefront in Paris, France.

“We are used to receiving antisemitic insults or threats, but this graffiti was the biggest and most grotesque,” says then-Paris branch director Joshua Turnil. It was reminiscent of the Nazi-inspired caricatures of Jewish people from the 1930s.

The shocking vandalism occurred mid-afternoon on a busy street in broad daylight. The act was brazen, and, unfortunately, it stands as just another example of the painful reality facing the French Jewish community.

France has been one of the countries most affected by the surging antisemitism seen around the globe. Home to the third-largest Jewish population in the world after the US and Israel, France has seen rates of antisemitic incidents increase by over 200% in the last three years.¹

The graffiti on our building, however, had a result that surely the attacker never intended. It was picked up in the news and gave us wide media exposure. It also opened more doors for us to work in solidarity with the Jewish community to campaign against antisemitism. Through all of this, we were able to actively share the hope of Messiah and show our people that belief in Yeshua (Jesus) does not erase our Jewish identity.

In the year since the attack, we have seen unprecedented spiritual openness among Jewish people in France. More people are asking questions about Yeshua. It is probably no coincidence that since the vandalism on our branch, the number of our Jewish contacts who made first-time professions of faith in Yeshua has increased dramatically. By halfway through the year, we had already counted 10! Behind these numbers are real people, including Jacqueline,* David,* and Philippe,* whose stories offer a glimpse into what God is doing among Jewish people across France today.

As the months passed, it became clear that she truly believed in the Messiahship of Jesus.

Merely a few short weeks after the graffiti incident, Jacqueline first reached out to us looking for guidance regarding her Jewish-Gentile marriage. Jacqueline, a secular Jewish woman, is married to Serge,* a Catholic, and wanted to know how they could find spiritual harmony. Our Paris branch leader, Pascale Jones, studied Scripture with Jacqueline for the next several months. She also began meeting with more of our Paris team members, including Gaëlle Pecoraro and Johann Lussange. Gradually, her fears about losing her Jewish identity or disappointing her Jewish parents began to subside. As the months passed, it became clear that she truly believed in the Messiahship of Jesus. But she was counting the cost of giving him her life.

By mid-February of this year, she surrendered her life to the Lord, praying a prayer of repentance with our missionary Johann. As she prayed, she insisted on twice repeating the words, “I receive Yeshua as my Lord and Savior.” Hallelujah!

This past spring, David, an educated secular Jewish man in his 40s, came to our office after discovering our SO BE IT! videos. Johann explained to him that as Jews for Jesus, we believe Jesus is the Messiah. Nevertheless, we are born Jewish, will remain Jewish all our lives, and will die Jewish. David immediately grasped the concept and became very open-minded. Johann then read Isaiah 53 to David and shared the gospel. Then Johann asked David to read a prayer of repentance and share what he thought. David agreed with and prayed the words himself––with tears!

In March of this year, Philippe emailed us having discovered our YouTube channel two weeks earlier. Raised secularly by his Israeli-Jewish mother and Catholic father, Philippe had been moved to seek Yeshua after watching the film The Passion of the Christ. Our missionary Johann phoned Philippe, and during their first conversation, Johann shared the gospel and asked if Philippe would like to pray to receive Yeshua as Lord and Savior. Philippe joyfully and tearfully accepted and gave his life to the Lord. Amen!

Our team continues to disciple all three of these new believers as well as others who have come to faith this year. As painful as the antisemitic graffiti was to our team, we are reminded of the words of 2 Corinthians 12:10: “For the sake of [Messiah], then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

We are so grateful for how the Lord used what the enemy meant for evil to bring the gospel to Jewish people in France. Thank you for standing with us in prayer and for partnering with us in this kingdom work at this crucial time.

Please continue to lift up our team in France in prayer, for their safety and endurance. Pray for Jacqueline, David, Philippe, and all of the other new believers we are discipling to grow in faith to spiritual maturity. May the Lord use their testimonies mightily to reach other Jewish people with the gospel!

*Name has been changed to protect privacy.

1. Vincent Reynier, “France sees as sharp rise in anti-Jewish, anti-Christian and anti-Muslim acts, says government,” euro news, May 29, 2026.