‘Fake rabbi’ uses Jews.com billboards to target Jews for conversion

The website initially presents material about Hebrew scripture before directing visitors toward Christian teachings about Jesus.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

A Christian missionary organization placed billboards promoting Jews.com across New York City and parts of New Jersey in August and early September 2026 as part of a campaign aimed at persuading Jews to accept Jesus as the Messiah.

The advertisements, which prominently display the Jews.com domain, have appeared in heavily Jewish neighborhoods in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and New Jersey.

The website initially presents material about Hebrew scripture before directing visitors toward Christian teachings about Jesus.

The campaign is led by “Rabbi” Messianic Evangelist K.A. Schneider, an American television host who runs the organization Discovering The Jewish Jesus.

Schneider, who frequently appears wearing a kippah and tallit, was born to Jewish parents in Ohio but is not a rabbi and has never been ordained as one.

He publicly identifies as a Christian and has described himself as a messianic Jew who “came to Jesus.”

Articles, videos, and question-and-answer features by “Rabbi” Kurt Schneider begin with passages from the Torah before introducing arguments for accepting Jesus as the Messiah and urging Jewish readers to reconsider their beliefs.

In one example, Schneider discusses hassidic Jews and the role of rebbes as intermediaries before telling viewers that “Jesus is the true intermediary; he can bring you into a direct personal relationship with [God].”

Discovering The Jewish Jesus also funds missionary activity directed at Jews in Israel and Africa. In Israel, the organization has used Hebrew-language billboards carrying the question, “What if he is right?”

Jewish communal and religious groups have criticized the Jews.com campaign as deceptive and described Schneider as a “fake rabbi,” objecting to the use of Jewish religious imagery and terminology to promote Christian beliefs.

Mainstream Judaism rejects the belief that Jesus is the Messiah as incompatible with Jewish faith.

The campaign has also attracted criticism because its advertisements have appeared alongside Jewish identity campaigns, including Chabad’s “Born to be a Yid” initiative and billboards from JewBelong.