“Palestinian Jesus” in Nativity Scene Spurs Backlash, Vatican Pulls
By: David R. Parsons, ICEJ Senior Vice President & Senior Spokesman
The International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ) expressed relief on Wednesday at reports the Vatican has removed a Nativity scene on its premises promoting the falsified myth of a “Palestinian Jesus” in response to the growing backlash against the controversial display.
“We are relieved at reports that the Vatican has decided to remove the provocative Nativity display with an infant Jesus resting on a black-and-white keffiyeh, an unmistakable symbol of Palestinian nationalism,” said David Parsons, Senior Vice President and Spokesman for the ICEJ. “This Crèche not only denigrated Jewish heritage, but it also undermined core tenets of the Christian faith. Indeed, millions of Christians worldwide were instantly incensed by this exhibit ahead of the Christmas season, and the Vatican did the right thing in taking it down.
“It would have been theological malpractice for the Holy See to allow this display to remain. For if Jesus was a Palestinian Arab, he would not have qualified to be the Christ, the promised Messiah, and Savior of the world,” Parsons explained. “The Hebrew and Christian Scriptures are clear that he would be the ‘Son of David,’ springing forth from the ‘root of Jesse,’ the least clan of the tribe of Judah. The New Testament affirms he was born in the ‘City of David,’ where the wise men came seeking him who was born ‘King of the Jews,’ not the rais of Ramallah.
“We hope the backlash to this offensive Nativity display will mark a turning point in Christian rejection of the ‘Palestinian Jesus,’ a deceptive narrative on a par with the Aryan Jesus in terms of its malicious intent toward the Jewish people,” added Parsons.
The appearance of Pope Francis in front of the Nativity scene last week drew fierce reactions from Christians and Jews worldwide, which came amid a recent series of similar negative messages toward Israel and the Jewish people emanating from the Vatican. For instance, last month, the Vatican released excerpts from an upcoming book of interviews with Pope Francis, which includes a call by the pontiff to probe whether Israel’s campaign against Hamas in Gaza amounts to genocide.
“If Israel were truly committing a genocide in Gaza, then why has the entire international community insisted that the Palestinian population remain there to be slaughtered?” said Parsons. “In any other instance worldwide, global leaders would have demanded the opening of humanitarian corridors to allow innocent civilians to flee the battlefield. In releasing this excerpt, the Vatican was mimicking the hideous blood libel being leveled at Israel by its enemies.”
In addition, even though the pope has met several times with family members of Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza and called for their release, he also wrote a letter to Middle Eastern Catholics on the first anniversary of the October 7 terror attack that never mentioned Hamas by name or made explicit reference to its atrocities, including the crime of taking hostages.
“Taken together, these actions by the papacy have signaled a disturbing ill-will toward the Jewish State and people. We commend the Vatican for changing its mind on the Nativity display and urge the pope’s handlers to also abandon any antisemitic messaging,” Parsons concluded.
For more on this topic:
1) Watch “The Christmas Story and Israel Today” with ICEJ Vice President & Senior Spokesperson David Parsons.
2) Watch “Was Israel Founded on Stolen Land?” by Susan Michael, ICEJ USA President and Creator of Israel Answers.
3. Read “Can There Ever Be Peace in the Middle East?” by Susan Michael, ICEJ USA President.