Jesus the Palestinian? Kidnapping the Christ for Political Theater

Last updated on: January 22, 2019 at 3:56 pm by Kathy Schiffer

Jesus the Palestinian? Kidnapping the Christ for Political Theater 2019-01-22T15:56:55-05:00 Kathy Schiffer

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

This Christmas, Palestinian Authority officials are celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ and claiming him as a fellow Palestinian–even though the state of Palestine did not exist at the time of Christ. He is, they claim, their first martyr.

According to WorldNetDaily:

Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

Last week, for example, PA President Mahmoud Abbas stated, “We celebrate the birth of Jesus, a Palestinian messenger of love, justice and peace.”

Palestinian Media Watch notes that Abbas’ Advisor on Religious and Islamic Affairs Mahmoud Al-Habbash announced, “Christmas is also a Palestinian holiday, because Jesus, peace be upon him, was Palestinian. He was born in Palestine; lived and was sent [as prophet] to Palestine. Therefore, Christmas has a special Palestinian flavor.’”

Ramallah’s District Governor Laila Ghannam further expressed her hope for “victory, far off as it may be” and encouraged Palestinians to “be merry” and celebrate Christmas as, “Jesus the Messiah is Palestinian,” documented PMW.

On his Facebook page, Adnan Al-Damiri, the official spokesman of the PA Security Forces, wrote last week that at Christmas we celebrate “the anniversary of love and peace, the birth day of Jesus the Palestinian.”

The theme of the Christmas Eve celebration on the West Bank this year was “All I Want for Christmas Is Justice.” And PA President Mahmoud Abbas unabashedly claimed the newborn King as political pawn. Abbas is quoted in the Jerusalem Post:

“Jesus’ message resonates in our prayers for our people in our capital Jerusalem, who continue to resist the Israeli attempts to turn the city into an exclusive Jewish place…. The mosques and the churches of Jerusalem will continue to remind the world of the Palestinian, Arab, and Christian and Muslim identity of the city. Justice means ending the Israeli occupation of East Jerusalem, an integral part of the State of Palestine on the basis of the 1967 border.”

THE THING IS, PALESTINE DIDN’T EVEN EXIST until at least 100 years after Jesus’ death, when his birthplace of Judea was renamed Palestine. In fact, modern-day Palestinians didn’t even adopt that name until the 20th century.

In the New Testament, the Jerusalem Post clarifies, the text defines Jesus as a Jewish resident of Judea.

* * * * *

The usurpation of Christian figures to enhance a nation’s political standing is not new to the Palestinians. I am reminded of the dispute which erupted at the time of Mother Teresa’s 2003 beatification. At that time, both Macedonia and Albania claimed the diminutive nun as their own. In fact, she was born in Skopje, in what was then the Ottoman Empire; and present-day Macedonia and neighboring Albania did not even exist.

The Centre for Peace in the Balkans explains the story. Agnesa Gonxha Bojaxhiu (Mother Teresa) was born in 1910:

“….to parents who had moved to Skopje from Kosovo. Her mother was an ethnic Albanian, but her father was of unknown background, giving rise to a debate, which the future saint never bothered to resolve in her lifetime. It has led to friction between Macedonia and Albania, and it also has created fresh tensions between ethnic Albanians and Macedonians in Skopje itself.

Sulyman Rushiti of the Albanian Democratic Party representing Macedonia’s ethnic Albanians, said the “whole world knows Mother Teresa as Albanian, just as they know that the pope is Polish.” Albanians are furious about a statue of Mother Teresa that the Macedonian government plans to give to Rome to celebrate her beatification.

Risto Penov, the mayor of Skopje, where she lived until she was 18, says he sees nothing wrong in the statue, as Mother Teresa herself never made a difference between ethnicity of nations.

Macedonians are irked that Albania, which the nun visited only once during her lifetime, is claiming her as its own.”

Albania declared 2004 “Mother Teresa Year” and created a national holiday in her honor.

Palestinian Authority

Previous Post

December 29, 2014

Episcopal Bishop Heather Cook in Fatal Hit-and-Run in Baltimore

Next Post

December 30, 2014 St. Egwin? I've Never Heard of Him, But Today's His Feast Day

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category #Synod14 Abortion Abstinence Abuse Addiction Adoption Advent Adventure Advertising Aging Agnosticism All Saints Day All Souls Day Amish Anathema Angels Anglican Animals Annulment Annunciation Apocalypse Apologetics Apostles Apostleship of the Sea Apparitions Archangels Archbishop Cordileone Archbishop Dolan Archbishop Vigneron Archeology Architecture Art Art Buchwald Ash Wednesday Assisted Suicide Astronauts Atheism Athletes Babies Baptism Beatification Beauty Bible Biochemistry Bioethics Birds Bishop Lori Bishops Blasphemy Books Canon Law Canonization Capital Punishment Cardinal Burke Cardinal Dolan Cardinal George Caritas Catechesis Catechism of the Catholic Church Catholic Catholic Education Catholic Higher Education Catholic Social Teaching Celibacy Cemeteries Character Charity Chastity Cheapskate Christian Unity Christmas Churches Civil Rights Cloning Comedy Communion of Saints Community Kitchens Confession Confirmation Conscience Consequences Consistory Constitution Contraception Conversion Cooking Councils of the Church Creativity Criminal Justice Cristero War Crucifixion Crystal Cathedral Culture Death Death and Dying Death Penalty Department of Health and Human Services Diaconate Dictatorship of Relativism Dignity Disability Discrimination Dissidence Divorce Doctors of the Church Early Church Fathers Easter Economics Ecumenism Education Encyclicals Environmentalism Episcopal Church Eucharist Euthanasia Evangelism Evangelists Evangelization Evolution Excuses Facebook Faith Families Family Fashion Fasting Fatherhood Federal Government Feminism Fiction Film First Amendment First Communion For Greater Glory Forgiveness Free Speech Friends Friendship Gender Discrimination Germany Gnosticism Good Friday Government Grace Greed Gregorian Calendar Happiness Health Heaven Heresy History Holidays Holiness Hollywood Holy Land Holy Saturday Holy Spirit Holy Week Holy Year Home Sweet Home Homosexuality Hope Humanism Humility Humor Imagination Immaculate Conception Immigration Impulsivity In Vitro Fertilization Incarnation Indulgences Infallibility Internet Islam Italy Jerusalem Jesus Judaism Justice Kathleen Sebelius Labor Movement LCWR Lent Life Literature Liturgy Lourdes Love Magi Marketing Marriage Martyrdom Martyrs Mary Mass Media Medical Ethics Mexico Michigan Miracles Missionaries Modernism Modesty Monks Monothelitism Motherhood Movies Mushrooms Music Muslim Mystery Mysticism Mythology Nativity Natural Law Nature New Evangelization New Media New Year New Year's Resolutions Nostalgia Obscenity Occult Old Testament Origen Orthodox Orvieto Pallium Papacy Parenting Patience Patriarch Bartholomew Patriotism Peace Peace and Justice Penitence Pentecost People Persecution Philosophy Poetry Political activism Political Correctness Politics Polls Pop Culture Pope Benedict XVI Pope Francis Pope John Paul II Pope John XXIII Pope Paul VI Pope St. Pius X Pope Urban VII Population Prayer Preaching Prejudice Pride Priesthood Pro-Life Protestantism Psychology Purgatory Queenship of Mary Racism Rape Real Presence Reconciliation Reformation Relics Religious Religious Liberty Reliquary Renewal Reproductive Technology Resurrection Rights Romance Rome Royalty Sacraments Sacred Heart Saints Satanism Science Science Fiction Scripture Seal of Confession Secularism Seniors September 11 Seventy Times Seven Sexuality Sharks Sin Smoking Social Communications Social Justice Social Networking Social Sciences Space Exploration Spirituality Sports St. Luke St. Patrick's Day St. Paul St. Peter St. Teresa of Avila Stations of the Cross Steve Jobs Superstition Supreme Court Symbolism Synod Technology Teen Rebellion Television Terrorism Thankfulness Thanksgiving Theology Think This, Not That Tobit Toilets Toys Tradition Traditions Transplants Travel Trinity Twitter U.S. Air Force Uncategorized United Nations USCCB Valentine Vatican Vatican Archives Vatican Blogfest Virtue Vocations Where We Pray White Heart Women World Day of Social Communications World Meeting of Families World News World Youth Day Worship Writing Year of Consecrated Life Year of Faith Year of Mercy Youth

Select a Month December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

According to James, what is pure and undefiled religion?

Select your answer to see how you score.

To care for orphans and widows in their distress and keep oneself from being polluted by the world To pray without ceasing To obey all the commandments To love your neighbor as yourself