JPost (Christian edition) on PMW report: PA depicts Jesus as Palestinian
JPost Christian edition on PMW report:
PA depicts Jesus as Palestinian
Headline: A Palestinian Jesus for Palestinian Victimhood
"We celebrate the birth of Jesus, a Palestinian messenger of love, justice and peace."
These are the words of Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, spoken in recognition of Christmas 2014, and reported in a Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) bulletin titled “PA: Jesus was a Palestinian” published on 12/28/14.
The claim that Jesus was a Palestinian is certainly startling news to traditional Christians who read the Scriptural account of Jesus' birth every Christmas, but for Palestinians, this biblical revisionism is nothing new. Every year at Christmas time, Fatah and Palestinian Authority (PA) officials identify with Jesus as a Palestinian.
For example, Abbas's adviser on religious and Islamic affairs and PA Supreme Sharia Judge Mahmoud Al-Habbash states: "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."
This outrageous assertion is made in spite of the fact that the biblical text identifies Jesus as the son of a Jewish mother and as a Jewish resident of Judea, who together with his parents celebrated Jewish festivals annually in Jerusalem.
This preposterous declaration is also made in spite of the reality that the geographical designation of “Palestine” did not exist during the lifetime of Jesus. It was years after Jesus' death before the name of Judea was changed to “Palestina” by the occupying Roman Empire in its efforts to wipe out the history of the Jews in Judea.
But such certainties are blatantly disregarded for the sake of constructing a Palestinian narrative designed to delegitimize and demonize Israel. According to this story, Jesus was the first Palestinian martyr and the first Palestinian refugee. In other words, just as first century Jews persecuted Jesus, the Jewish State now persecutes Palestinians, the purported descendants of Jesus.
The exploitation of Christianity by the PA in its religious/political campaign against Israel reached new depths when Pope Francis visited Bethlehem in May 2014. As documented by PMW, the pope was treated to an art exhibit prepared especially for his arrival that modified classical Christian art in order to present Jesus as a suffering Palestinian martyr...
[http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_context=7&x_issue=45&x_article=2943]