It was finally removed after swift condemnation from both Jewish organizations and Christian leaders who accused the Vatican of historical revisionism.
By JBN News
The Vatican has finally removed a controversial nativity scene after facing backlaVash over its portrayal of Jesus as a Palestinian.
In a ceremony at Paul VI Hall last weekend, Pope Francis dedicated a display of the infant Jesus wrapped in a keffiyeh alongside PLO executive committee member Ramzi Khouri.
“Enough wars, enough violence,” said Pope Francis at the time. “Let us remember the brothers and sisters who are suffering from the tragedy of war right there and in other parts of the world. With tears in our eyes, let us raise our prayer for peace.”
It was finally removed on Monday after swift condemnation from both Jewish organizations and Christian leaders who accused the Vatican of historical revisionism.
“Disturbed by the Vatican display of a Palestinian-made nativity scene featuring Jesus in a keffiyeh, and the Pope’s appearance with it,” B’nai B’rith International wrote on X. “This isn’t just politicization, but revisionism. It presents (only) Palestinians as innocent victims – and Jesus as a Palestinian, not a Jew.”
David Parsons, senior vice president of the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, expressed relief over its removal, saying it undermines core tenets of the Christian faith.
“Indeed, millions of Christians worldwide were instantly incensed by this exhibit ahead of the Christmas season. The Vatican did the right thing in taking it down,” he said. “It would be theological malpractice for the Holy See to allow this display to remain. For if Jesus was a Palestinian Arab, then he would not have qualified to be Christ, the promised messiah and savior of the world.”
The notion of Jesus being Palestinian is a modern political fabrication that ignores basic historical fact. Jesus was born a Jew in Judea, lived as a Jew, and died as one under Roman rule. The term “Palestine” wouldn’t even exist in the region until Roman colonizers renamed Judaea long after Jesus’s crucifixion.