This Christmas season President Abbas' Fatah Party and leaders of his Palestinian Authority government revived an old falsehood: Jesus Christ was a Palestinian. This is despite the fact that the Romans did not change the name of Judea to Syria-Palestina until after the Bar Kochba revolt in 135 CE, approximately a century after Jesus.
Most Christians would tell you that Jesus was born and raised a Jew. Most of the first Christians considered themselves Jews. But during the month of December, Palestinian leaders claimed the Christian Messiah was one of their own.
All the translations below are from Palestinian Media Watch.
Broadcast on December 7 on the official Palestinian TV station, the District Governor of Ramallah and El-Bireh, Dr. Laila Ghannam, told viewers to enjoy the Christmas holiday:
We are standing here, Muslims and Christians, in Yasser Arafat Square, [named after] the symbol of our cause, to celebrate Christmas. So too we will stand united to celebrate victory, far off as it may be. Merry Christmas, let's celebrate and be merry; Jesus the Messiah is Palestinian, and we are Palestinians and will continue to hold our heads high.
Fatah Central Committee member Dr. Saeb Erekat and District Governor of Jericho and the Jordan Valley Majed Al-Fatiani, lit up the Christmas tree in central Jericho on Monday [Dec. 15, 2014] evening... Erekat said that several days ago, Fatah Revolutionary Council member Ziyad Abu Ein had lit up an olive tree with his pure blood, thereby joining the procession of [Palestinian] Martyrs (Shahids), and added: 'Shouldn't it be so, since the first Martyr, the first Palestinian, Jesus, peace be upon him, was from among us?
Mahmoud Al-Habbash, the Supreme Shari'ah Judge and Mahmoud Abbas' Advisor on Religious and Islamic Affairs... noted that 'We believe in our lord Jesus, peace be upon him, and in his gospel, his prophecy, and his sanctity. In keeping with his creed, we celebrate his birth day just as we do that of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, because all prophets are brothers. In addition, 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.
We celebrate the birth of Jesus, a Palestinian messenger of love, justice and peace, which has guided millions from the moment that his message came out from a small grotto in Bethlehem over 2000 years ago. His message resonates among all of those who are seeking justice and among our people who have been the guardians of the holy sites for generations. It resonates in our prayers for our people in Gaza.
