By ARIEL COHEN, JPOST—
Just as he does every December, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, along with other PA officials, made the Christmastime claim that Jesus Christ was a Palestinian, rather than a Judean.
“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,” Abbas said in his annual holiday message. “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.”
Abbas cited Jesus’s peaceful message as an example to follow, especially in terms of Israeli-Palestinian relations, and many Arab Christians used the holiday to promote the message of peace. The theme of the Christmas Eve celebration in the West Bank this year was “All I Want for Christmas in Justice.
“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,” Abbas stressed. “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.”
Mahmoud Al-Habbash, the Supreme Shari’ah Judge and Mahmoud Abbas’ Adviser on Religious and Islamic Affairs joined the conversation, expressing the close ties between Palestine and the birth of Jesus CHrist.
“Christmas is also a Palestinian holiday, because Jesus, peace be upon him, was Palestinian. He was born in Palestine; lived and was sent to Palestine,” Al-Habbash said. “Therefore, Christmas has a special Palestinian flavor.'”
During the Christmas period, numerous other Palestinian officials also referred to Jesus as “the first Palestinian” and “the first Palestinian Martyr,” including PA Security spokesperson Adnan Al-Damiri, Fatah official Tawfiq Tirawi and Ramallah Governor El-Bireh Laila Ghannam.
In the new testament, text defines Jesus as a Jewish resident of Judea. The Roman Empire changed the name of “Judea” to “Palestine” one hundred years after Jesus’s death.
Actually, He was neither a so-called Palestinian nor a Judean. He was from Galilee, a totally different Roman province. He was born in Bethlehem, in modern-day Jordan, the city in which King David grew up, but most of His life was spent in Nazareth in Galilee, a bit to the north. After the reign of King Solomon, those two cities were in two different countries–Bethlehem was part of the southern Kingdom of Judah; Nazareth, the northern Kingdom of Israel. When Rome conquered the area, the two provinces remained separate–one ruled by Herod, the other by Pilate. But any check of His lineage in both Matthew and Luke’s gospels will show that He was of the Jewish people and faith, not an Edomite (Idumean/descendant of Esau) like most of the residents of modern-day Jordan, but of the tribe of Judah, and therefore of the lineage of Jacob, whose name was later changed to Israel.
Leadership in the so-called Church such as Rick Warren has no problem with Abbas’ statements about Jesus being Palestinian. This fits in very well with Warren’s ongoing promotion of heretical “Chrislam”. Abbas et. al. can see that the Church in America has been deceived, so seek to take advantage wherever possible.
Yahshua was a Judean which was why his parents were in Bethlehem for a census. Of course, the Lord had much to do with the timing of this census. The false claim that Yahshua was a Palestinian comes from the origin of the Palestinian peoples. They are not considered Arab by their Arab neighbors. That is because the Palestinians are from the Edomites/Idumean nations. Yes, they come from Esau. Remember Esau had 12 sons just as Jacob did. Only one of Jacob’s sons was Judah, who was assigned the area around Bethlehem. Benjamin’s offspring assimilated with Judah, as well as Levi, who had no land assigned. This makes up the southern kingdom from the days of Solomon. The northern kingdom was made up of 10 tribes, led by Ephraim. They were scattered across the world long before Judah was exiled to Persia(Babylon). Present-day Jordan is 75% Palestinian.
It was Esau who sold his birthrite for a bowl of beans. He left the Promised land for the east and southern land of Jordan. When Jacob returned from his self-imposed exile, he was fearful of the response from Esau, but Esau capitulated after seeing his gifts and wealth. However, Esau has always been jealous of Jacob’s blessings.
We all need to return to out Hebrew roots, not Jewish, but Hebrew which has been distorted by the Rabbinical tenets. That is why Yahshua chastised the Pharisees, who evolved into the Rabbais. The Sadducees evolved into the Kararite Rabbais of today.