If you’ve been out of touch for some time, you might be surprised to learn about a narrative that has surfaced, claiming “Jesus was a Palestinian freedom fighter,” suggesting He led a revolt against – you guessed it – the Jews!
Some Muslims and even radical liberal Christians1 now publicly and proudly suggest Jesus was a “Palestinian freedom fighter,” attempting to justify their violent revolt against Jews and the state of Israel.
Facts First
The term “Palestine” originates from the ancient Greek word “Palaistinē” (Παλαιστίνη). In the 5th century BCE, the historian Herodotus used it to describe the region between Phoenicia and Egypt, encompassing parts of what is now Israel and Palestinian territories. This Greek term was derived from the earlier Hebrew “Pelesheth,” referring to the land of the Philistines.
Palestinians are NOT Philistines
The “Philistines” refers to an ancient people who settled on the southern coast of Canaan around the 12th century BCE. They are often depicted in the Hebrew Bible as adversaries of the Israelites. The name “Philistine” is derived from the Hebrew word פְּלִשְׁ, meaning invader.
The Philistines and modern-day Palestinians are two completely different and unrelated groups.
Free Palestine (…from the Jews)
The term “Palestine” was popularized by Roman Emperor Hadrian in the 2nd century CE, long after Jesus’s time. It was part of a broader effort to erase Jewish ties to the land of Israel following the Bar Kokhba revolt. The Gospels, written decades before Hadrian’s renaming, consistently describe Jesus as a Jew, specifically an Israelite from the tribe of Judah. He lived in Galilee and Judea, regions of ancient Israel.
Palestinian
The modern label “Palestinian” is a contemporary term popularized in the 19th century to describe primarily Muslim Arab communities in Gaza and the West Bank, as about 99.5% of all Palestinians are Sunni Muslims.
Palestinians have no historical connection to Jesus of Nazareth, a Jew who lived and ministered in a land identified at the time as ‘Israel’ or ‘Judea.’ Historically and Biblically, Jesus is portrayed as an Israelite Jew, not a “Palestinian” or Muslim (as believed in Islam that Jesus was a Muslim).
Judea
The word ‘Jew’ (YEHUDI) comes from ‘Judah’ (YEHUDA).
Judah was, according to the Book of Genesis, the fourth of the six sons of Jacob and Leah and the founder of the Tribe of Judah of the Israelites. Later, the Kingdom of Judah (or the Kingdom of the Jews) was an Israelite kingdom during the Iron Age. Its capital city was Jerusalem, and King David reigned over it.
Who Started The “Palestinian Jesus” Lie?
The rumor dates back to 2018 when Hamid Dabashi, a Professor of Islam and Iranian Studies at Columbia University with a Ph.D. in Islamic studies from the University of Pennsylvania, began a Muslim propaganda campaign claiming Jesus was Palestinian.
Significantly, his article was published on December 2018, Christmas day, titled “Remember: Christ was a Palestinian refugee.”2 (Aljazeera News, December 25th, 2018)
Initially, only a few took him seriously, most ignoring or outright rejecting his brainwashing attempt. However, this falsehood rapidly spread among young liberals in America who were largely ignorant of Jewish history, not understanding they were being spoon-fed with Muslim antisemitic propaganda against the Jewish people.
Antisemitism is nothing new. It has been widespread in Christianity for 2,000 years now—even antisemitism in the name of Jesus, which is one reason why Jews reject Jesus.
Dabashi’s article starts by quoting the Muslim Quran, not the Hebrew or Christian Bible:
And when the angels said, ‘O Mary, indeed Allah gives you good tidings of a word from Him, whose name will be the Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary – distinguished in this world and the hereafter and among those brought near [to Allah].
The Quran 3:45
In an article meant to “reconcile” Muslims and Christians, he states,
The dark days of Zionism laying a false claim on Judaism and Palestine alike are happily over. The lies of a gang of European settler colonialists trying to rob Jews of their ancestral faith and Palestinians of their historical homeland have finally come to a crushing defeat when Jews and Palestinians, and Jews as Palestinians, have come together to lay a post-Zionist claim on their ancestral faith and homeland alike.3
Hamid Dabashi
Yes, conquest and displacement have been historical norms. But, long before Muslim Palestinians came to Gaza and the West Bank from mainly Egypt and Jordan, Jews had lived there. Don’t trust history books? Then consider the Bible, which states Jews have been in Israel on and off for 3,500 years, having first conquered it from the Canaanites under the direct command of Army General Moses:
The Lord said to Moses, “Send some men to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites.”
Numbers 13:1
Returning to the topic, this is essentially a Muslim effort to detach Yeshua (Hebrew for Jesus, the name He was born with…), the Jew, from both the Jewish people and His ancient Jewish homeland…………… Israel!
This propaganda also serves as a political statement, resonating with many young, naive students. It draws a parallel between first-century Roman occupiers of Judea and modern Israelis in the West Bank and Gaza, labeling both as evil oppressors with no legitimate claim to the land. This is ironic because the Romans occupied the land of Israel from whom? Muslim Palestinans? No, from the Jewish people!
The ease of manipulating public opinion is evident; one only needs to use the magical terms “occupation” and “colonization” (never mind that the IDF left Gaza back in September of 2005)
Dabashi wasn’t alone in this propaganda. Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh, in 2020, published a similar statement:
The birthday of our lord Jesus, peace be upon him – the first Palestinian self-sacrificing fighter from whom we learned Martyrdom-death, and who paid for his mission with his life – coincides with the anniversary of the Palestinian revolution [i.e., the anniversary of “the Launch” of Fatah, counted from its first terror attack against Israel!], for which thousands of Martyrs have sacrificed their lives so we will live and our children will dream of a better future.4
Interestingly, Mohammad Ibrahim Shtayyeh is a Sunni Muslim, not Christian, yet he knows the power of invoking “lord Jesus” to influence naive Western minds.
Yeshua undoubtedly empathizes with all oppressed and suffering people, Palestinians included. The situation in our region is complex and tragic, exacerbated by groups like Hamas and Islamic Jihad, who have committed acts of violence against Jewish Israelis. The radical Islamic worldview, which justifies extreme violence such as rape, burning people alive, and torture-to-death in the name of Allah, is a significant factor in the conflict, often overlooked by Westerners who fail to see Israel’s struggle is against radical Islam, not some peaceful “freedom fighters.” But people nowadays believe any fake news available, even when it comes from people with a clear radical antisemitic agenda.
Jesus, an Israelite Jew or a Palestinian Mulsim?
The depiction of Jesus as a Palestinian refugee and as a figure akin to an Islamic jihadist “martyr” is a deliberate, evil, and insidious attempt to mislead.
Jesus was not a Palestinian (noting that 99.5% of Palestinians are Muslim Sunnis, a denomination known for their hatred for Jews and Christians).
Regardless of religious belief or if you only view the Bible as a historical document, these two verses provide clear answers:
On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus [Yeshua], the name the angel had given him before he was conceived. When the time came for the [Jewish] purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord
Luke 2:21-22
After Jesus’ birth, His Jewish parents took Him to Jerusalem, following the local Jewish customs, further emphasizing His Jewish heritage and life in Israel. Likewise, Paul, a Jewish Rabbi himself, notes:
Romans 9:5
The people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption to sonship; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen.
Conclusion
To summarize, Jesus and His followers weren’t Palestinian Sunni Muslims. Yeshua was a Jew living in Israel. His followers were Israelite Jews as well. 🇮🇱
Now, you, too, can refute the antisemitic propaganda that says Jesus was a Palestinian or that Jews are not indigenous to the Land of Israel.
Recommended Reading:
Hamas 101 for the Perplexed Westerner
The Foundations of Antisemitism in the Quran
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhO3EYSBnhQ ↩︎
- https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2018/12/25/remember-christ-was-a-palestinian-refugee/ ↩︎
- https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2018/12/25/remember-christ-was-a-palestinian-refugee ↩︎
- Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Dec. 28, 2020 ↩︎
