Jesus was a Galilean Jew, not a Palestinian

The Christ Pantocrator of the Deesis mosaic (13th-century) in Hagia Sophia (Istanbul, Turkey) Photo: Myrabella / Wikimedia Commons

Pro-Palestinians are insidiously injecting their dominant “righteous” cause into the policies and practices of many western institutions and political parties. They think nothing of blasphemous invasions of Jewish and Christian religious ceremonies, and narcissistically interrupt many cultural events. Like most democrats, I deplore such self-righteous and opportunistic agitprop actions.

In December 2024, we unfortunate Irish citizens had a new development of these toxic tactics. Political provocateurs, called Christians4Palestine Ireland, interrupted Mass in St Patrick’s Cathedral, Armagh. They walked up to the altar with banners reminding people for the umpteenth time of their ‘cracked-record’ questionable quotations. The same group also slyly entered St Mary’s Pro Cathedral in Dublin during Mass and halted that service with their unholy harrumphs.

The spokesperson, Deirdre Murphy, quoted in newspapers as having said that her organization had “lost patience…” with the way churches were dealing with Palestine (meaning the Gaza war). Did she and her caustic cohorts even try engaging with the leaders of the Catholic Churches – prior to their arrogant invasion of church services?

Christians4Palestine Ireland said: “We made sure our protest was as dignified as possible…” Where is the “dignity” in such unfair, agitprop stunts? Each congregation was a captive audience for these holier-than-thou political hooligans.

“….and did not threaten anyone…” – How do such passionate protestors know that some members of the invaded congregations didn’t feel threatened? How can we give credence to such over-presumptive assurances? *

One of the protestor placards erroneously stated that ‘Jesus is Palestinian’. No, he is not! He was born a Jew. There are many proofs to calmly contradict this fallacy. One such biblical proof is that Jesus at the age of twelve accompanied His parents, Joseph and Mary, to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover. 

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=luke%202:41-52&version=NIV

Biblically-illiterate people twist scripture for political purposes. Jesus would certainly not “stand” with the purveyors of such simplistic and legalistic “logic”. His way is that of peace –  the polar opposite of in-your-face flags, menacing marches, aggressive antisemitism and censorship of nuanced narratives. “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Don’t let your heart be troubled or fearful.” (John 14:27)

“The politics of many Christians today differ greatly from Jesus’. Maybe the biggest difference I see is we like to fight for power and control; Jesus laid down his life…the message of Jesus has political implications. It’s not limited to the political world, rather the political world is included”. – Was Jesus Political (The surprising truth about Jesus’ politics) Jeffery Curtis Poor https://www.rethinknow.org/was-jesus-political/

Jesus is not Palestinian, let’s consider his genealogy. That long genetic line predates all colonial Roman history and politics, therefore nixing that reductive narrative.

“Abraham was the father of Isaac,

Isaac the father of Jacob,

Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers….

…Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth,

Obed the father of Jesse,

and Jesse the father of King David…

…Joseph, the husband of Mary,

and Mary was the mother of Jesus

who is called the Messiah.”

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/search=Matthew%201:1-17&version=NIV

Do Palestinian Christians approve of such blasphemous actions taking place in holy sanctuaries, during worship? Are the ceremonies of all major religious groups now fair game for this sort of protest – be they Christian, Jewish, Muslim and Hindu etc? Did any government official condemn the violation of Catholic sacred space? Will any newspaper or social media site treat Jesus the Galilean in an objective, historical and biblical manner?

___________________________________________________________________________________

Bishops ‘disappointed’ with pro-Palestine protest held during NI church service https://m.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/bishops-disappointed-with-pro-palestine-protest-held-during-ni-church-service/a85330213.html

_________________________________________________________

“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battle.”― Sun Tzu, The Art of War

Prescient links for non-nuanced Irish political perspectives on “Palestine” – see also:

https://www.instagram.com/gaelsagainstgenocide/

A grassroots collective of people from GAA, Irish language and cultural backgrounds.

https://www.instagram.com/christians4palestine.ireland/ Irish Christians supporting Palestinian rights, demanding the Churches condemn Israeli genocide, ethnic cleansing and apartheid.

Sunday World