There seems no end to the lunacy of those who seek to rewrite history. Over in Cambridge, a minor, provincial university somewhere near East Anglia, carol singers are told that when singing the First Noel they must replace the line “Born is the King of Israel” with something about being born in Bethlehem. It is not how the carol was written, it does not rhyme but at least it might not offend some snowflake undergraduates. That the vast majority of us find this sort of thing intensely irritating is ignored. And then there is Jesus whose birthday we will celebrate in less than two weeks: apparently he was a Palestinian. I kid you not.
That is the preposterous claim put about widely on social media by the sort of folk who usually say happy Holidays to avoid giving offence and who have not got a Scooby what Advent refers to as they open another door, hiding a chocolate or miniature shot, on a carboard picture of a masturbating elf.
I suppose they are forced to admit that Jesus was a good guy, after all the people of the Roman Province of Palestine, incorporating the I word which we are not allowed to mention, were oppressed by white imperialists. The Romans in Israel were white Imperialists although, of course, our kids are taught that the Romans in Britain were all black and part of an early culture of diversity in Britain.
But the facts are pretty clear. Two of the four gospels cover the birth of Christ and he was born in Bethlehem as he was of the line of David, that is to say he was a Jew. Luke goes further in chapter 2 verses 21 to 39 describing his circumcision. Now I accept that there are issues with all the gospels which might make you view them as not exactly accurate. If there were Shepherds in the fields at night it is unlikely it was winter in Bethlehem, etc , etc. But there is no suggestion anywhere that Jesus was Palestinian. There are countless markers showing that he was a Jew.
Only those who have never read the bible which, I imagine, is almost everyone under 30 could deny the Jewishness of Jesus. I am sure that by the 25th some Church of England vicars will, while perhaps admitting that Jesus was a Jew, be telling us that as a refugee rushed to Egypt for his own safety he would have been batting for Hamas this Christmas against the evil Jews. Welcome to 2023.