Noted anti-Semite Linda Sarsour is at it again.
We constantly hear about “cultural appropriation” in liberal circles, that being the idea that it’s unseemly and racist to partake in another culture’s food, dress, and customs. There have been uproars over wearing a sombrero on Cinco De Mayo or a Chinese dress to a prom.
Apparently though, falsely appropriating Jesus is no big deal to the far-left. Here’s Sarsour’s latest ridiculousness.
Folks reported my tweet that Jesus was a Palestinian.
twitter was obviously like this doesn’t violate our standards. It’s also true. Jesus was born in Bethlehem which is in Palestine. Move on.
— Linda Sarsour (@lsarsour) July 6, 2019
It’s also true that Native Americans were born in what is now called Louisiana a thousand years ago. People migrate and the names of places change. There is no almost no connection between your typical, modern Louisiana resident and the indigenous residents centuries ago. Even to the point where some ancestry could be tracked, one would still never claim that a Native American born in modern day Baton Rouge was actually a white Cajun guy.
After getting push back, she continued ranting.
Why so upset by the truth. Jesus was born in Bethlehem aka بيت لحم in Arabic. Bethlehem is in Palestine. It’s currently militarily occupied by Israel and home to a predominately beautiful Palestinian Christian community. Yes, the birthplace of Jesus is under military occupation. https://t.co/xiseLoylYL
— Linda Sarsour (@lsarsour) July 6, 2019
Bethlehem was not in “Palestine” because, and stick with me, Palestine did not exist during Jesus’ time. Bethlehem was in the Jewish region of Judea, populated by Jews who’s descendants would eventually be pushed westward (as well as out of the area completely). The Arabic name of the town is also irrelevant because, and stick with me again, Arabic was not even a language at the time. In fact, the Arabs who make up much of the modern Palestinian lineage wouldn’t migrate into the area until many years later.
Perhaps more insulting is the fact that it was via several ancient Muslim invasions that the Arabs who make up the Palestinian people today got to where they are. In some ways, the appropriation of Jesus here echoes the Muslim practice of conquering and then claiming foreign religious sites as their own.
Despite that, we get stupid replies like this.
“The first clear use of the term Palestine to refer to the entire area between Phoenicia and Egypt was in 5th century BCE Ancient Greece, when Herodotus wrote of a ‘district of Syria, called Palaistinê’”
— John Elliott Lein (@jelliottlein) July 7, 2019
The term Palestine in the 5th century BC referred to the area inhabited by the Philistines. Modern Palestinians have little to no connection to that people historically. It is not debatable that the Romans called the area Judea and that the area was made up of Jews. Jesus was not Palestinian. Period.
Sarsour’s lack of knowledge of even basic history aside, her claims about Bethlehem in the modern day also fall offensively short. It is not a “predominately beautiful Palestinian community.” It hasn’t been majority Christian for a while because of the violent actions of Islam. Secondly, there is no “military occupation” present. Israel pulled out of the area over a decade ago. Currently the Palestinian Fatah party rules the area with an iron fist and autonomy.
There’s a certain antisemitism to claiming that one of most famous Jews in world history was actually an “Palestinian” just because Arabs would conquer the area later. But Sarsour is no stranger to such things. She’s made a career out of anti-Semitic attacks and a-historical nonsense.
Of course, she’s not the only one. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, another noted anti-Semite, has also made the false claim that “Jesus was Palestinian” before. This came in an anecdotal story about a supposedly aggrieved Palestinian woman, told back in April.
She said her immigrant mother keeps her grounded, and is so compassionate. She said her mother told a man who voiced opposition to her hijab, “You don’t understand. Jesus was born in my country!” Tlaib said her mother believes that if people know that, things will be so much better.
All other issues aside, no, Jesus was not born in this woman’s country. Given that Palestine is not a country and never has been, that would seem obvious. The fact that it didn’t exist, nor was the area populated by the same people in Jesus’ lifetime seems the more relevant piece of evidence though.
Look, it’s one thing to argue over the modern Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I’ve made no secret where my views on that lie. But trying to appropriate Jesus, who had zero connection to modern Arab Palestinians, is a bridge too far and Sarsour is doing it on purpose. It’s anti-Christian, anti-Semitic tripe. She should stick to lying about the IDF and ignoring the human rights abuses of the Palestinian Authority. Jewish and Christian history simply isn’t her thing.
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