There, in the run-up to Christmas, a baby Jesus reclined on the floor of a manger. Instead of the usual swaddling blankets, however, this sacred infant lay on—wait for it—a keffiyeh. You know, that notorious black-and-white scarf symbolizing Palestinian “resistance” to what they call the Jewish “occupation” of their land.
But here’s the worst part: the manger wasn’t just anywhere, but in the Vatican. And it was being inaugurated by none other than Pope Francis himself, surrounded by Palestinian officials.
Which, of course, ignores and twists beyond all recognition a small often-overlooked fact underlying the whole Middle East conflict and, indeed, the Christmas story itself: that Jesus was a Jew. A Jew, in fact, in Israel, the ancient Jewish homeland that Palestinians claim never existed and has no right to exist today.
“To suggest Jesus was a Palestinian is to push a political agenda that is extremely offensive,” Pastor Mark Burns of South Carolina’s Harvest Faith Center told the New York Post. “The nativity is…something that should surpass politics.”
Dr. Andre Villeneuve, a professor of Old Testament and Biblical Languages at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Michigan, agreed. “Dressing baby Jesus in a keffiyeh,” he said, “is not only a cynical exploitation of the manger scene for political and propagandistic purposes, but also an absurd rewriting of history.”
I hate to admit this, but I wasn’t too surprised by the pope’s irrational embrace of a Palestinian cultural affectation to make an offensive and inappropriate political point. It was just last month, after all, that he called for an investigation into the already widely discredited allegation that Israel is committing “genocide” in its existential struggle against the Palestinian terrorists who attacked it on October 7th.
“With this call,” the Wall Street Journal argued in an editorial, “the pope has taken a side in the Hamas-Israel war…By his use of the word ‘genocide,’ Pope Francis has not moved Gaza any closer to peace [but] given aid and comfort to the enemies of the Jewish people and all civilized society.”
Which, not surprisingly, prompted churches worldwide to join his little Jesus-resting-on-a-keffiyeh stunt. And, also not surprisingly, swept the Catholic Church into a sometimes-ridiculous global surge of politically inspired denial. A case in point: international calls to boycott a recent Netflix release entitled Mary. The movie’s crime: casting an Israeli Jew to play, well, an Israeli Jew, namely Jesus’ mother.
“Oh, the disgusting audacity,” one critic bellowed.
You’ve probably guessed by now that I’m not Catholic. I am, however, married to one, live in a predominantly Catholic country, and am allowing my two children to be raised in their mother’s faith.
None of which has ever felt like a conflict. Because the Philippines has always struck me as an open-hearted country filled with people whose spirits are generous and warm. Historically, in fact, my newly adopted homeland has shown itself to be a friend to the Jews and their nation, a quality amply demonstrated by its heartfelt welcome to thousands of European Jewish refugees during World War II.
Bottom line: I don’t think most Filipinos share the pope’s stand on Israel. And I don’t think they share his confusion regarding the religion of Jesus and his mother.
An event I recently attended, in fact, demonstrated that quite nicely. Sponsored by Israel’s Embassy in Manila, it was a Hanukkah/Karaoke party for expat Jews hungry to celebrate their religion’s annual Festival of Lights alongside Filipinos who, well, just love to sing.
“Filipinos,” Israeli Ambassador Ilan Fluss told me during an October interview for this newspaper’s Sunday magazine, “are very nice people. You couldn’t find nicer people anywhere on earth.”
Which was more than evident during that memorable evening filled with loud Hebrew prayers interspersed with even louder Tagalog songs. Honestly, with all due respect, the pope ought to be ashamed of himself. And switch to history’s right side.
________________________
David Haldane, a former Los Angeles Times staff writer, is an award-winning journalist and author with homes in Southern California and Northern Mindanao. His latest book, A Tooth in My Popsicle and Other Ebullient Essays on Becoming Filipino, is available on Amazon. This column appears weekly in The Manila Times.
