Myriad Jewish groups slammed Women’s March, Inc. co-leader Linda Sarsour on Twitter for saying that Jesus Christ was a Palestinian.
The controversy began with Sarsour tweeting on July 5, “Jesus was Palestinian of Nazareth and is described in the Quran as being brown copper skinned with wooly hair.”
Jesus was Palestinian of Nazareth and is described in the Quran as being brown copper skinned with wooly hair.
— Linda Sarsour (@lsarsour) July 6, 2019
Sarsour doubled down on Twitter in response to backlash:
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
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
The American Jewish Committee (AJC) tweeted in response to Sarsour that Judea is mentioned 48 times in the New Testament, while Palestine isn’t mentioned anywhere because “because the name “Palestine” was only applied to the region by the Romans in 135 CE.”
They added, “Try cracking a history book, Linda. It’ll blow your mind.”
Mentions of Judea in the New Testament: 48
Mentions of Palestine in the New Testament: 0
Which makes sense, because the name “Palestine” was only applied to the region by the Romans in 135 CE.
Try cracking a history book, Linda. It’ll blow your mind. https://t.co/1IeDrsbG4e
— American Jewish Committee (@AJCGlobal) July 7, 2019
AJC CEO David Harris similarly tweeted, “Jesus was a Jew born in Bethlehem (in Hebrew, Bet Lehem) in Judea, then a Roman province. Next up for her cultural appropriation? Maybe King David, born in Bethlehem 1000 [years] earlier & another ‘Palestinian’?”
Lengths to which Israel-bashers go to revise history is mind-boggling. Jesus was a Jew born in Bethlehem (in Hebrew, Bet Lehem) in Judea, then a Roman province.
Next up for her cultural appropriation? Maybe King David, born in Bethlehem 1000 yrs earlier & another “Palestinian”? https://t.co/YgkwkgxsI3
— David Harris (@DavidHarrisNY) July 7, 2019
The Simon Wiesenthal Center tweeted, “#Sarsour‘s hatred for the #Jewish State blinds her to inconvenient historic truths. Yes, @lsarsour invents her own ‘facts’ to bolster her bigotry.”
.#Sarsour's hatred for the #Jewish State blinds her to inconvenient historic truths. Yes, @lsarsour invents her own “facts” to bolster her bigotry. #Israel https://t.co/ZCHxxD3ujh
— SimonWiesenthalCntr (@simonwiesenthal) July 7, 2019
StandWithUs similarly tweeted in response to Sarsour, “1. Jesus was born in Judea. The name “Palestine” did not even exist at that time. 2. Jesus was born Jewish. Why does Linda keep trying to revise the history of Jews living in their indigenous homeland, Judea (=Israel) for her own politicized aims?”
Now for the facts: 1. Jesus was born in Judea. The name “Palestine” did not even exist at that time. 2. Jesus was born Jewish. Why does Linda keep trying to revise the history of Jews living in their indigenous homeland, Judea (=Israel) for her own politicized aims?
— StandWithUs (@StandWithUs) July 7, 2019
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) came under a similar controversy in April when she re-tweeted a tweet stating that Jesus was a Palestinian. Associate Dean and Director of Global Social Action Agenda at the Simon Wiesenthal Center Rabbi Abraham Cooper told the Journal at the time that it is a “grotesque insult” to say that Jesus was a Palestinian, saying that “Palestine was a name made up by Romans after they crucified thousands, destroyed the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and exiled the People of Israel from their homeland.”
