In the wake of global controversy over a Nativity scene displayed at the Vatican showing the infant Jesus resting upon a Palestinian keffiyeh, widely seen as a pro-Palestinian statement, that set has been removed. Source: Crux.
The Nativity, designed by two artists from the Dar al-Kalima University in Bethlehem, was described by the Palestine Chronicle as “a poignant nod to the Palestinian struggle” but was criticised by Israeli and Jewish communities.
Referring to Jesus’s historical Jewish roots, having been born to Jewish parents in what was then the Roman province of Judea, one online commentator wrote, “Does the Pope think Jesus wasn’t a Jew either? Did he even read the Bible?”
Another discontented user said on social media platform X that, “The Pope is exploiting Christmas to advance the ridiculous effort to rebrand Jesus as Palestinian rather than what He was – a Jew who fulfilled the Old Testament prophecy of a Messiah.”
The backlash began on December 7, after the Pope met the donors of this year’s Christmas tree and Nativity scene displayed in St Peter’s Square.
The Nativity scene was crafted in the northern Italian city of Grado and the 29-metre spruce tree used came from Ledro, also in the north
During Saturday’s audience, the Pope called for an end to war and conflict, asking believers to “remember the brothers and sisters, who, right there [in Bethlehem] and in other parts of the world, are suffering from the tragedy of war”.
“Enough war, enough violence!” he said, and lamented the commercial arms trade, saying the weapons industry “earns money to kill.”
When the scene was unveiled during Saturday’s audience in the Vatican’s Paul VI audience hall, the infant Jesus was resting upon a traditional Palestinian head dress, called a keffiyeh, leading many to interpret the gesture as a political statement on the part of the Holy See.
A Vatican spokesman did not respond to requests for comment.
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Vatican Nativity scene with Palestinian keffiyeh causes a stir (By Elise Ann Allen, Crux)
