The Jewish Birth of Christianity

“Jesus Is a Palestinian,” declared an electronic billboard in New York City’s Times Square last week. This sort of rhetoric is now familiar, and has even been embraced by some liberal Christian denominations. At the same time, there has been a recent move by elements of the American far right to deny Jesus’ Jewish origins. The purpose of claiming Jesus as a Palestinian is not to take credit for the message of the Gospels, but rather to depict Israelis, who go to war against Palestinians who would slaughter them, as Christ killers.