A Catholic priest came on CNN on Christmas to say Jesus was a persecuted Palestinian -- and that the story of his birth contains parallels to what's going on in the Middle East.
Father Edward Beck -- a regular contributor -- joined Monday morning's anchors to discuss the topic of how to keep faith alive this holiday season with everything going on in the world ... namely, the war between Israel and Hamas, with Palestinians caught in the middle.
He said the story of Xmas was actually one of a "Palestinian Jew" -- noting how extraordinary it is to hear those 2 words put together. Father Beck went on to say JC was born into an occupied country, and that his mother and father (Mary/Joseph) were forced to flee into Egypt as refugees ... which is technically correct, as far as the Bible's concerned.
Beck went on to say the same sort of thing is going on right now in 2023 -- and while he didn't outright come out as explicitly pro-Palestine ... that's how his remarks were perceived.
In fact, there's a lot of handwringing happening online over the suggestion that Jesus was Palestinian ... and that he might've identified more so with the current Palestinian plight over that of Israelis. As many have pointed out online, Palestine didn't even exist back then.
On the flip side, neither did the state of Israel as we currently know it ... but the one thing that's undeniable is that JC was Jewish, for whatever's that worth in this raging debate.
You should be ashamed of yourself, distorting what I said like that. Sowing more division.
— Father Edward L. Beck (@FrEdwardBeck) December 25, 2023
(And I would think you would know that the “state of Israel” came into existence in 1948.)
Merry Christmas!
Father Beck has defended what he said in some back-and-forths online. Again, some took his words here to imply that Jesus was more so Palestinian/Arab than he was Jewish -- but Beck says his words are being twisted, and his larger message of peace/unity overshadowed.
He's also posted articles that reference the use of the word "Palestinian" historically -- and how it's apparently been employed to identify Muslims, Jews and others who've lived in that region dating back millennia. In other words, Father Beck's doubling down on the notion Jesus was Palestinian ... and that him also being Jewish doesn't necessarily contradict that.
It's a doozy of a conversation, for sure ... and it's ignited a fury on both sides, it seems. As Jesus himself might've said in more eloquent terms -- can't we all just get along, guys???