The whitewashing of Jesus not only erases Jesus’ middle eastern roots but specifically contributes to the erasure of the Palestinian identity. Palestinian, used as a slur by zionists is never mentioned while describing Jesus despite him being ethnically and historically Palestinian. White people turned him into one of their own and continue to idolize this whitewashed version of him. However, the truth is that Jesus’ home is now covered in rubble and stained by the blood of Palestinian babies. The birthplace of the religion that was used as an excuse, as a reason, as a justification for colonialism is being colonized, destroyed, and starved. Starved of life saving resources such as food, clean water, medication, and shelter. Yet, this is a truth that many Christians themselves will never see as they are blinded with their hateful zionist eyes that not only feels satisfaction in the ethnic cleansing of Palestine, but also the cultural genocide of the Palestinians.
The banning of the Palestinian flag, the banning of the watermelon as symbolism, the banning of the keffiyeh, the uprooting of hundreds of years old olive trees, the displacement of Palestinians and replacements of Israheli colonial projects, writing Israel before Palestine while naming the disputed territory, and even the refusal to accept Jesus’ Palestinian background are all attempts to erase Palestine and the Palestinian identity.
In a time where being Palestinian is viewed as a threat, Christmas doesn’t feel so merry. In fact, for the past 2 years, the people of the world, the people with humanity in them haven’t been living as merry as they used to. There has been this prolonged heaviness in our hearts caused by the cries of scared children and screams of devastated parents. Christmas, a time of family coming together, hasn’t felt the same since the genocide exponentially escalated more than 2 years ago. Maybe if more people cared for children alive and being tortured to death today rather than a manmade nativity scene of a baby from before 1 AD, the world would bear less blood and pain.