Jesus in the Palestinian cloth: Pope Francis criticized for nativity scene

The Vatican and Pope Francis are criticized worldwide: The reason is a nativity scene in the audience hall of the Papal States, in which the figure of Jesus lay in a keffiyeh, a Palestinian cloth.

Pope Francis received the nativity scene on Saturday in the Vatican’s audience hall and prayed in front of it. It was designed by Johny Andonia and Faten Nastas Mitwasi, two Palestinian artists from Bethlehem, and was donated to the Vatican by representatives of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). Like the French newspaper „The Cross“ Reportedly, a representative is said to have placed the Palestinian cloth in the manger.

“Let us remember the brothers and sisters who are suffering from the tragedy of war right there (in Bethlehem, note) and in other parts of the world,” Pope Francis said at the reception, according to the Vatican. “With tears in our eyes we want to pray for peace. Brothers and sisters, enough war, enough violence!”

PLO member Ramzi Khouri brought the “warm greetings” of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to the Pope. Khouri expressed his deep gratitude for the Pope’s “unwavering support for the Palestinian cause and his tireless efforts to end the war on Gaza,” the quoted „Times of Israel“ from a communication from the PLO.

The Vatican officially recognized the Palestinian territories as a state in 2015. For a long time, Pope Francis refused to receive families of the Hamas hostages; Palestine flags were allowed at his Christmas blessing. Israel, on the other hand, is often exposed to criticism from the Pope. In a recently published book, he warned that evidence of alleged genocide in Gaza should be examined.

With this background, the baby Jesus in the keffiyeh seems like the logical image of the Vatican’s stance in the Middle East conflict. Historically, the picture is rather questionable. Jesus was a Jew from the Roman province of Judea. It was only after his death that the Romans renamed the region Palestine in the second century. The Palestinian scarf is the traditional head covering of Arab men, but has now become a symbol of “resistance” against Israel, including armed resistance.

Criticism of the Vatican: “Political instrumentalization”

On social media, but also among theologians and rabbis, Francis and the Vatican came under significant criticism for the depiction. “The Pope is using Christmas to promote the ridiculous attempt to sell Jesus as a Palestinian,” writes one user on X.

The Palestinian scarf is a highly charged symbol, writes the Viennese theologian Jan-Heiner Türk in a guest article for the magazine “Communio”. “Presenting the baby Jesus publicly is an act of political instrumentalization – for the Palestinian cause,” he continues. An attempt is being made to stylize Jesus as a Palestinian liberation fighter and to uproot him in “Isreal theological terms”. An objection to this is warranted.

In Italy, the chief rabbi of Genoa, Giuseppe Momigliano, criticized the depiction as a “Palestinization” of the Jewish Jesus. This harms dialogue and does not contribute to combating anti-Semitism. Pope Francis is damaging relations with Judaism through such explicit and symbolic actions, the rabbi said, according to the Italian newspaper „The Messenger“.

The Vatican now appears to have responded to the criticism. At the papal audience on Wednesday, the baby Jesus and the Palestinian scarf disappeared. This is shown by photos and video recordings of the audience. The Vatican did not officially comment on the allegations.