Throughout its long history, the Vatican has stained itself with numerous moral crimes and transgressions, from the Inquisition to its shameful silence during the Holocaust. This week, another stain was added when Pope Francis came to view the central nativity display, where – before his eyes and those of hundreds of millions of believers – the infant Jesus was depicted lying on a Palestinian keffiyeh.
The suggestion implanted in the display, that Jesus was an Arab Muslim, isn't just another falsehood like those propagated by the Palestinian Authority and other anti-Israel entities. This Vatican-sanctioned falsehood is particularly dangerous because it constitutes "false testimony" – testimony that receives almost automatic trust among Catholic Christian faithful worldwide.
The architects of the Arab struggle to erase Israel from the world map long ago understood that due to the Catholic Church's unique standing, it would be beneficial to harness it to their efforts. And in the Vatican – just like during the Holocaust period – there were those who gladly joined in. No one is surprised by certain Vatican officials' willingness to participate in antisemitic gestures, but their readiness to distort their religion's history and betray Christianity's birth roots is staggering, as they clearly know that all the central figures in the Christian narrative were Jewish.
This antisemitic historical revisionism – which the Pope, whether willingly or not, has now become part of – has a clear goal: to deny the Jewish state's right to exist. The antisemitic propaganda forces move in two arms: one erases Jewish history – and the other fabricates in its place an imaginary and falsified Palestinian-Muslim history.
Ironically, the old antisemitic blood libel that accused Jews of killing Jesus now creates difficulty for modern antisemites – because the accusation itself is an admission that Jews populated the Land of Israel then. To overcome this very difficulty, the phenomenon of presenting Jesus as an Arab has spread, merging the two blood libels: the criminals are Jews, and the victim is actually Arab. Other anti-Israel front propagandists take another step into the abyss of delusion, presenting Jesus as a "shahid," drawing clear parallels to today's "shahids." A Palestinian child on the cross stars in many antisemitic cartoons, and not by accident.
To us, this cynical falsehood seems detached from reality – but it works. The story of Jesus's birth and crucifixion glorifies the life cycle of Christian believers each year anew, stirring powerful emotions in their hearts. There is no more effective way to plant one message or another in the consciousness of millions than to attach it to these two stories.
About a month ago, Pope Francis called in his book to investigate whether Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, then quickly claimed his words were taken out of context. Now, it seems that the earlier misstep wasn't accidental. There are those who seek to return the Vatican to its antisemitic ways and turn it into a PR agent for the anti-Zionist struggle.
The disgraceful display at the Vatican requires a sharp response, and not just from Israel. Silence won't help, as the damage is done, even if it's hard to quantify. The correction can only be achieved through a Vatican apology and clear clarification on its part that rejects any connection between the Christian story and those who wish to deny Jews and Christians their history.
