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A prominent American evangelical leader has condemned comments by a Palestinian official calling the Bible a “Palestinian book.”
The Palestinian ambassador to the UK, Husam Zomlot, made the comments earlier this month at the University of Bradford, as the revisionist argument takes shape that Jesus was a Palestinian.
Zomlot’s claims that the Bible is a “Palestinian book” and that, by extension, all Christians are Palestinian, have drawn sharp criticism from those who believe the remarks advance a contested historical narrative on the land.
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Ancient biblical texts on display at the Royal Ontario Museum. (Roberto Machado Noa/LightRocket via Getty Images)
“The Palestinians are not the “people of the Book”. When the ‘Book’ was written, the term Palestinian had not yet been coined,” Pastor John Hagee, founder and president of Christians United for Israel (CUFI), told Fox News Digital.
“The Palestinian ambassador’s attempt to appropriate the Jewish mantle of religion and history is the clearest indication that his own narrative lacks both,” he said, adding: “Such attacks are despicable, but their danger depends on who will listen and challenge such bigotry.”
Hagee argued that describing Jesus as Palestinian because Bethlehem is in the Palestinian-controlled West Bank today would be anachronistic, comparing it to calling television personality Dr. Phil Cherokee simply because he was born in Oklahoma.
“History also belies what the ambassador says. The Romans intentionally adopted the name ‘Palestine’ to replace ‘Judea’ in an effort to erase the Jews from that country, about a century after the crucifixion of Christ,” he added.
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Pastor John Hagee speaks during the “March for Israel” on the National Mall on November 14, 2023 in Washington, DC. The large pro-Israeli rally comes as the Israel-Hamas war enters its sixth week following the October 7 terrorist attacks by Hamas. (Noam Galaï/Getty Images)
Hagee, whose group has more than 10 million members, added: “No reasonable person should consider its existence in the future – given the horrors of October 7 and the continued efforts of radical Islamists to annihilate the Jewish people.”
Zomlot made the comments on September 3 during a conversation with Humza Yousaf, the former Scottish first minister, at the University of Bradford. He recalled that, during a private audience with the late Queen Elizabeth II organized by the British Foreign Office, he told her: “Jesus is our gift to you.”
“The Bible is a Palestinian book and it was used against us. It was rewritten to be used against the people of the Book,” Zomlot continued. “We are the first Christians, all the names you see here, all the saints you hear about came from my country and I am very proud of that, spreading the message of Jesus throughout the world.”
Critics say the Palestinian Authority has sought to shape the international historical narrative surrounding this territory through institutions such as UNESCO and the United Nations. They highlight UNESCO’s designation of the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron in the name of the “State of Palestine” in 2016 and the designation in 2023 of Tell es-Sultan near Jericho as a world heritage site in “Palestine”.
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December 18, 2021 shows a general view of the northern Israeli city of Nazareth and its Catholic Basilica of the Annunciation. (Ahmad Gharabli/AFP via Getty Images)
They also cite a 2021 UN General Assembly resolution that referred to the Temple Mount, Judaism’s holiest site, only by its Muslim name, “Haram al-Sharif,” as well as PA leader Mahmoud Abbas’s 2024 assertion that the site is the “exclusive property of Muslims.” Critics also point to efforts to use Arabic names for sites with long-standing Jewish associations, such as Rachel’s Tomb in Nablus (Shechem), nicknamed the “Bilal Bin Rabah Mosque.”
Ze’ev Orenstein, director of international affairs for the City of David Foundation in Jerusalem, told Fox News Digital that the origins of Islam date back to the time of the Prophet Muhammad about 1,300 years ago, while Jesus lived about 2,000 years ago and King David lived about 3,000 years ago.
Orenstein noted that Jesus himself was Jewish, as were his disciples, and that he knew the Hebrew Bible, observed the Sabbath and Jewish dietary laws, and celebrated Jewish holidays, including Passover.
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A look at the moat that extended outside the ancient city of Jerusalem during the time of King David. (Israel Nature and Parks Authority)
“To somehow say that Jesus was Palestinian or that the Bible comes from ‘Palestine,’ no. Jesus lived in a place called Judea, and Jews come from Judea,” he said.
Orenstein said Zomlot was attempting to appropriate the religious and historical identity of Jews and Christians by attributing the foundations of their faith to a country that he said did not exist in that form at the time.
“It is an act of cultural and historical appropriation; it is identity theft, an attempt to rewrite the foundations of faith, history, heritage, values and ideals for billions of people around the world. So it sets a very dangerous precedent,” he said.
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Fox News Digital reached out to Ambassador Zomlot several times for comment, but received no response.
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