Pastor John Hagee has denounced claims made by Husam Zomlot, the Palestinian Ambassador to the U.K., regarding the origins of the Bible. during a September 3 event, Zomlot asserted that Jesus was Palestinian, a statement Hagee describes as historically false.
Husam Zomlot's September 3 claim at the University of Bradford
Palestinian Ambassador Husam Zomlot sparked the controversy during a discussion with Humza Yousaf, the former First Minister of Scotland, at the University of Bradford. According to the report, Zomlot argued that the Bible is a Palestinian book and claimed that Palestinians are the original Christians, asserting that all the saints originated from his land.
Zomlot further highlighted his efforts to promote this narrative on a global stage, recalling a private audience with Queen Elizabeth II arranged by the British Foreign Office... During that meeting, Zomlot reportedly told the monarch that Jesus is a gift from the Palestinian people to the world.
Why John Hagee compares the claim to calling Dr. Phil Cherokee
Pastor John Hagee, the founder and chairman of Christians United for Israel, has rejected Zomlot's assertions as "contemptible." Hagee argues that applying the modern term "Palestinian" to Jesus is anachronistic, comparing the logic to calling Dr. Phil Cherokee simply because he was born in Oklahoma. As reported by Fox News Digital, Hagee emphasizes that the term Palestinian did not exist when the biblical texts were written.
Hagee points to the Roman Empire's role in shaping the region's nomenclature, stating that the Romans intentionally replaced the name Judea with Palestine roughly a century after the crucifixion of Christ to erase Jewish connection to the land. With a membership of over 10 million people, Hagee's organization, Christians United for Israel, views these claims as an attempt to steal the Jewish mantle of religious history.
The 2,000-year gap between Jesus and the Prophet Muhammad
Rabbi Abraham Orenstein provides a chronological rebuttal to Zomlot's claims, noting that the timeline of the region's faiths does not support the ambassador's narrative. Orenstein told Fox News Digital that King David lived approximately 3,000 years ago and Jesus lived about 2 ,000 years ago,whereas Islam began with the Prophet Muhammad roughly 1,300 years ago.
Orenstein asserts that Jesus was Jewish, observed the Sabbath, followed Jewish dietray laws, and celebrated festivals such as Passover. Because Jesus lived in Judea, Orenstein argues that claiming Jesus was Palestinian is an act of cultural and historical appropriation that attempts to rewrite the foundations of faith for billions of people.
UNESCO's 2016 designation of the Cave of the Patriarchs
The dispute over Jesus' identity is part of a larger effort by the Palestinian Authority to reshape international historical narratives.. Critics point to the 2016 decision by UNESCO to designate the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron under the name of the State of Palestine, as well as a 2023 designation of Tell es-Sultan near Jericho.
Further tensions exist regarding the Temple Mount, Judaism's holiest site, which UNESCO refers to only by its Muslim name, Haram al-Sharif.. This trend was reinforced by Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas, who asserted in 2024 that the Temple Mount is the exclusive property of Muslims, and by efforts to rename Rachel's Tomb in Nablus as the Bilal Bin Rabah Mosque.
The mising response from the Palestinian Embassy
While the report exetnsively details the condemnation from Pastor John Hagee and Rabbi Abraham Orenstein, it does not include a direct response from Husam Zomlot or the Palestinian Embassy regarding the specific accusations of "identity theft." It remains unclear how the Palestinian diplomatic mission intends to defend the historical validity of Zomlot's claims against the chronological evidence presented by Jewish and Christian scholars.
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