Evangelical leader slams Palestinian official’s Bible claims as ‘contemptible’

A leading American evangelical leader has condemned remarks made by a Palestinian official claiming the Bible as a "Palestinian book."

Palestinian Ambassador to the U.K. Husam Zomlot made the comments earlier this month at the University of Bradford as the revisionist argument takes shape asserting Jesus was a Palestinian.

Zomlot’s claims that the Bible is a "Palestinian book" and that, by extension, all Christians are Palestinian has drawn sharp criticism from those who say the remarks advance a contested historical narrative about the land.

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"The Palestinians aren’t the ‘people of the Book.’ When the ‘Book’ was written, the term Palestinian had not yet been coined," Pastor John Hagee, founder and chairman of Christians United for Israel (CUFI), told Fox News Digital.

"The Palestinian ambassador’s attempt to claim the Jewish mantle of religion and history as his own is the clearest indication that his own narrative lacks both," he said, adding: "Such attacks are contemptible, but their danger is decided by who will listen and who will challenge such bigotry."

Hagee argued that describing Jesus as Palestinian because Bethlehem is today in the Palestinian-controlled West Bank would be anachronistic, comparing it to calling television personality Dr. Phil Cherokee simply because he was born in Oklahoma.

"History also disproves what the ambassador is saying. The Romans intentionally adopted the name ‘Palestine’ as a replacement for ‘Judea’ in an effort to erase the Jews from the land, roughly a century after Christ was crucified," he added.

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Hagee, whose group counts over 10 million members, added, "no reasonable person should entertain its existence in the future — given the horrors of October 7th and the ongoing effort by radical Islamists to annihilate the Jewish people."

Zomlot made the comments on Sept. 3 during a conversation with Humza Yousaf, the former First Minister of Scotland, at the University of Bradford. He recalled that, during a private audience with the late Queen Elizabeth II arranged by the British Foreign Office, he told her, "Jesus is our gift to you."

"The Bible is a Palestinian book and it has been used against us. It has been rewritten to be used against the people of the Book," Zomlot continued. "We are the original Christians, all the names that you see here, all the saints that you hear about came from my land and I am so proud about that, spreading Jesus’ message worldwide."

Critics contend the Palestinian Authority has sought to shape the international historical narrative surrounding the land through institutions such as UNESCO and the United Nations. They point to UNESCO’s designation of the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron in the name of the "State of Palestine" in 2016 and its 2023 designation of Tell es-Sultan near Jericho as a World Heritage site in "Palestine."

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They also cite a 2021 U.N. General Assembly resolution that referred to the Temple Mount, Judaism’s holiest site, only by its Muslim name, "Haram al-Sharif," as well as P.A. chief Mahmoud Abbas’ 2024 assertion that the site is the "exclusive property of Muslims." Critics also point to efforts to use Arabic names for sites with longstanding Jewish associations, such as Rachel’s Tomb in Nablus (Shechem), which is referred to as 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 to the time of the Prophet Muhammad, about 1,300 years ago, while Jesus lived about 2,000 years ago and King David 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 festivals including Passover.

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"To somehow say that Jesus was a 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 he said did not exist in that form at the time.

"It’s an act of cultural and historical appropriation; it’s identity theft, an attempt to rewrite the foundations of faith, history, heritage, values and ideals for billions of people around the world. And so, it sets a very dangerous precedent," he said.

Fox News Digital repeatedly reached out to Ambassador Zomlot for comment but did not receive a response.