Priest on CNN says Christmas is story of 'Palestinian Jew' living in 'occupied' country

A priest on CNN attempted to link the story of Jesus Christ to the war between Israel and Hamas, saying that Jesus was a Palestinian Jew, born into “a time when his country was occupied.” 

On Monday, Father Edward Beck, a Catholic priest in New York,  was asked about the “pain and suffering” taking place all over the world during the holiday season. He was also asked to address those who are feeling “hopeless.”

"What I'm so struck by is that the story of Christmas is about a Palestinian Jew. How often do you find those words put together? A Palestinian Jew born into a time when his country was occupied, right? They can't find a place for [Jesus’s mother, Mary] to even give birth. They're homeless. They eventually have to flee as refugees into Egypt, no less. I mean, you can't make up the parallels to our current world situation right now."

Here’s Father Edward Beck @FrEdwardBeck on @CNN yesterday. pic.twitter.com/ElNEF6w2k0

— Avi Kaner ابراهيم אבי (@AviKaner) December 26, 2023

He continued, “So in some way that is who we believe God becomes: born into that situation, and yet, that very man, Jesus, says, ‘love one another, love your enemies. There is hope. There is light in the darkness. I'm attesting to that.’ So somehow, God enters that experience of suffering and that struggle and is actually born into it. That is what is so miraculous about that celebration for me.”

"Embarrassingly wrong"

There was widespread criticism of his ahistorical rendition of the story of Jesus. New York Post columnist Karol Markowcz remarked, “This is embarrassingly wrong,” in a post on X, formerly Twitter, in reference to the CNN segment.

Beck, who has been outspoken in his criticism of Israel and his sympathy for Palestinian suffering, has since doubled down on what he has said on CNN.

The Catholic spiritual leader reposted one X user, Kashif Chaudhry, who wrote, "Thanks for your voice. Most haters are angry you used the word 'Palestinian,' when that word was in use for centuries before Christ, first documented use in 13th century BC.”

“To say that he is making up history there, I think, would be an understatement,” Newsweek senior editor-at-large Josh Hammer said about Beck’s statement on CNN in a Tuesday segment on Newsmax. “Jesus, let’s be very clear, was a Jew who was born in Judea. He was born at least 130 years prior to the Roman purge by Emperor Hadrian of the Jews and the renaming of the region to so-called ‘Palestine.’

"So, to say that he has his facts wrong, again, that is a remarkable understatement.”