Who was Jesus? Cultural appropriation

The answer to the question in the title depends obviously on who is answering it.

For believing Christians the first answer will be God or savior.

For searchers, agnostics, many historians and so on: the person who taught new approach to religion some 2000 years ago in historical Israel who (or whose disciples) established a new religion.

Some declared atheists and self-willed and contrary people may insist he did not exist at all.

But what would you (regardless to which group you belong, and it may be a totally different one from the enumerated above) say if somebody told you he was a Roman soldier under governor Pilate? or Egyptian priest? or even better Hindi sadhu? or Viking warrior? You are totally understood and justified if you had just burst out laughing. Regardless of our personal belief in Jesus as God's son and savior (or lack thereof), and even if we harbor doubts if he lived at all, we all know he was (really or in his 2000 years old story) Jewish. Or do we?  

Here is a picture from Times Square, New York, from Christmas 2025:

This is obviously addressed to believers (of what, later on) as the present time suggests we are not talking about realities of ancient Israel under Roman occupation. Yet what does this extraordinary message really tries to say, to whom and who is its author. These are important and significant matters.

Let's start with what does Christianity say. I believe (prove me wrong if I am) that each and every Christian denomination present in XXI century believes Jesus to be both God and human (historically there was a difference of opinion, but that approach was established really centuries ago). I will leave out His divine nature in this post, but as a real human he had some real qualities. He was a man, He was rabbi, and first and foremost He was Jewish. He taught Torah, He was rabbi, He was educated in Law, he was sacrificed in the Temple as the first born son (the story in the Gospels), He had His bar-micva at the age of 12 (the story about his teaching in the Temple and getting lost), He was even rebel against the Romans.

For so many centuries Christianity, very anti Judaism, very anti Semitic and very much concentrated on Jesus's divinity tried to stay away from the simple truth who Jesus the human was, but finally it was stated loudly.

In 1973 Geza Vermes, a Reader at Jewish studies at the University in Oxford, written on the Dead Sea Scrolls, published his book: "Jesus the Jew: A historian's reading of the Gospels. Vermes made the case that Jesus was not just Jewish, but he was thoroughly Jewish. He strikes out at the Christian depiction of Jesus which is theological, rather than anything remotely connected to the historical figure. he sees Jesus as a carpenter, a healer, an exorcist, teacher and miracle maker. He views Jesus as part of the Galilean historical and cultural background.That will be the topic of my other entry, but the Jewishness of Jesus, so evident when we look at Gospels, is fascinating.

And then comes 2025 and at Times Square, in the middle of New York, a big Christmas banner declares Jesus to be Palestinian.

In His time Arabs were in Arabia (today's territory of Saudi Arabia, very roughly).

In His time Islam did not exist, and wouldn't have existed for subsequent almost 7 centuries.

In His time Israel was a Jewish state under Roman occupation.

He was a Jew, knowing Scripture (Torah), citing law (mostly Deuteronomy and Psalms), wandering rabbi engaged in debates about Judaism of His time.

Some 100 years after His death Romans, as a repercussion after Bar Kochba's insurrection renamed Israel Palestine (after Biblical Jewish adversaries Philistines) and Jerusalem Aelia Capitolina. 

Who is Palestinian? 

Is it somebody whose ethnicity is Arab? Jesus was definitely NOT an Arab. 

Is it somebody whose religion is Islam? Jesus was definitely NOT Moslem.

Is it somebody who is against Israel? Jesus was Israeli.

So who was this circumcised Jewish rabbi, teaching scripture, saying to Samaritan women that it is bad to feed puppies before children when talking about Jews and Samaritans? Who was saying that He will not change one letter of the Moses Law. Who, when His disciples were gathering ears of grain on Sabbath responded by comparing them to David's warriors eating sacred show-bread when being pursued by Saul's people. This was political statement showing Jesus as Israeli patriot and Roman opponent. This also explains why He was sentenced to Roman capital punishment reserved for political rebels. 

Yet in this age and era when "cultural appropriation" on the left side of political spectrum is regarded as crime the same people who often would oppose (or did oppose) using music, fashion, hairstyle or dress as "cultural appropriation" (Beyonce in Mumbai, Wes Anderson and Japanese culture, Zac Efron and dreadlocks etc.) see nothing wrong in appropriation of Jewish rabbi regarded as God by Christians to be posed as antisemitic figure on Christian holiday. Would they depict Mohammed as defender of Israeli cause? Of course not. 

Thus everything here screams loudly: respect me while I have all the right to destroy, offend and humiliate you. Well, un-dear  authors of this despicable performance. You did it on purpose to offend, humiliate and enrage. Understood. And I hope Karma returns to you, with or without cultural appropriation. 

 

 

Pay to slay or what are you paying for with (some) of your taxes and why is Israel accused for withholding taxes from PA

 OK, nobody likes taxes. But being honest we know that there are lots of issues in our communities, local, regional and statewide, wherever we live, that need to be taken care for and that.... mean taxes.

People usually complain about badly spent or wasted tax money ( I am no exception). But much as we disagree about what is wasted tax money I hope we all agree that paying for terrorism, murders or attempted murders is singularly bad spent tax money (to put it extremely mildly). And probably most of us believes our respective governments are not doing anything like that. Well, you might be wrong (specially if you live in any country financially supporting UNRWA or Palestinian aid).

Since the Peace Process in 90s Palestinian Authority passes law, rarely dealing with trivial matters of education, healthcare, infrastructure, and so on. For example the 2003 Amended Palestinian Basic Law guarantees the right of “martyrs, prisoners of war, the injured and the disabled,” to “education, health and social insurance.” A series of other laws from 2004 and 2013 mandate payments to terrorists and/or their families with the amount determined according to the severity of the crime.

Each of these laws—Law No. 14 (2004), Amended Palestinian Prisoners Law No. 19 (2004), and Decree No. 1 (2013) on the Amendment of the Prisoners and Released Prisoners Law No. 19 (2004)—defines a prisoner as “anyone incarcerated in the occupation’s prisons for his participation in the struggle against the occupation,” meaning involvement in terror attacks against Israel. Significantly, these laws reward only terrorists who killed or injured Israelis or attempted to do so. Persons convicted of other crimes, like theft, do not receive similar rewards.

The rewards to these terrorists include monthly salary and other benefits, such as tuition fees at state universities and priority job placements at state institutions upon release from prison, with seniority determined based on the length of the prison term. Likewise, pursuant to PA Government Decision No. 23 of 2010, the amount of the monthly salary is fixed based on the length of the prison term.15 Thus, the more serious the crime, the longer the prison sentence and the higher the salary.

Thousands of Palestinian prisoners currently serving or having served time in Israeli jails for terror-related offenses receive salaries and benefits from the PA. Despite a financial crisis in 2019 which led to cuts in the salaries of the PA’s actual public employees, PA salaries to terrorists increased. 

Of course, since many of the PA expenses are paid directly from international aid this is (sometimes) money received from democratic countries.  Not intentionally, but for the lack of supervision, lack of reaction and lack of care the money is paid for slaying the Jews by quasi-state entity so wildly recognized by Western government during previous 2 years of was this entity has started. Now tell me murder and war don't pay. Literally....

Look at the Article 22 of the Basic Palestinian Law. I know it sound innocently, but what it means is paying for terror acts: shooting, stone throwing at passing vehicles, attacking with knives or axes, ramming with car people waiting on the bus stops and so on. As of 2018 the pay-for-slay budget amounted to 7% of Palestinian budget. Look at main positions in Western budgets: healthcare (where it is public), judiciary system, education, military. By any standards 7% of the budget is a HUGE amount of money. That tells all we need to know about PA priorities. Abbas, in his 20th year of his 4 year term in office is not interested in welfare payments, infrastructure, healthcare or pension system, but pay-for-slay? Yes, of course.

To be honest last month he tried to finally comply with US and Israeli demands to stop pay-for-slay system. He issued a decree creating Palestinian National Economic Empowerment Institution which was to create the system of stipends based on economic need basis and not the basis of the gravity of crime. The result? The West Bank erupted in protests. Below you will find some quotes from what protesters said:

“We reject the decision to treat the prisoners as welfare cases,” a young woman said at a rally in Tulkarm. “We will not resort to the Tamkeen  (PNEEI) institution. They [the prisoners, the wounded, and the families of the martyrs] lost their lives for the homeland.”

“The prisoners represent the essence of our national cause. We will not give up our rights, and we will not remain silent.”

“These are the unalienable rights of the prisoners, and they cannot be subject to political blackmail.”

 “Transferring this national issue to a body that deals with it as welfare cases is a dangerous insult to our national dignity and a blatant distortion of the sacrifices of those who fought for our people’s freedom and rights.” (this is by Tawfik Tirawi, the Fatah official).

As you can see murdering innocent Jews on bus stops decides about dignity of Palestinians. Interesting, isn't it?

To be true the US tried to stop the system by passing in 2018 the  Taylor Force Act, in honor of the US soldier, Taylor Force, a native of Texas, who served tours of duty in both Afghanistan and Iraq. After completing his service, Taylor entered the Vanderbilt University to study for an MBA. He was murdered (stabbed to death) in Israel in 2016 by a Palestinian terrorist. At the time of his murder, he was visiting Israel as part of a study group examining global entrepreneurship. The US stopped paying aid and UNRWA donations for some time but it started again, so in a way you may say the US is rewarding terrorist who killed their distinguished soldier who was fighting in two US wars. Isn't it interesting?

From the same 2018 Israel is withholding part of taxes which she collects from Palestinians on behalf of Palestinian Authority (since peace process) and passes to it. The part the equals the paid as pay-to-slay stipends. It started in Israel in 2016, after the murder, by 17-year-old from West Bank of 13-year-old girl, Hallel Yaffa Ariel, in one of the settlements. He entered her house at night and stabbed her to death. Is this dignity? I wouldn't say so, but it was rewarded with a pay-to-slay stipend to his family after he was killed by the guard on the place of his crime.

Up to now the Israel is withholding the exact amount of taxes paid by Palestinians as pay-for-slay fund before passing the money to Palestinian Authority. Of course it is labeled by Fatah, Hamas and their supporters (notably from quite a few pro-Palestinian Western organizations) as theft. But imagine if your country would be collecting money from people who, as a national group, want to slay you, your family and your children, regardless of your opinion about the conflict, and if some of them would receive money just for performing terrorist acts would you like your government to react? I suppose you would. 

Here are the pictures of Hallel Yaffa Ariel and Taylor Force, whose murderers didn't know anything about any of them, murdered them just because they were Jews or they were thought to be Jews (Taylor), and were rewarded by PA with a stipend.