(CP) After the display raised a number of eyebrows, the Vatican appears to have removed a Nativity scene that showed baby Jesus lying on a keffiyeh, the standard scarf used as a national symbol by Palestinians that anti-Israel activists have donned at their protests.
The keffiyeh manger scene first appeared within the Paul VI Hall on Dec. 7. Pope Francis prayed before the display on the identical day he met with the artists and donors liable for the Vatican’s Christmas decorations.
As of Wednesday, the keffiyeh, manger and infant Jesus have been faraway from the nativity scene, The Associated Press reported. At the time of reporting, the Vatican didn’t provide a reason for the removal.
It’s uncertain whether the removal is the results of backlash to the scene, as Catholics typically leave the child Jesus determine of the set during Advent. The absence of Jesus is supposed to represent the wait for His arrival, and most Catholics add the figure on Christmas Eve.
The display, “Nativity of Bethlehem 2024,” was designed by Johny Andonia and Faten Nastas Mitwasi, two Palestinian artists from Bethlehem, based on The Times of Israel.
The Higher Presidential Committee for Church Affairs in Palestine, which is linked to the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Embassy to the Vatican, are a number of the entities that organized the creation of the Nativity scene.
The Vatican displayed the Nativity scene with the infant Jesus lying on a keffiyeh to indicate it off to the pope, in addition to artisans and donors, based on AP. An anonymous Palestinian official told the outlet that the Vatican didn’t explain why it had removed the keffiyeh, and it stays to be seen if it would include it again on Dec. 24.
In response to the display, the American Jewish Committee, which advocates for Israel and against antisemitism, condemned the Nativity scene on the Vatican.
“We are upset and troubled that a meaningful religious tradition has been politicized in this fashion,” AJC wrote in an X post last Monday.
StopAntisemitism, a non-partisan watchdog group, asserts that the display is an effort to rewrite history by claiming Jesus was a Palestinian as a way of erasing the Jewish people’s connection to Israel. The group noted that the Nazis also claimed Jesus was Aryan to justify the Holocaust.
“The lies may shape-shift, however the centuries-old hatred towards the Jewish people continues,” StopAntisemitism declared in a statement last Sunday.
Addressing the donors’ of the Vatican’s Nativity Scene and Christmas tree earlier this month, Pope Francis said it serves as a reminder of the continuing war within the Holy Land, as Vatican News reported. Representatives from the Embassy of the State of Palestine to the Holy See were also in attendance for the inauguration of the “Nativity of Bethlehem 2024.”
“Enough with wars, enough of violence!” Pope Francis stated.
“You know that one of the crucial profitable investments is within the weapons industry?” he asked. “They earn money to kill. But why? No more wars!”
The Catholic leader has called for the discharge of the hostages seized by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, and met with the families of those that remain in Gaza. However, Francis has also advocated for investigating whether Israel’s military campaign against the phobia group in Gaza matches the definition of genocide.
On Thursday, the pope met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on the Vatican, based on the National Catholic Register. The discussion included a conversation about peace within the Holy Land.
Israel has rejected the claim that its response to Hamas’ terrorist attack is an act of genocide. Hamas’ surprise onslaught resulted within the deaths of at the least 1,200 people and the kidnapping of over 250 others, mostly civilians, from southern Israel.
While the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry claims over 40,000 people have been killed since Israel began its military operations, the figure doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants. In addition, it doesn’t account for deaths that occurred because of this of misfired rockets launched from Gaza.
