Vatican nativity scene shows Jesus on Palestinian cloth – rabbis outraged
Rome - A nativity scene in the Vatican is causing a stir in the Jewish world. An Italian rabbi accuses the Pope of jeopardising relations with Judaism through his actions.
There are manynativity scenes in the Vatican - but one is now causing a particular stir: It shows the baby Jesus on a black and white Palestinian cloth, the so-called kufiya. The Chief Rabbi of Genoa, Giuseppe Momigliano, criticised this depiction as a "Palestinianisation" of the Jewish Jesus, as reported by the Hebrew portal "Moked.it". According to the Vice President of the Italian Rabbinical Association UCEI, this is nothing new in ecclesiastical circles, but is "particularly worrying" because the pope is doing it.
Momigliano called the depiction of Jesus with the kufiya "a further step towards robbing him of his historical identity"; this damages dialogue and does nothing to combat anti-Semitism. According to the rabbi, Pope Francis is damaging relations with Judaism through such explicit and symbolic actions. The Italian newspaper "Il Messaggero" was the first to report. The Vatican did not initially comment on the accusations.
Nativity scene from Bethlehem
The nativity scene is located in the Vatican audience hall and comes from Bethlehem. It was presented to the Pope on Saturday by the Palestinian ambassador to the Holy See, Issa Kassissieh, among others. According to the French newspaper "La Croix", the cot was not originally covered with the Palestinian cloth. A representative of the Palestinian delegation had draped the cloth there shortly before the Pope's arrival.
In his speech, Francis spoke of the "tormented Palestine". The manger from Bethlehem is a reminder of "brothers and sisters who are suffering there and in other parts of the world under the tragedy of war". Photos published by the Vatican showing Francis looking at the nativity scene were criticised on the internet. Other voices pointed out that the cloth was part of the Palestinian tradition and was only politically charged by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The Jerusalem Franciscan Ibrahim Faltas reported in the church press service SIR that Ambassador Kassissieh and the head of the Presidential Committee for Church Affairs of the Palestinians, Ramzi Khoury, had asked him to celebrate a service for peace with them after the meeting. At the mass in the Vatican Grottoes, he recalled the deep bond between the popes and the Holy Land, said the Egyptian religious. (KNA)