Evangelical Leader Calls Palestinian Official’s Bible Claims ‘Contemptible’

A prominent American evangelical leader has denounced comments by a Palestinian official who described the Bible as a “Palestinian book.”

Palestinian Ambassador to the U.K. Husam Zomlot made the remarks earlier this month at the University of Bradford, as a revisionist narrative portraying Jesus as Palestinian gains attention.

Zomlot’s assertion that the Bible is a “Palestinian book”—and that all Christians are therefore Palestinian—has sparked strong criticism from opponents who say the claim promotes a disputed historical account of the region.

“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 News Outlet.

“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,” Hagee said. “Such attacks are contemptible, but their danger is decided by who will listen and who will challenge such bigotry.”

Hagee said it would be anachronistic to call Jesus Palestinian simply because Bethlehem is now located in the Palestinian-controlled West Bank. He compared that reasoning to describing television personality Dr. Phil as Cherokee solely 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,” Hagee added.

Hagee, whose organization has more than 10 million members, also said that “no reasonable person should entertain its existence in the future — given the horrors of October 7 and the ongoing effort by radical Islamists to annihilate the Jewish people.”

Zomlot made the statements Sept. 3 during a University of Bradford discussion with Humza Yousaf, Scotland’s former first minister. He recalled a private audience with the late Queen Elizabeth II, arranged by the British Foreign Office, during which he told her, “Jesus is our gift to you.”

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“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 said. “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 argue that the Palestinian Authority has attempted to influence the international historical narrative about the region through organizations including UNESCO and the United Nations. They cite UNESCO’s 2016 designation of the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron under the name “State of Palestine,” followed by its 2023 designation of Tell es-Sultan near Jericho as a World Heritage site in “Palestine.”

Critics also point to a 2021 U.N. General Assembly resolution that referred to the Temple Mount, Judaism’s holiest site, solely by its Muslim name, “Haram al-Sharif.” They have cited Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ 2024 statement that the site is the “exclusive property of Muslims,” as well as the use of Arabic names for locations with longstanding Jewish connections, including Rachel’s Tomb in Nablus, or Shechem, which is called the “Bilal Bin Rabah Mosque.”

Ze’ev Orenstein, director of international affairs at the City of David Foundation in Jerusalem, told News Outlet that Islam originated during the time of the Prophet Muhammad, approximately 1,300 years ago. Jesus lived about 2,000 years ago, while King David lived roughly 3,000 years ago, he said.

Orenstein emphasized that Jesus was Jewish, as were his disciples. Jesus knew the Hebrew Bible, observed the Sabbath and Jewish dietary laws, and celebrated Jewish holidays, including Passover.

“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,” Orenstein said.

Orenstein accused Zomlot of appropriating the religious and historical identity of Jews and Christians by linking the foundations of their faith to a country that, he said, did not exist in its present form during the era of Jesus.

“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.

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