Mainstream Media Discovers Jesus Was From... Bethlehem?
Al Jazeera's article 'Christmas is not a Western story – it is a Palestinian one' attempts to re-center the narrative, pointing out the inconvenient truth that Jesus's birthplace, Bethlehem, is in occupied Palestinian territory. While much of Western media treats the region as a perpetually chaotic 'disputed land,' Bethlehem's historic Palestinian Christian community has celebrated Christmas for
two millennia. This critical piece pushes back against the sanitized, commercialized Christmas narrative prevalent in media that often fails to acknowledge the plight of the indigenous Christian population under occupation, effectively de-contextualizing a religious holiday from its geographical and political reality. Perhaps next, they'll report on how the 'Holy Land' actually has inhabitants.