A seasonal nativity scene at the Vatican has been removed after backlash over its depiction of the baby Jesus lying on a keffiyeh, the traditional scarf used by Palestinians as a national symbol, Catholic media outlets reported Wednesday.
The keffiyeh-draped cradle, which was displayed in the Paul VI Hall, was one of a series of nativity scenes collectively titled “Nativity of Bethlehem 2024,” designed by artists Johny Andonia and Faten Nastas Mitwasi, both Palestinians from Bethlehem, according to Vatican News.
At the inauguration of the scene on Saturday, Pope Francis called on believers to “remember the brothers and sisters, who, right there [in Bethlehem] and in other parts of the world, are suffering from the tragedy of war.”
According to the Crux news outlet, the Vatican did not offer a reason as to why the scene was removed and did not respond when asked whether its removal represented a political statement.
The creation and display of the scene was organized by the Higher Presidential Committee for Church Affairs in Palestine, an organ of the Palestine Liberation Organization, and the Palestinian embassy to the Vatican, along with several local institutions in Bethlehem.
It was not the main nativity scene displayed in St. Peter’s Square.
Pope Francis shakes hands with Sharone Lifshitz, the daughter of Israeli hostage Oded Lifshitz, during a meeting in the Vatican on November 14, 2024. (Vatican media)
The unveiling of the provocative nativity scene came after a series of statements by the pope about the ongoing war between Israel and various Iranian proxies, which have angered some Jews and Israelis.
Excerpts released last month from a book of interviews with Francis included a call by the pontiff to investigate whether Israel’s campaign against the Hamas terror group in Gaza “fits into the technical definition” of genocide.
Israel categorically rejects that characterization of its conduct in the ongoing war, which began on October 7, 2023, when thousands of Hamas-led terrorists invaded southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, amid acts of brutality and sexual assault.
The pope has met frequently with family members of those taken hostage and has repeatedly called for their release.
A letter he wrote to Middle Eastern Catholics on the first anniversary of the attack, however, never mentioned Hamas by name or made explicit reference to its atrocities, including the hostages. The letter also quoted passages from the Gospel of John that have historically been used to fuel religious antisemitism.
The nativity scene is also suggestive of the trope that Jesus was a Palestinian, which drew anger from Israeli officials in 2013, when invoked by Mahmoud Abbas.
