Times Square display declaring ‘Jesus is Palestinian’ draws widespread public backlash

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: A controversial Times Square billboard sparked sharp criticism from users during the Christmas season, with many challenging its message.

The American‑Arab Anti‑Discrimination Committee, a non‑profit organization, funded the billboard and has been renting Times Square ad space year-round, featuring different messages on a weekly rotation.

The billboard featured the bold statement “JESUS IS PALESTINIAN” in stark black letters against a bright green background. On the opposite side of the digital ad space, “MERRY CHRISTMAS” is displayed.

Public reaction mounts over Times Square billboard

Users responded strongly to the display after it appeared last week.

One user rejected the premise of the message, arguing that Jesus transcends national and ethnic identities, saying, “Jesus is God neither Jewish nor Palestinian. He is God. Praise be to God.”

Another user dismissed the claim outright, stating, “What nonsense. Jesus was a Jew from Judea, not a Palestinian, and the term didn’t even exist back then.”

One online commentator challenged the claim, saying, “Lol, no he wasn’t. The Romans hadn’t yet named the area Syria-Palestina — they named it that a few hundred years later."

A netizen pointed out, “Jesus is a Nazarene. The word Palestine or Palestinian doesn’t exist in the Bible.”

Expressing frustration over the billboard, one critic asked, “Must they ruin everything?”

Another comment read, “Yeshua, to and through Jewish. Stop your BS. There was and will never be anything called Palestine. You can’t even pronounce His name correctly. YESHUA.”

Highlighting the biblical context, one comment said, “Jesus said ‘salvation comes from the Jews’ and he called the land ‘Israel’ in the Gospel of Matthew. Don’t create a new identity for Jesus. God bless.”

The ADC’s message and ongoing billboard campaign

ADC National Executive Director Abed Ayoub explained that the campaign’s core theme is to highlight shared cultural and religious roots among Arab, Muslim, and Christian communities in the United States, particularly during one of New York City’s busiest times.

Ayoub told The Post that the billboard was intended to encourage recognition of common ground rather than provoke confrontation, emphasizing that 'there’s a lot more similarities between Arabs and Muslims and Christians in this country than others want to allow us to believe.'

He framed the effort as a way to spark dialogue, saying, “If people wanna go back and forth and debate it, then great. At least you’re having a conversation about it. Otherwise, we’re silenced, and our voices and positions don’t come out.”

When asked whether his group was disputing that Jesus was Jewish, Ayoub stated, “Jesus lives within all of us,” adding that the matter was 'up for interpretation.'

He also mentioned that Jewish groups who have disagreed with him digitally since the spring are free to promote their own views about Jesus.

A new digital ad by the organization that went up this week reads 'Jesus would say ‘tear down that wall’,' which appears to reference political commentary attributed to former President Ronald Reagan. 

Ayoub also said that another new billboard is planned to appear in Times Square for New Year’s Eve.

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.