Dr Bernhard Reitsma writes about the importance of the Jewishness of Jesus Christ for the Churches in the Arab World.  This article was first published in the magazine Theological Review volume XXVI, No. 1 (April 2005) of the Near East School of Theology (NEST) in Beirut (Lebanon). It was published here with permission.

I. Introduction
In 1995 a consultation was held between the MECC and its Dutch Counterpart, the Council of Churches in the Netherlands. It was the second in a series of three that discussed the different interpretations that exist in the Middle East and the Netherlands concerning the relation between the Church and the Jewish People. Mitri Raheb, outstanding theologian and Lutheran Pastor in Bethlehem, asked the Dutch delegation why in the Netherlands they stressed the Jewishness of Jesus so heavily. This question determined a substantial part of the discussions during the third consultation in 1998 in Amman. Of course, the Dutch delegation posed a counter question: ‘What does it mean for you in the Middle East, that Jesus was a Jew? 

Though the different views were not simply divided along delegation lines, it is obvious that the whole issue is approached differently in the Middle East than in Europe. The Dutch have an almost natural sympathy for the State of Israel, because it survived – as it is perceived – the tidal wave of Arab force; it reminds the small Dutch nation of its own struggle for survival, especially against the powers of the sea. The miracle of this State is often perceived as a Divine intervention. This sympathy is further strengthened by the feelings of guilt that are haunting the Dutch, because of the events of the Second World War Especially Christians still try to cope with the fact that ages of Western Christian anti-Semitism have paved the way for something so horrible (and essentially anti-Christian) as the Holocaust. Because of this sympathy, Israel is first of all seen as the land of Jesus. Many people would like to visit this idealized Holy Land to get in touch with the roots of their faith.

For Christians in the Middle East the situation is completely different. The so called ‘miracle’ of the State of Israel for them is more like a disaster (the ‘Naqbeh’). Israel is perceived as the last remnant of colonialism  that poses a continuous threat to peace and stability in the region. Talking about the Jewishness of Jesus always reminds Arab Christians of Jews that are involved in acts of war and aggression and it raises the question whether Jesus is a Jew like that? Is He justifying the presence and the acts of the Jewish State?

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