Opinion: Was Jesus a Jewish Settler or an Occupier?

Jesus—perhaps the most significant and influential person in history ever—was a settler. Indeed, Jesus was a Jewish settler who lived in the town of Bethlehem in Judea (which is referred to by some today as “occupied territory” in the West Bank.)

How can millions worldwide accept the story of Jesus, claim that a Jewish family raised this Jewish boy in this city—yet, somehow claim the Jews do not have history and the right to this land? There is nary a Christian alive who disputes that Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea—the same city where King David had been born a thousand years earlier. And if that is the case, how can anyone in the same breath claim to be a Christian—and say that there is any occupied territory in Israel?

Jordan created the term “West Bank” only 60 years ago. Is that more important than Jesus?

The Jewish people—from the time of Jesus—have a biblical, legal and moral link and connection to these areas that are part of the State of Israel. All of the land of Israel is rich with stories from the Bible—and Judea and Samaria belong to Israel.

There is absolutely no factual basis to claim that there is occupied territory in Israel. As Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu put it clearly, “The connection between the Jewish people and the land of Israel has lasted for more than 3,500 years. Judea and Samaria, the places where Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, David and Solomon, and Isaiah and Jeremiah lived are not alien to us. This is the land of our forefathers.”

The Jewish right to the entire land of Israel is eternal. Jesus was a Jewish settler. Was he also an occupier?

Ronn Torossian is author of “For Immediate Release: Shape Minds, Build Brands, and Deliver Results with Game-Changing Public Relations,” which has been called “the best book ever on Israel public relations” by the Deputy Speaker of the Israel Knesset, Danny Danon.