An ad placed in Times Square has attempted to highlight the plight of Palestinians, but Israel supporters are furious
The New Arab Staff
26 December, 2025
A billboard in New York's Times Square shared a Christmas message declaring that "Jesus is Palestinian", drawing praise from social media users, and outrage from pro-Israelis.
The ad, along with another which displayed a Quranic verse, was funded by the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), who described the campaign as an "act of resilience".
"Our two NY billboards are an act of cultural resilience: 1. 'Jesus is Palestinian. Merry Christmas.' 2. The Quranic verse (3:45) announcing the blessed birth of Jesus, with 'Merry Christmas' in English and Arabic," the ADC wrote on its Instagram page.
The post drew hundreds of messages of support, with many agreeing with the statement.
"Thank you for spreading truth! Those who truly follow and relate to the teachings of Christ do recognize this," wrote one Instagram user.
"Truly remarkable and inspiring," wrote another.
However, many supporters of Israel expressed anger with the ad.
Writing on X, ADC Director Abed Ayoub said: "Christians and Christianity are under attack in the birthplace of Jesus - doesn’t matter what you want to call it. There is no disputing that."
"This billboard upset more people than the actual attack on Christians by Israel. You may disagree with it, but it finally got you talking about Christians and Palestine. The Israel First crowd really got triggered today because they don’t want you to know Christians reside in Palestine, including in Gaza," he added, referring to the growing US political divide between those branded as "Israel First" and those seen as "America First".
"They want to push back against us so much that the Israeli Foreign Minister purchased ad space on the same billboard to counter us. At least we didn’t use American taxpayers dollars for our ads," he added, likely referring to Washington's multi-billion-dollar financial support for Israel.
The festive season has increasingly become a cultural battleground between supporters of Israel and their critics. While bombing and displacing Palestinians - including Muslims and Christians - Israel has sought to whitewash its image by claiming to be a safe haven for the Middle East's Christians.
In the occupied West Bank - home to the birthplace of Jesus - Israel's increasing checkpoints and restrictions on Palestinians have restricted access to Christianity's holiest sites in Bethlehem, including during Christmas.
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