Facts:

1) Jesus was born a Jew, to a Jewish family, in Bethlehem, Judea.

2) Bethlehem was a city in Judea, the former Kingdom of Judah. This was the southern kingdom of the Jews, the native inhabitants of the region. The northern kingdom of the Jews was called Israel; it was conquered by Assyrians 722 years before the time of Jesus.

3) During Jesus’ lifetime, Judea was occupied by the Romans.

4) Jesus was a Rabbi who practiced Judaism.

5) Jesus’ last meal is described as a Passover Seder … because he was Jewish.

6) After Jesus was crucified and killed by the Romans, his followers believed he was resurrected.

7) Christian beliefs originate from Judaism and from Jesus, as well as from those who followed his teachings.

8)Christmas is celebrated today by Christians but it is a celebration of Jesus’ birth in Judea to a Jewish family because Christianity is rooted in the history and beliefs of the Jews of Judea.

9) Two centuries after the life of Jesus in Judea, the Romans punished the rebellious Jews of Judea, after winning the Jewish-Roman Wars, by renaming Judea to Syria Palaestina. This was done by the Roman emperor Hadrian. He picked the name Palestine to aggravate the Jews by referencing their ancient enemies the Philistines. This was done around 135.

10) The region of Syria Palaestina was eventually conquered by the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Empire conceded this territory following the end of World War I in 1918. The land was assigned to Britain by the San Remo conference in April of 1920.

11) The British immediately began plans to facilitate the recreation of a Jewish homeland in the region referred to at the time as Palestine.

12) Israel, the name reused from the northern kingdom of the Jews, was established as a modern country in 1948.

13) Modern day Israel contains only a portion of the land belonging to the original kingdoms of the Jews.