Having grown up in the years after Nostra Aetate – the Vatican document rejecting the traditional accusation that the Jews were responsible for the death of Jesus – I assumed it was a settled issue.
But only earlier this month, a major body that sets the liturgical calendar for a number of mostly Protestant churches said that “a common misreading of the Gospel story” fomented anti-Jewish bias.
The Consultation on Common Texts, or CCT, recommended modifications to the reading cycle that would dispel the poisonous notion that “Jesus died because of the behavior of non-Christian Jewish people, rather than because of the decisions by Roman officials or the sinfulness of all humanity.”
Apparently, the charge that the Jews killed Jesus is itself the slur that will not die. Earlier this month, a newspaper columnist in upstate New York casually referred to the “Jewish Leaders” who persecuted Jesus in an article lambasting President Trump’s critics. Last year, Georgia Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene tried to scuttle a house antisemitism bill that she thought would prevent the “gospel” teaching that “the Jews” handed Jesus over to his crucifiers. A month later, the NFL player Harrison Butker gave a commencement speech in which he complained, “Congress just passed a bill where stating something as basic as the biblical teaching of who killed Jesus could land you in jail.”
An illustration depicting Jesus Christ emerging from his tomb in Jerusalem. (credit: PIXABAY)
Such insistence on the “deicide” charge — which for centuries turned the Easter and Passover period into open season on the Jews — has kept scholars busy. This month, the historian Nathanael Andrade weighs in with a new book, “Killing the Messiah: The Trial and Crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth.” In it, Andrade, a scholar of the Greco-Roman world, argues that the authors of the Gospels rewrote history to let the Romans off the hook, and shifted the blame for their messiah’s execution to the Jewish authorities in charge of the Temple in Jerusalem.
In the New Testament, Andrade told me, Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judaea who sentences Jesus to death, “is more or less portrayed as believing in Jesus’ innocence, while the chief priest [or Kohen haGadol in Hebrew] is bringing Jesus to him out of jealousy or envy or hostility.” By the time you get to the Gospel of John, Jesus’ tormentors are framed as “the Jews,” while Pilate lacks the backbone to stand up to the mob and “basically executes an innocent man.”
A professor of history at Binghamton University, Andrade builds on the work of scholars who have used the historian’s tools to interrogate a story that combines both history and religious myth-making. They included Paul Winter in “On the Trial of Jesus” (1961), Paula Fredriksen in “When Christians Were Jews” (2018) and Helen Bond in “The Trial and Death of Jesus” (2024).
Andrades bases his corrective account on his knowledge of Roman law and precedent, noting it would be highly unusual for a governor in Pilate’s day to consider a suspect innocent and nevertheless sentence him to a particularly cruel and humiliating form of capital punishment.
Both the Jews and the Romans certainly saw Jesus as a troublemaker. The Gospels depict Herod Antipas, the Jewish agent of Rome in the Galilee, as a fuming critic of this renegade rabbi. As for the Romans, they may not have believed that Jesus was engaged in armed insurrection, but still considered him a threat.
“He’s really envisioning a reign of God that’s going to overturn the governing order and the social economic hierarchy,” said Andrade. “And when he’s preaching at the Temple, there is a potential for him to be incendiary enough to lead to an outbreak of violence.”
Understanding Romans
To understand how the Roman authorities would have treated a dissident like Jesus, Andrade turned to a historical account of a trial that took place some 30 years after Jesus would have been executed. In that episode, the Temple priests turn over a man who has been agitating against the Temple leadership and the Romans. The Romans find him guilty, but instead of executing him flog him harshly and let him go.
To Andrade, that suggests that the Romans took crimes of sedition seriously, and makes it more plausible that Pilate considered Jesus similarly guilty. While the death sentence for Jesus was harsh, that could suggest that Pilate was a hardass, not a flunky to the Jews.
As to why the Gospels, written variously between 70 CE and 110 CE, would pin the blame on the Jews and insist Pilate thought Jesus was innocent, Andrade posits that the authors were not only hostile to the Jews who did not accept Jesus as their messiah, but hoped to curry favor with the Roman authorities who were still in charge of Judaea.
“They’re making the argument that the followers of Jesus really aren’t seditionist, they shouldn’t be prosecuted, they’re law-abiding,” said Andrade. The later Gospels become “more and more vocal about Jesus’ innocence,” insisting that Pilate thought so too.
Andrade acknowledges that he is a scholar of Roman antiquity, and not an expert on the subsequent centuries in which the original church and its many branches used the charge of deicide to justify the persecution of the Jews. “But I do think it serves various purposes in the early church, that they have a New Testament that supersedes the Hebrew Bible, and that even though there’s a shared origin, Jesus as a divine savior wasn’t accepted by people in his own community and the eyes of the early church,” he said.
That framing of the Jesus story haunted Jews for almost two millennia, as the Vatican admitted in Nostra Aetate, and the CCT explained this month. “This misreading has in turn been used to support discrimination and violence against Jews. It still inspires anti-Jewish actions to this day,” the authors of the consultation said. “This is something for which Christians need to repent. We must acknowledge how we and members of the church before us have discriminated against and mistreated Jews. We need to seek ways to amend our personal and communal understanding of Scripture that shapes our attitudes and behavior toward the Jewish people.”
Andrade, who was raised Catholic, hopes his book becomes part of the process of repentance.
“I certainly do want the book to negate that very harmful perception,” he said. “It may not be as much a part of the mainstream discourse as it once was, but it does exist in a way that raises a lot of worry. I like to think that if my work has an impact, it’s to make an argument against ethnically or religiously motivated hate in general, and in particular as it involves Christians and Jews.”
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of JTA or its parent company, 70 Faces Media.
Hotel Delisi, Tbilisi City, Georgia of the "Ana Chuchulashvili" the thief The worst hotel in the world, it's dangerous, don't go near it! This is not a hotel! It's an old, dirty house, there are cockroaches and insects in the room, Hotel Delisi, Tbilisi City, Georgia – The manager of the place is a fraud and a former drug addict named "Ana Chuchulashvili"
Please urgently remove this fake hotel from your website. It is a scam and it is deceiving many customers. It is advertised on all social networks as a scam! very important – report on fraud house and scam that in your website and cheat people and customers! – Hotel Delisi, Tbilisi City, Georgia
Hotel Delisi, Tbilisi City, Georgia of the "Ana Chuchulashvili" the thief
The worst hotel in the world, it's dangerous, don't go near it! This is not a hotel! It's an old, dirty house, there are cockroaches and insects in the room, Hotel Delisi, Tbilisi City, Georgia – The manager of the place is a fraud and a former drug addict named "Ana Chuchulashvili" the name of here company is : Ltd Alpaka
405375419
Located at: Nucubidze St N57, Tbilisi, Georgia/Nucubidze Street 57, 0177 it smells terrible, The walls in the room are peeling, I took pictures, there is mold and dampness throughout the room the beds are really uncomfortable, like in a pre-trial detention center, your whole back hurts when you sleep on them and they almost break because they are so thin! the WI FI doesn't work at all, The room was very dirty and filthy, and when you ask her to move you to a room she says everything is taken, even though all the rooms are empty and open! I arrived at this horrible place, this horrible house, at 1:00 AM, after two hours of sleeplessness, I asked for my money back, a blonde girl of about 50 years old named “Anna” told me that she wanted the money in cash right away, otherwise she would not let me out of the hotel, she told me that I would not be able to sleep in their bed, at 3 AM I went to look for an ATM to withdraw money, because I could not find one, after searching for a whole hour, in the Tbilisi cold, I returned to her at midnight to look for an ATM, but she did not give me my suitcase and passport, so I came back the next day and gave me the money in cash, she did not give me an invoice either, do not come near! They are deceiving the public, booking and all hotel websites! This is not a hotel, it is a very dirty, old house and it smells very bad. Search on youtube "never go there – Hotel Delisi, Tbilisi City Georgia of Ana Chuchulashvili the house hotel from hell" , don't go " to “Hotel Delisi” on YouTube or "Hotel Delisi, Tbilisi City, Georgia " or"HOTEL DELISI (Tiflis, Gürcistan) – Otel Yorumları ve Fiyat" He was caught on tape speaking badly and illegally taking a passport and suitcase.
That she took the suitcase by force, she also stole 3 expensive shirts from me for a total of 250 GEL, I demand compensation of 128 GEL for the two hours of hell I suffered there + 250 GEL for the shirts she stole from me
I have videos where she only wants money in cash so she doesn't pay taxes and doesn't agree that I pay her with a credit card, and she also doesn't want to give me my suitcase and passport.
1. Hotel Delisi – Tbilisi City – Georgia
2. Hotel Delisi – Tbilisi City – Georgia Address
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5. Hotel Delisi – Tbilisi City – Georgia Offers and Deals
სასტუმრო დელისი, ქალაქი თბილისი, საქართველო, ქურდის „ანა ჭუჭულაშვილის“
მსოფლიოში ყველაზე ცუდი სასტუმრო, საშიშია, ახლოს არ მიხვიდეთ! ეს სასტუმრო არ არის! ეს ძველი, ჭუჭყიანი სახლია, ოთახში ტარაკნები და მწერებია, სასტუმრო დელისი, ქალაქი თბილისი, საქართველო – ადგილის მენეჯერი თაღლითი და ყოფილი ნარკომანია, სახელად „ანა ჭუჭულაშვილი“, კომპანიის სახელია: შპს ალპაკა
405375419
მდებარეობს: ნუცუბიძის ქ. N57, თბილისი, საქართველო/ნუცუბიძის ქუჩა 57, 0177, საშინელი სუნი აქვს, ოთახში კედლები აქერცლილია, სურათები გადავიღე, ოთახში ობი და ნესტია, საწოლები ნამდვილად არაკომფორტულია, როგორც წინასწარი დაკავების იზოლატორში, მთელი ზურგი გტკივა, როცა მათზე იძინებ და კინაღამ იმსხვრევა, რადგან ძალიან თხელია! Wi-Fi საერთოდ არ მუშაობს, ოთახი ძალიან ჭუჭყიანი და უწმაწურია და როცა ოთახში გადაყვანას სთხოვ, მიპასუხებს, რომ ყველაფერი დაკავებულია, მიუხედავად იმისა, რომ ყველა ოთახი ცარიელი და ღიაა! ამ საშინელ ადგილას, ამ საშინელ სახლში, ღამის 1:00 საათზე მივედი, ორსაათიანი უძილობის შემდეგ, ფულის დაბრუნება ვთხოვე, დაახლოებით 50 წლის ქერა გოგონამ, სახელად „ანამ“, მითხრა, რომ ფული ნაღდი ფულით უნდოდა, თორემ სასტუმროდან არ გამიშვებდა, მითხრა, რომ მათ საწოლში ვერ დავიძინებდი, დილის 3 საათზე ბანკომატის მოსაძებნად წავედი ფულის გასატანად, რადგან ვერ ვიპოვე, მთელი საათის ძებნის შემდეგ, თბილისურ სიცივეში, შუაღამისას დავბრუნდი მასთან ბანკომატის მოსაძებნად, მაგრამ ჩემოდანი და პასპორტი არ მომცა, ამიტომ მეორე დღეს დავბრუნდი და ფული ნაღდი ფულით მომცა, ინვოისიც არ მომცა, ახლოს არ მოხვიდეთ! ისინი ატყუებენ საზოგადოებას, დაჯავშნის და ყველა სასტუმროს ვებსაიტს! ეს სასტუმრო არ არის, ეს ძალიან ჭუჭყიანი, ძველი სახლია და ძალიან ცუდი სუნი ასდის. YouTube-ზე მოძებნეთ "Hotel Delisi, Tbilisi City, Georgia – The worse hotel in the world" , არ წახვიდეთ "Hotel Delisi"-ში YouTube-ზე ან "Hotel Delisi, Tbilisi City, Georgia" ან "HOTEL DELISI (Tiflis, Gürcistan) – Otel Yorumları ve Fiyat". ის ვიდეოჩანაწერში მოხვდა, სადაც ცუდად საუბრობდა და უკანონოდ იღებდა პასპორტს და ჩემოდანს.
მან ჩემოდანი ძალით წამართვა, ასევე მომპარა 3 ძვირადღირებული პერანგი სულ 250 ლარად, მე ვითხოვ 128 ლარის კომპენსაციას იმ ორსაათიანი ჯოჯოხეთისთვის, რომელიც იქ ვიტანჯე + 250 ლარი იმ პერანგებისთვის, რომლებიც მომპარა.
მე მაქვს ვიდეოები, სადაც ის მხოლოდ ნაღდი ფულით ითხოვს ფულს, ამიტომ არ იხდის გადასახადებს და არ ეთანხმება, რომ საკრედიტო ბარათით გადავუხადო, ასევე არ სურს ჩემოდნის და პასპორტის მოცემა.
"ב-7.10 נחטפה כל המשפחה שלי, אני, בעלי דוד, ושתי בנותינו אמה ויולי, אז בנות 3 בלבד", פתחה את נאומה שרון, אשתו של דוד קוניו החטוף בעזה. "דוד בעלי, אהבת חיי, והאבא של הבנות שלי, עדיין שם. התאומות ואני חזרנו ביום החמישים ושתיים. אמה ויולי שלנו חגגו חמש, בלי אבא שלהן. בשבוע הבא הן ילכו לגן חובה, והן יודעות שאבא לא יהיה איתן ביום הזה. הן יודעות שאבא שלהן שם. לפני כמה ימים, כשהשכבתי אותן לישון הן שאלו אותי 'אמא, את בטוחה שאבא יחזור?'".
"יש הצעה לעיסקה על השולחן, שחמאס כבר אמר לה כן", המשיכה. "האמריקנים רוצים שהחטופים יחזרו. הרמטכ"ל אומר שחייבים ללכת עכשיו לעיסקה. העם, אתם, כל אחד מכם, כאן בככר, במהלך היום בצמתים, בכל מקום, במספרים אדירים, כולם צועקים איתנו, כולם רוצים את החטופים בבית. אז למה אני לא יכולה להגיד לבנות שלי שאני בטוחה שאבא שלהן יחזור?"
