Open University Claims Virgin Mary Was From ‘Ancient Palestine’
10th January 2026
The Open University has been forced to back down on claims the Virgin Mary was born in “ancient Palestine” following a legal complaint.
Academics had been accused of using material which risked “erasing Jewish history” by adopting the contested term “ancient Palestine” to describe her native province.
The row broke out over the university’s use of the description in its entry-level humanities module, Discovering the Arts and Humanities, which explores the role of myths and legends in shaping religious beliefs and practices.
The course material refers to Mary as having been born in “ancient Palestine”, describes Aramaic as “a language widely spoken in ancient Palestine” and includes a map labelled “Map of ancient Palestine”.
“Palestine”, of course, didn’t exist until the Romans created it after the destruction of the Jewish state after the rebellions of the first century A.D.
I find it entertaining that the illustrations accompanying the article are all of Orthodox icons of the Theotokos rather than Latin representations of the Virgin Mary.