My name is Elihu ben Levi, a merchant from Jerusalem who witnessed the crucifixion of Yeshua of Nazareth on that fateful day outside the city walls in the year we now call 33 AD. Through a miraculous device—a “time machine” invented in your era—I have been transported to December 22, 2025, to set the record straight. I stood among the crowd on Golgotha, not as one shouting for His death, but as a secret admirer of His teachings on compassion and the Kingdom of God. I wept silently as Roman soldiers nailed Him to the cross, and I recoiled when the mob demanded His execution while releasing Barabbas. The one who ultimately delivered the death sentence was the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate—a politician who washed his hands of the matter to appease the crowd and protect his own position. Many of us, Jews and Gentiles alike, wanted no part in this injustice; we grieved for the innocent prophet and healer being slain.

On December 20, 2025 (by your calendar), I accessed one of your “smart devices” and saw a public message posted by Senator Ted Cruz, a modern politician much like Pilate in his role. He wrote: “In this Christmas season, two statements that will drive the antisemites crazy; (1) Our Savior Jesus was a Jew, in the line of King David. (2) Jews did not kill Jesus. I did. You did. He died (& rose again) for ALL our sins, Jew & Gentile alike.” While I appreciate his effort to defend my people against ancient hatreds, his claim that “I did. You did”—implying everyone shares the blame—fills me with outrage. No, Senator Cruz, you did not kill Him, nor did I, nor did the countless others who opposed the execution or stood in horrified silence. I was there; I saw who orchestrated it: the chief priests who stirred the crowd, and above all, the politician Pilate who yielded to pressure rather than uphold justice.

The true responsibility lies with those who actively demanded crucifixion—the agitators in the mob and the political authority who sentenced an innocent man to appease the powerful. Many of us that day carried His words in our hearts afterward, becoming the quiet followers history forgot. Your theology may speak of universal sin, but do not rewrite the events I lived through by dragging the innocent bystanders into complicity. It was a politician’s cowardice, much like what I see in leaders today, that sealed His fate—not “everyone.” I have come through time to contest this blanket accusation and affirm: the blame falls on specific hands, not on all humanity across the ages. I mourned Him then, and having seen your world, I mourn still—for truth, for justice, and for the Teacher who deserved better.