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The So-Called Jerusalem Cross: A Symbol Misunderstood

by Ram ben Ze’ev



The So-Called Jerusalem Cross: A Symbol Misunderstood
The So-Called Jerusalem Cross: A Symbol Misunderstood

When photographs emerged of now–Secretary of War Pete Hegseth proudly displaying the tattoo of what he calls the “Jerusalem Cross” on his chest, the reaction among Democrats and Leftists in the United States was immediate and predictably hysterical. They condemned it as “Christian nationalism,” “Crusader imagery,” and a threat to “diversity.” Yet, as usual, their outrage was both selective and shallow — because they neither understand the history of the symbol they decry nor the deeper truth of why it provokes discomfort in the first place.



From a Jewish perspective, however, the unease it stirs is not misplaced. The so-called “Jerusalem Cross” has nothing to do with ירושלים (Yerushalayim) or its sanctity. It is not an emblem of peace, but a relic of conquest — a foreign mark imported from medieval Europe and raised in the name of domination. Under that very banner, Crusaders stormed ירושלים in 1099, slaughtered its Jewish inhabitants, and desecrated the city that they claimed to “liberate.” The symbol Hegseth wears was, quite literally, the flag under which Jews were butchered.


When that image is combined with another of his tattoos — the words Deus Vult, Latin for “god wills it” — the association deepens. Those words were the rallying cry of the First Crusade, shouted by soldiers as they advanced upon ירושלים. But the “god” invoked by that phrase is not G-D, the One and Eternal of Israel. It was the god of empire, of domination, of those who believed their violence was sanctified. To see those words inked beside the Crusader cross is to confront a chilling question: does Hegseth’s belief extend to thinking that “his god” once willed — and perhaps still wills — the slaughter of Jews?



Even the placement of these tattoos carries symbolic weight. The right side of the body, in Torah understanding, corresponds to חסד (chesed — lovingkindness), the Divine attribute of mercy and benevolence. To inscribe upon that place a symbol historically associated with cruelty and conquest in the name of a “god” represents a profound inversion of holiness. What was meant in creation to express compassion becomes, in this context, a declaration of might and domination. Whether intended or not, the decision to mark the right chest and arm with Crusader imagery transforms the side of mercy into the side of judgment — a distortion that reveals more about the spiritual confusion of the age than the strength of faith it pretends to display.


Adding to this disturbing symbology is another tattoo that bears the Arabic word كافر (kafir — “non-believer”). When combined with the Crusader cross and the Deus Vult inscription, the message becomes unmistakable: it forms a triad of conquest, exclusion, and divine self-justification. The Crusaders branded all who rejected their “faith” as infidels — Jews foremost among them — and this word revives that same language of division. Together, these markings do not speak of personal faith, but of ideological warfare; they create a portrait not of devotion, but of domination disguised as belief.


To the Crusaders, the five crosses represented their claim to spread Christianity to the four corners of the earth, with ירושלים as the centre of their imagined dominion. To the Jewish people, the emblem remains a distortion — a human attempt to seize spiritual ownership of what belongs only to G-D. The holiness of ירושלים cannot be captured in metal or ink; it is eternal, not manufactured.



Those who defend or display this symbol today often do so under the guise of faith, courage, or tradition. Yet ignorance does not erase meaning. The so-called “Jerusalem Cross” is not a sign of devotion; it is a memorial to desecration. To wear it proudly while inscribing Deus Vult and the word Kafir nearby is to echo a cry of conquest against the very people to whom ירושלים was promised by the Divine word itself.


The Left may rage at Hegseth for their own reasons, but from a Jewish perspective, the deeper concern lies not in politics but in truth. The so-called “Jerusalem Cross” does not belong to ירושלים; it belongs to those who sought to destroy her. True peace will not be found in borrowed symbols of violence, but in the recognition that holiness cannot be conquered — only revealed by G-D to those who seek Him in truth.



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