Jewish lobby wages war on Christmas trees

[Scurrilous]

Lobby for Jewish values passes out fliers against hotels, restaurants putting up Christmas trees, other Christian symbols ahead of civil New Year, say businesses who do so risk losing kosher certification

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3815175,00.html

<snip>

"The "Lobby for Jewish values" this week began operating against restaurants and hotels that plan to put up Christmas trees and other Christian symbols ahead of Christmas and the civil New Year.

According to the lobby's Chairman, Ofer Cohen, they have received backing by the rabbis, "and we are even considering publishing the names of the businesses that put up Christian symbols ahead of the Christian holiday and call for a boycott against them."

Fliers and ads distributed among the public read, "The people of Israel have given their soul over the years in order to maintain the values of the Torah of Israel and the Jewish identity.

"You should also continue to follow this path of the Jewish people's tradition and not give in to the clownish atmosphere of the end of the civil year. And certainly not help those businesses that sell or put up the foolish symbols of Christianity."

[Rosa Luxemburg]

1. the trees are pagan

Jesus didn't have a fir tree

[mrcheerful]

3. What you mean those xmas trees next to the manger scene on my xmas cards are fake?

Whats next, you going to tell me the Easter bunny doesn't lay colored eggs? Oh the horrors.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

6. shocking isn't it

santa was bald

[ensho]

4. true

nt

[fascisthunter]

2. self-delete

bleh

[SandWalker1984]

5. Isn't it interesting how such a small minority can have such power?

Christmas trees are no more religious than Easter bunnies.

I find it very interesting that the Jewish critics of the Christmas trees have no problems with the US government giving massive foreign aid to the country of Israel, which has a state sponsored religion, something the founders of our country were strongly against.

One other intersting note -- they also have a single payer public health care system that is mostly funded with money from the US taxpayers.

[oberliner]

7. Jews are not a small minority in Israel

This article has nothing to do with the United States.

This article is about Christmas in Israel; Jews are not a small minority there.

[ProgressiveMuslim]

10. What do you think of that, Oberliner?

Those tourists who want to see Santa should go to Ramallah!

[oberliner]

11. Glenn Beck and Bill O'Reilly need to take their "War on Christmas" crusade worldwide!

As for me, I'd love to be able to sit in a coffee shop without having to hear about our newborn king, ba rum pa pum pum.

[ProgressiveMuslim]

12. Personally, I wait 11 months to be able to listen to Vince Guardaldi's "Charlie Brown Xmas"

but... should Christians not be able to celebrate Christmas in the place of Jesus birth?

What about Israeli citizens who are Christian?

[oberliner]

13. I do confess that I love that cartoon

Christians should definitely be able to celebrate Christmas wherever they would like. Israeli citizens who are Christian most certainly should be able to celebrate the holiday.

That's different from a group of rabbis not giving a kashrut certificate to hotels and restaurants putting up Christmas trees, isn't it?

I can assure you that Christmas will be celebrated in Israel by Israeli Christians and Christian tourists alike.

In fact, the Israeli Ministry of Tourism goes out of its way to encourage Christians to travel to Israel for the purpose of such celebrations.

[Violet_Crumble]

15. I'm sure you wouldn't be trying to put a positive spin on it if it were Muslims doing it...

That's different from a group of rabbis not giving a kashrut certificate to hotels and restaurants putting up Christmas trees, isn't it?

And planning to boycott businesses that do so. But you make it sound as if it's all okay as long as they're not banning Christians from actually celebrating Christmas. It's not okay, and I'd hope you'd agree with me that their behaviour is incredibly intolerant...

[ProgressiveMuslim]

20. Or... imagine if there were negative consequences for US hotels featuring a Star of David or

menorah. I think that would go over like a lead balloon.

[oberliner]

22. You suggested that Christians in Israel are not being permitted to celebrate Christmas

Do you really think that is a fair characterization of what is happening here?

[Violet_Crumble]

23. I have a major problem with yr argument,, Oberliner...

Yr trying to make out like it's okay for Christmas trees and stuff to be banned as long as people are still allowed to celebrate Christmas. It's not at all acceptable. What yr trying to argue would be the same as if someone came along and argued that Christians in a country like Saudi Arabia can still practice their religion, just not in public.

On edit: Do you oppose the actions of the intolerant folk in the OP? And if you do, why is it that you appear to be suggesting in this thread that their behaviour is okay seeing as how people can still celebrate Chrissy if they want to?

[ProgressiveMuslim]

26. Can you address that, Oberliner? I don't dispute your clairificaiton of the rabbis' actions.

Do you agree with the actions?

How would you feel if hotels in the US faced sanction for displaying a Jewish holiday symbol?

[oberliner]

28. I would be happy to respond to your request

I would say this group of rabbis is somehwat similar to Bill O'Reilly (or the more Christian equivalent) telling his legions to boycott Target (or withhold their "seal of approval") because they say "happy holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas." This, however, would be precluded on the assumption that the United States is a Christian country in a way akin to how Israel is a Jewish country, otherwise any analogy between the US and Israel in this regard would not be valid.

What would be the reaction, I wonder, if Jewish holiday symbols were displayed in hotels in Beirut or any of the other democracies in the Middle East?

In any case, I think the whole thing is silly. A non-story.

Christmas is celebrated privately and publicly throughout Israel by Israeli Christians and Christian tourists alike. Not to mention a pretty fair number of Jews. I think the country does a good job of allowing people to practice their religious beliefs freely and openly.

[Violet_Crumble]

29. You haven't answered the question I asked you, Oberliner...

Could you answer it now? I'll repost it for you:

'Do you oppose the actions of the intolerant folk in the OP? And if you do, why is it that you appear to be suggesting in this thread that their behaviour is okay seeing as how people can still celebrate Chrissy if they want to?'

Now, I see in yr post that you merely think it's silly and a non-story. This leads to another question - Would you think it's silly and a non-story if it were Muslims doing it?

[oberliner]

30. Sorry

Q1: Yes, I oppose the actions, just like I oppose the O'Reilly "War on Christmas" stuff. My comment about how people can freely celebrate Christmas in Israel was inspired by another poster's comment that seemed to suggest otherwise to me.

Q2: Yes.

[Ken Burch]

21. If it keeps them out of the country all year, I'd be fine with that,

Problem is, which other countries would let them in?

[LeftishBrit]

8. They aren't a small minority

This is about Israel, not the USA. Religious Jews are certainly not a small minority there, though this degree of narrow-minded intolerance for people with different traditions *is* rather unusual.

This particular religious-Jewish lobby sounds a bit like the religious-Christian lobby in the USA that does treat Christmas celebrations as some sort of religious duty. Perhaps this bunch and Bill O'Reilly's bunch should fight their pro vs anti Christmas wars with each other, and leave the ordinary citizens of their respective countries out of it!

BTW, America contributes quite a lot of money toward Israel's military but *not* to its public health care system. Just as it spends enormous amounts on its own military defense but apparently won't on establishing proper public health care.

[Violet_Crumble]

16. Doesn't the US give Israel any economic funding at all? n/t

[cali]

14. Could you kindly cite some evidence that U.S taxpayers fund

the Israeli health care system?

[azurnoir]

9. Decorate them in blue and silver

use appropriate ornaments dreidels would be nice and call them Hanukkah Bush's

I rate this with O'Reilly

[IndianaGreen]

17. They are not Christmas trees. They are Chanukah bushes!

The gods save us from Taliban wearing Tefillin.

[Ken Burch]

19. The way you phrased that, I had the image of a Tefillin wearing a Taliban.

n/t.

[Ken Burch]

18. Here's what I think the agenda is behind this article

Ynet is supportive of the alliance between hard-right Likudnik-type "Pro-Israeli" groups and the "Christian" Right political groups in the U.S., and that crowd are the ones who keep the "War Against Christmas" canard alive(the one Bill O'Reilly keeps trying to scrape into our ears with his loofah-like voice).

In the name of supporting "friends fo Israel", Ynet is smearing the progressive and secular wing of the American Jewisn community. Funny how much they end up sounding like right-wing antisemites when they do that, isn't it?

The headline sounds like something the "Liberty Lobby" would've come up with, or maybe Henry Ford in 1918.

[cali]

24. say what?

I fail to see where this has anything to do with the progressive and secular wing of the American Jewish community- or any part of the American Jewish community for that matter. Sounds like these are right wing religious Israeli Jews.

[Ken Burch]

25. When I wrote that, I didn't realize the news item was in Israel

That could still be part of ynet's agenda for doing the article.

For the record, ynet should've considered it perfectly natural for a group in Israel to take the position that Christmas shouldn't be the main holiday 'round those parts.

[ProgressiveMuslim]

27. When I first saw the headline, I didn't think so either!

[floridablue]

31. Dear Idiots !!!!

We have supported you through thick and thin. All your wars even when you were wrong. So just leave the Friggin Christmas Trees alone !!!!!!!!

[LeftishBrit]

32. They are leaving YOUR Christmas trees alone; this isn't about America!

This is a rather intolerant group of rabbis trying to stop Christmas trees in Israel. This is stupid and bigoted of them (though I must admit that the importing of Northern Europaean traditions of What Christmas Looks Like to the Middle Eastern land of Jesus' birth does have its funny side). But it has nothing to do with America.