Enough with the Christmas trees and celebrations Jews need to celebrate Jewish holidays! If you don't understand why then you're not a Jew!

"My cultural heritage is the Bible and not the Talmud" With this sentence you undermine your whole arguement as you are dismissing the whole Oral cultural tradition of the Jewish People

Reading several comments here makes me correspondingly assume that a christian cant celebrate chanukka with his jewish friends - because that is not "appropriate" for a christian. Well, maybe its not even appropriate to talk, laugh, marry, study with someone who believes in a different religion?! People, start contributing sth to this society...

I (christian) celebrate xmas, chanukka, pessach, easter holiday, etc. together with my jewish girlfriend and my jewish friends - and Yossi Paritzky can take a biiiiig leaf out of our book.

I read an account of where the tree came from. According to the book I read, the story of Nimrod who rebelled against heaven is the orgin for this tree. The story goes that because of the rebellion against G-d, men of G-d, from the time, took Nimrod, killed him and sent peices of him to all parts of the kingdom to impart a lesson to all that this was the end gain for trying to fight heaven. Couple this with the new found language barriers and I think the people were getting the point. The story goes on to state that Nimrods wife later was found to have immuculately concieved a child who was in fact a rebirth of Nimrod. In celebration of this fact, the yule log ceremony was the burning of a log in the fire and the next morning a freshly cut reborn tree was presented. Traces of Nimrod and his image has surfaced in virtually every part of the globe as a man wearing leopard skin. He was the first to tame animals and his image of the being held as a baby by a madonna, can also be found throughout the world. Remember, the tower of Babel was where all the tongues of the world were created, thus each speaking a different language departed into the tongues of the world. So it is pagan and has no place in Israel. By the way, the "New Years" tree is irrelavent as the "New Yera" is also a celebration of Jesus. It is not now nor has it ever been anything other than pagan, whether for Jesus (Dec 25 or Jan 1) or Nimrod, it is forbidden by Torah.

It is not a celebration of life. It is a celebration of Jesus, the false prophet of Devareem 13 and later on the false Messiah and false g-d.. Thats why the number thirteen is lucky for some and unlucky for others. Some passed G-d's (Dev 13) test but most failed. Many Isralis (Jews of history) fell to this prophet's teachings and even more to his disciples teachings and subsequent wars. If you follow a false g-d, you will become less Israeli, as the curse of being driven off G-d's land will be fullfilled (count on it) and the Israeli will become so "un-Israeli" that they will call him a russian, a spanyard, french, italian, chinese, american, morrocan, austrian, iranian, etc., etc. Want to be Israeli and stay Israeli? Want to live long in the land of Israel? Stop being so happy in a pagan Jesus and start being happy and rejoicing in Hashem for a change. After all chosing life is about this. Chosing death is about chosing a false G-d. So no, it is not a celebration of life, but on the contrary, a dead man on a cross. The afterlife promise. Colorful, I will give you that, but some of us got the point of Pinochio when we were young and we don't follow the donkey boys. They say the devil will come as something beautiful.

That is a really fantastic, poignant title. Thank you Ynet, for your hard-hitting, penetrating analysis.

I believe that Partisky doesn't know the facts as apparent from the talksbacks, because didn't either... maybe indeed it has nothing to do with Christimas, and then it's OK, because all israelis almost celebrate new year (though that may be wrong in itself, but it's a fact). But the problem is that now it's not for Christmas, in 10 years it might be... I think that's the slippery slope and why trees are not a nice scene in Israel. Put a Menorah instead, put light bulbs on it.

Going to church is Christian. Having a tree can be completely unreligious

I would not mind celebrating Christmas in Israel at all, but then at a unique condition which is to celebrate Christmas Fully, - that is to also organise a pogrom, and eradicate an entire Jewish town, after going to Midnight Mass through murders, rapes etc ... . This was the minhag in Eastern Europe and Russia !!! For Pete ...s sake , lets celebrate like it should be !!! Who again was it that sang "TRAaaaaDiIiiitionnnnnnnn ...."

See www.netzarim.co.il/Museum/Sukkah09/Christmas.htm PS: the most popular Israeli Jewish newspaper not publishing candlelighting times on Erev Shabbat and Erev Khag in its on-line counterpart is a disservice to Jewish readers and a disgrace to Israel. Even ha-Aretz publishes candlelighting times. Paqid Yirmeyahu IIsraeli Orthodox Jew Advancing Logic as Halakhic Authority Welcoming Jews & non-Jews www.netzarim.co.il

See www.netzarim.co.il/Museum/Sukkah09/Christmas.htm PS: the most popular Israeli Jewish newspaper not publishing candlelighting times on Erev Shabbat and Erev Khag in its on-line counterpart is a disservice to Jewish readers and a disgrace to Israel. Even ha-Aretz publishes candlelighting times. Paqid Yirmeyahu IIsraeli Orthodox Jew Advancing Logic as Halakhic Authority Welcoming Jews & non-Jews www.netzarim.co.il

for our seviour Jesus. My husband and I decorate the tree and have lots of fun.Also we donate money to homeless in our community.

Wow, a bigoted article from a Zionist? Imagine my utter lack of surprise.

Mr. Paritzki, Christmas, New Year are beautiful holidays. We are not in the time of Holy inkvisition It's not Nakba and it's not Ramadan, that have nothing attractive for the secular persons. Before you heat Russian immigrants, please look in the mirror. Do you see ermulka on your head?

Dont talk down to people like your the next man g-d. Is this site just another Baptist rhettoric site about the "sky is falling" and Rebi Yehoshua (Jesus)? I would visit it but I dont trust the source. IIsraeli Orthodox Jew - laughable Did you mean to write "I-isreally an Oradox Juwe"" in southarn baptiss style?

Israel's success is at the expense of Christian nations , Israel would not exist without the "Gentiles " . My suggestion to Mr Yossi Paritzky is to be careful with what words he choose lest he bites the hands that feed him . The Holy Land should be administered by the Christians as Jews and Moslems have proven absolutely unable for the task .

You do not want Christians to reside here - but their taking Christian money to finance our country is acceptable or even a Christian duty to us!

20 years ago in my then mostly Jewish neighborhood in L.A. there were only a few homes with Xmas trees and lights. Now they are in every building and the area is gradually becoming like any other gentile neighborhood. The same will happen in Israeli neighborhoods where there is growth in immigrant populations with no connection to Judaism. In my parents' time immigrants were proud to be American citizens, to speak English and to leave behind the customs of their former nations. My family knows that some Anglo olim celebrate Thanksgiving and New Year's Eve, but we will not be among them after our aliyah. I might, however, get homesick for pumpkin pie. Is canned pumpkin available in Israel?

if it was called a "Hannukah Bush"?

Pitiful. Just pitiful. Let us then follow this logic and let the countries of the world that do not share the "values" of the Zionist state encourage theiir Jewish citizens to pack their bags right away. If such attitudes as are common in Israel, and indeed which make up the founding idea of the Zionist state, were spoken aloud in any civilized country in the world, there would be all hell to pay. And yet such outrageous, insulting nonsense makes up the core of the political discourse in Israel. Every Jew should be deeply ashamed. Selah.

Maybe that this tree is associated to the civil new year in the FSU , and people brought this custom with them when making alyah . In the western world this tree IS associated to christmas , the birth of their savior . That's the problem for Israelis of Westeren origin , this connection to christian religion , and that's why so many oppose it . When i see succoth decorated with lamps and other such things , it reminds me of the same decorations applied in west Europa , to those xmas trees , and gives me a not so easy feeling .

"I am not a religious Jew and I do not live my life based on Jewish law. I am a Zionist Jew who lives in Israel because of my appreciation and love of Jewish culture." Hm, interesting. I would say that a Jew is a Jew precisaly because he lives his life according to Jewish Law. This is the Jewis Law. Anything else in humbug. "Zionism" is only a small part of Judaism and does not substitute Judaism.

hi all..im from palestine..my mum is jewish from tel aviv and dad is christian from palestine..and CHRISTMAS tree comes from CHRIST whish is jesus ...and jewish people dont recognize jesus ...so the jews shouldnt celebrate christmas..........u guys are free to celebrate wt u want but wht i mean is christmas tree is not based on the jewish religion.............i guess.. i duno...............wt u think ?