Edelstein rejected the petition and said he would not put a Christmas tree in the Knesset. No explanationm was supplied at the time.
We now know that in fact no Christmas tree was placed in the Knesset for Christmas. And now Yuli Edelstein has explained why not.
Edelstein today explained that the symbol of the Christmas tree would evoke bitter memories for many Jews. There are other ways to wish local Christians a happy holiday. Furthermore, Edelstein said, the Arab MKs are regularly trying to push the envelope and see the limits of how they can change the status of the Jewishness of the State of Israel. Edelstein said that if he would allow the Christmas tree, the next day another request would come in to place a cross and a moon next to the Knesset menorah.
So:
1. Christian symbolism would be hurtful to many Jews
2. the Arab MKs are using this is a red herring to harm the Jewish character of the State.
Yuli Edelstein is a good and smart man.
Hey - maybe the Arab parties (or any that do work to undermine the jewishness of the state) should be banned under the new law, if it will be passed, to ban organizations that undermine the Jewish character of the state...
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It would not be a good idea to ban the Arab parties (in fact, it is not a good idea to ban any party). Having Arab MKs in the Knesset, even extremists like most of them are, lets them release a little steam - without that safety valve it is likely that the Arab citizens would be even more radicalized.
ReplyDeletehaving a jewish state doesn't mean that we refuse to ackowledge the existence and rights of the other.
ReplyDeleteLet's put the onus on the Arab MKs to make this change if they are really sincere. Can they show an example next year by getting the Arab municipalities to place Xmas trees on their municipal territory?
ReplyDelete