To Israel’s discredit, Yuli Edelstein, the Speaker of parliament, has formally rejected a request from Christian Arab parliamentarian Hanna Swaid to place a Christmas tree in a prominent place in the Knesset.
“I do not believe it appropriate to order the erection of a Christmas tree as you requested,” wrote Edelstein on Dec. 26, a day after Christmas. “Nothing prevents you from placing a tree in your office, or for your Knesset faction to place one in the faction room.”
Elaborating on his decision, Edelstein told Israel Radio, in a misreading of history, that the sight of a Christmas tree in the Knesset would dredge up bitter memories for Jews. He further claimed that if he had acceded to Swaid’s request, Christians and Muslims would have pressed for more concessions, such as a display of a cross and a crescent alongside the existing menorah in the Knesset.
Swaid, a resident of the Galilee town of Eilaboun and a member of Israel’s Communist party, raised this issue several days ago when he suggested that a Christmas tree in a visible area of the Knesset would be regarded as “a gesture toward Christian members of the Knesset and (Christian) citizens of Israel, and a symbol of (Israel’s) ties to the Christian world generally.”
Understandably enough, Swaid was disappointed by Edelstein’s ethnocentric and short-sighted ruling, calling it “foolishness” and “crazy.”
As Swaid correctly observed, the presence of a Christmas tree in parliament would have underscored “the pluralism and multiculturalism” of the Knesset, an institution that is supposed to represent every segment of Israel’s religious mosaic.
Israel is a Jewish country and Jews comprise about three-quarters of its population. But Israeli Arabs, Muslims and Christians, are an important minority, constituting more than 20 percent of Israel’s citizenry. The 160,000 Christians, in particular, represent about 2 percent of Israel’s population.
Ironically, Edelstein’s misguided decision came on the heels of a report that there was a significant increase in the small number of Christian Arab Israelis who joined Israel’s armed forces in 2013.
What are they to think in the wake of Edelstein’s insensitive ruling? Why should Christian soldiers be prepared to lay down their lives for a nation that treats their most important holiday disrespectfully?
Two days before Edelstein issued his shameful edict, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent an online Christmas greeting to the world’s Christians in which he said, “We celebrate Christmas with you, we know the importance you attach to our common heritage …” And he added, “We have a great past, we have common values, we have the desire to seize a common future of security, prosperity and peace.”
Given Edelstein’s foolhardy decision, Netanyahu’s message seems empty and insincere, bereft of any meaning.
There is still time to rectify his egregious mistake. Let a Christmas tree glow in the lobby of the Knesset. Let it be a sign that Israel respects religious diversity, as well as its Arab minority.