The Ugly Fox News ‘War on Christmas’

The Ugly Fox News ‘War on Christmas’

I don't think I have every posted an article by M J Rosenberg of Israel Policy Forum (too far to the left for me) but found this sufficiently interesting to bring it to your attention. Contrast this article with Jews Speak Up for Christmas posted earlier today.
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Occasionally the question comes up: why do Jews think they need their own country anyway? After all, the Holocaust ended 60 years ago. Anti-Semitism is a phenomenon that has been relegated almost exclusively to the political fringes. Above all, Jews have a safe home here in the United States, a nation that has been relatively immune to the anti-Semitism bacillus. Who needs Israel?

Some of the answers to this query are obvious. Although the Holocaust is history, anti-Semitism remains prevalent well beyond the fringes in whole swaths of the globe. When the President of Iran calls for “wiping Israel off the map,” he is talking not only about a state to whose existence he objects but also about killing the six million Jews who live there. (This is a guy who is close to achieving the goal of developing nuclear weapons).

Even in the West, expressions of anti-Semitism are relatively common. I am not talking about attacks on Israel’s policies, which are as legitimate as criticism of the policies of any nation or government. I am talking about the attacks and threats against Jews as Jews -- including, of course, attacks on Israelis for being Israeli -- which are as illegitimate and ugly as any other form of hatred of people for simply being what they are.

Of course, it’s a long way from mouthing anti-Semitism to the Holocaust. But given anti-Semitism’s ubiquity, it is not surprising that Jews feel that a state and an army is not such a bad idea. Even those post-national types who argue that anthems, flags, and armies are outdated in the 21st century all live in countries that have them. And those people who don’t – most notably, the Palestinians – share the Jewish view that even if they can live safely in places other than the national homeland, they would feel infinitely more secure knowing that they have one.

In other words, sometimes living in Diaspora, or in fact as a minority anywhere, can feel mighty uncomfortable.

And that brings me to the “war on Christmas” which has become a permanent fixture on cable television this time of year.

Let me explain.

The “war on Christmas” is a term invented by the far right to describe what they consider an onslaught by non-Christians against their most significant holiday. The title of a best-selling book by Fox News anchor John Gibson pretty much sums up the entire argument: It is called “The War on Christmas: How the Liberal Plot to Ban the Sacred Christian Holiday is Worse Than You Thought.”

And how is this war being fought? According to John Gibson, it is fought every time someone uses the greeting Happy Holidays rather than Merry Christmas. This is how columnist Joel Stein described it in the in Tuesday’s Los Angeles Times: “Gibson and fellow Fox anchor Bill O’Reilly…have organized a boycott of Costco, Target, Wal-Mart, Kmart and Sears for using the phrase ‘Happy Holidays’ in their ads instead of ‘Merry Christmas.’” For O’Reilly and others, talking about the “holidays” rather than Christmas represents a victory by the secular left and a defeat for all Christians.

It sounds crazy but both CNN and MSNBC have reported on the “controversy.” The champion, of course, is Fox News, which invented the controversy and which from November 28 to December 2 devoted 58 segments to the subject!

And now the war has spread to Washington, DC. On Wednesday, the conservative and once serious Heritage Foundation actually held a symposium on “the liberal plot” to ban Christmas.

Even President Bush is being attacked for abandoning Christmas. Tim Wildmon, President of the American Family Association, called out President Bush and First Lady Laura Bush for sending out “Season’s Greetings” cards, asking whether the Bushes’ card is “sinister” or just pandering to secularists. “Sometimes,” he says, “it’s hard to tell whether this is sinister….or whether it just political correctness run amok.”

Laura Bush’s press secretary, Susan Whitson, has the answer. “Certainly President and Mrs. Bush celebrate Christmas.” But their friends include “people of all faiths.”

Of course, the “war on Christmas” it is totally manufactured. There is no Jewish, or other non-Christian group, that campaigns to ban the term “Merry Christmas.”

I suppose there are individual Jews (or Muslims, or others) who prefer to be wished “happy holidays,” but that is simply neither here nor there. As for the secular liberal groups making war on the term, they don’t exist either. The whole issue was invented by the far right to divide Americans from one another, at Christmastime no less. As the Christmas warriors probably know, the reason businesses have adopted the term “the holidays” in place of Christmas is that Christmas is one day, December 25th. “The holidays” suggests a period that runs from Thanksgiving through New Year’s, more time for shopping and exchanging. Anti-Christmas animus is a myth.

But that does not mean that the “war on Christmas” brouhaha is not threatening to Jews. Long before there was awareness that Muslims or Hindus lived in the United States, there was an awareness that Jews did. And, in the wake of World War II, Americans did, to their credit, begin acknowledging Jews and their traditions as part of the American fabric. That is why schoolchildren in states where few Jews live sing “I Had a Little Dreidel” along with “The Christmas Song.”

Bill O’Reilly knows that and doesn’t like it one bit, as evidenced by his response to a Jewish caller last December who said that he found O’Reilly’s views on Christmas objectionable. O’Reilly told him to “move to Israel.”

It may also be why, when asked who the power was behind the “war on Christmas”, he answered, “Now the reason this is happening is because of the ACLU and George Soros, Peter Lewis. Just a reminder: George Soros and Peter Lewis are the far-left, secular progressive billionaires who have funded -- they pour money into the ACLU, they pour money into the smear websites, you know, they buy up a lot of the media time. And they basically want to change the country from a Christian-based philosophical country to a secular progressive country like they have in Western Europe.” Soros is a Holocaust survivor, in addition to being a billionaire who backs liberal causes. Lewis, also a billionaire, is a major donor to progressive and Jewish causes.

This week O’Reilly really went to town. After showing a clip from John Stewart’s late night show which extolled separation of church and state, O’Reilly said. “There you go, Jon Stewart….We know what he’s doing over there [on Comedy Central]. And it’s not just Stewart. You know, 90 percent of quote unquote entertainers are secular progressives…And a Merry Christmas to you John Stewart. As I said in my newspaper column this week, three wise men showed up to honor the baby Jesus way back when. And if corporate executives are not wise enough to emulate that, well, those of us who respect Christmas might look elsewhere.”

Presumably, O’Reilly knows that Stewart is Jewish. And that may be why a few days later he brought on Jewish comedian Jackie Mason, who endorsed everything O’Reilly said about the anti-Christmas war and added that he was founding a new organization called “Jews Against the Defamation of Christmas.” Mason, who recently refused to perform in a show because an Arab-American was on the bill and who makes little effort to disguise his racism (he once called Mayor Dinkins of New York a “fancy shvartze with a moustache”) said he was horrified that “if you want to say something good, talk about love and brotherhood by recognizing Christ as the savior…all this is not allowed.” He also joined O’Reilly in his denunciation of George Soros and others like him as “sick people” whose goal is to “destroy Christmas.”

It all sounds like a joke, especially when Jackie Mason, the Stepin Fetchit of Jewish comedians, signs up with Bill O’Reilly to the tune of “Onward Christian Soldiers.”

But it is not funny at all. It is, instead, downright scary. The fact that the Christmas warriors are talking in code should not fool anybody. When a political candidate denounces his opponent for receiving campaign contributions from New York and Beverly Hills, we all know who they are talking about. Similarly, denunciations of secular liberals, especially when coupled with references to, say, George Soros, Peter Lewis and John Stewart, are pretty unambiguous.

Is it reason to move to Israel? No, Bill O'Reilly, it is not. But it is a reason every American Jew has to be grateful that James Madison erected the bar separating church and state.

And, at the same time, one more reason to be grateful that the State of Israel exists.

The views expressed in IPF Friday are those of MJ Rosenberg and not necessarily of Israel Policy Forum.

Posted by Ted Belman at December 9, 2005 02:14 PM

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Comments

1. Vince said:

Yes, and this is precisely why the US troops in Iraq need to be encouraged to ATTACK THE BADR BRIGADES who act as Iran's proxies in Iraq. I can't believe that the US is shedding its soldiers' blood to defend an Iraqi regime that's essentially in the palm of Iran's fanatics in Baghdad, but this is exactly what's happening. I knew Bush wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, but I never believed he was a retard, which he is if he fails to order American troops to attack the Shiite militias and break their power in Iraq. There is no more dangerous an enemy-- to the US and Israel-- than the Badr Brigades. Must be that Israel-hating Condi Rice really has gotten to Bush. I can't believe anyone in charge of the world's most powerful country could be such an utter idiot.

Posted by: Vince on December 9, 2005 08:39 PM

2. Laura said:

Thanks for posting this article. I'm glad as a conservative you recognize this "war on Christmas" hoax for what it is and are not buying into it. From what I've read even FOX's own conservative base isn't falling for it, Gibson's book is way down on the best seller list at Amazon and a FOX poll showed more respondents said there isn't a war on Christmas that responded that there is.

For years people have been saying "season's greetings" or "happy holidays". These phrases are nothing new, but it's only recently that some people have been finding them objectionable. They have a political agenda and we must recognize that the far right is just as dangerous to this country and to Jews as the far left. Underneath the right's support for Israel is lurking a latent anti-Semitism just waiting to surface.

Posted by: Laura on December 9, 2005 09:28 PM

3. Garrett Schroeder said:

Hey, this is Garrett from Southern California.
What is going on these days! People being sued for putting up "Merry Christmas" titles? What the heck is this?

Tell me why I can't say "Merry Christmas" to a friend. Tell me why I am not allowed to put up a "Merry Christmas" banner in my window, and tell me is it worth suing someone for saying it? For having pride in their holiday? And for celebrating a holiday?

Just tell me what the American society is coming to when we sue eachother for expressing our happiness for the holidays. What is wrong with the words Merry Christmas?

To not be able to represent my own religion and support my religions holiday is BS

People are being sued for putting up "Merry Christmas" banners instead of "Happy Hollidays" because it suposedly is condescending to other religions... SHOW ME ONE NORMAL PERSON THAT IS OFFENDED BY THE WORDS "MERRY CHRISTMAS"! PLEASE!!!

What ever happened to Christmas and the holidays being a time of peace and prosperity? What happened to the good times when people didn't sue for stupid stuff?

I am offended that I cannot show my respect for the Christian Holliday of Christmas!

Why can't I show my repect for my holiday, and you show your respect for yours and it NOT be called Prejudice or Politically Incorrect

Last Thursday a group called Jews against anti-Christian defamation held a press conference at the national press club in Washington, where founding member Jackie mason spoke out against the war on Christmas. he basically argued that if people cant say "merry Christmas", then he wont be allowed to wish people and "exceptional Purim"
Even people of different religions agree that society is trying to be TOO "Politically-Correct"

The fact that people are somehow offended by the words "Merry Christmas" is astounding!
If I am walking down the hall at my school and say "Merry Christmas" to a friend, does that mean that I am Prejudice against other religions and holidays? (I'm not)

Political correctness and babying peoples feelings has gone to far!
NO MATTER WHAT PEOPLES FEELINGS ARE GOING TO BE HURT, SO QUIT TRYING TO MAKE EVERYONE HAPPY!

What happened to the days when people had morals and knew right from wrong?! Don't tell me that suing someone for saying "Merry Christmas *Name*" or posting that in a Shopping center window is right.... because its not, it is wrong on so many levels!

Posted by: Garrett Schroeder on December 9, 2005 09:55 PM

4. kuhnkat said:

Just as anti-semitism won't die and is continually dredged up by the next group of intolerant animals, the anti-christian types continually resurface and try to drives us out. I can not tell you that there is any formal group out there that has specifically targeted Christians and Christmas. We have seen the ACLU, Atheists, and in a very few cases even Jews, go out of their way to complain and sue to get rid of public displays that are connected to Christianity.

I am over 50 years old. I never remember Christmas referred to as anything BUT Christmas until I was in my 20's. It may have started happening sooner but it seems to me that it was in the 70's when we started seeing the PC movement which included removing religion from the Public square. This has come and gone at a fairly low level since then. Unfortunately in the last 10 years it has gotten bigger each year until we have reached the point that schools are removing words from songs, banning the singing of Christ based Christmas carols, and I am sure you have noticed all the lawsuits over Christian symbols on public property.

Being a Christian I have no problem supporting Judaism and Jews both from the religious side and from the fair treatment areas. (check with Madzionist and group over at his blog)

As Laura mentions people have been saying Season's Greetings and Happy Holidays for years. And more and more it is moving into the court. I do not want to FORCE anyone to say anything they don't want. I would appreciate support in keeping the Christmas Holiday what it is, Christmas. As I support you in not having revisionist commies and atheists from removing or renaming Hannukah or the Islamofascists from destroying Israel.

It has been Christmas since about 350AD I believe. It would be very sad if a holiday that has been with America since its founding was gutted by the PC crowd.

I personally do not celebrate Christmas in the Modern American tradition anymore (cannot swallow the commercial excesses) but will be DAMNED before I let the PC morons kill another piece of my heritage.

Posted by: kuhnkat on December 9, 2005 10:15 PM

5. shari said:

people hear all kind of conspiracy theories about jews controlling america and now i am starting to believe them. what is wrong with you people. it is clear that even th ough christimas is nto a holiday that is in the bible or celebrated by early christians that the majority of christianis in america celebrate it and you are goin to say that there is no attempt to prevent in. why in a school were the words "silent night" changed to "cold in the night" why in one city in florida they wanted a menorah but not a nativity. why is it also that many orthodox jews say hanukau is not a big holiday in judaism but many promoted it just to shout down christmas. i dont know why this site was bookmarked but i am taking it off my favorites list. the only reason israel has suport like it does is because of american christians i think u all better be thankful and not ungrateful for the support because without the support thre would be none.

Posted by: shari on December 9, 2005 10:54 PM

6. David said:

The post above, by shari, clearly indicates the anti-semitic subtext of the Religious Right's pretence that there is a "War on Christmas". It is a deliberate and concerted attempt to establish the likes of Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson as the ony authorized spokesmen for this fictitious "Judeo-Christian tradition" which supposedly motivated the Founding Fathers.

Congratulations to Ted Belman of Israpundit for becoming a hero of the Religious Right's campaign to silence politically liberal Jews in the USA. I hope he never has occasion in the future to regret his role in the destruction of the separation of church and state in America.

http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=20475

Posted by: David on December 9, 2005 11:33 PM

7. gregor stepanovich said:

I grew up in a middle class Jewish school filled with Communists in Brighton Beach Brooklyn during the 1950's. We always wished everyone a Merry Christmas even though everyone in the school was totally Jewish

Posted by: gregor stepanovich on December 10, 2005 12:15 AM

8. Ted Belman said:

Sharon Hughes wrote in the FrontPageMag article "Ted Belman, Editor of Israpundit is another Jew speaking up for Christmas." And so I do. What's wrong with that? That's not to say that there is a "war on Christmas" as described in Gibson's book. I haven't read it and don't intend to. I posted this article because it makes the argument that there isn't such a war. I like the Christmas season because it brightens up an otherwise dreary season. When Christians wish me Merry Christrmas I have no problem with it. I have no problem with a Christmas tree in front of the Whitehouse or a Menorah for that matter. I do have trouble with Christian proselytizing or with the Christian belief that one must believe in Jesus to be saved or that Christianity superceded Judaism. Jews and Judiasm should be treated as equals. I am not concerned with what they think will happen after Armeggedon. Christians have every right to fight against abortion or gay marriage. After all this is a democracy. I do have a problem with the ACLU and ADL. I have a problem with liberals of either the Christian, Jewish or secular types who are blind to the threat of the Islamists, who criticize Israel for breathing and undermine it in everyway or who visit Arafat when he was alive or now that he is buried, or visit Hezbollah or visit Rice and encourage her to get tough with Israel, who are against the Patrior Act, who are paranoid about the danger represented by Christian fundamentalists, who favour relativism and political correctness, who malign anyone on the right, who hate religious people except for Muslims, who curry favour with terrorists and most of all I hate the Jewish academics who undermine Jews and Israel at every opportunity etc., etc., etc., The Christian Fundamentalists are Israel's biggest supporters and I am one Jew who appreciates the support and returns it where I can. Furthermore, I believe that they are the only bulwark the west has against the Islamic hordes. I would never depend on the Leftists to defend Israel or America or our culture.

Posted by: Ted Belman on December 10, 2005 01:11 AM

9. Laura said:

Garrett Schroeder you can say "Merry Christmas" all you want, NO ONE IS PREVENTING YOU! That is the point of the article, that there is no war on Christmas, it exists only in the paranoid and delusional minds of the people at FOX and the religious right.

Unfortunately shari and I'm sure others like her have unquestioningly bought into this hysteria.

Posted by: Laura on December 10, 2005 01:58 PM

10. Laura said:

"I like the Christmas season because it brightens up an otherwise dreary season. When Christians wish me Merry Christrmas I have no problem with it. I have no problem with a Christmas tree in front of the Whitehouse or a Menorah for that matter."
........................................................................
I feel the same way. But now unfortunately the folks at FOX and others have managed to politicize the Christmas season and it's getting increasingly difficult to enjoy the way I used to.

Posted by: Laura on December 10, 2005 02:04 PM

11. lefty said:

i wanted to share part of a letter that someone recently wrote in to the Atlanta Journal and Constitution. s/he wrote,

"Christians who feel that 'Happy Holidays' is, as Bill Hendrick reported, 'a retreat from the very foundation of their faith' ought to examine why they are looking for that foundation in a shopping mall rather than within their hearts."

Posted by: lefty on December 10, 2005 04:05 PM

12. wayne said:

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Seasons Greetings and God bless us all.

Posted by: wayne on December 10, 2005 04:50 PM

13. Carl said:

I found this blog while searching around for "War on Christmas" news after watching an amusing segment on the Daily Show. I'm a moderate 'liberal' (hence the Daily Show), so be prepared to dislike me, although I promise not to bite :)


I write to express my surprise concerning the growing closeness between evangelical Christians and conservative Jews. I was raised a Southern Baptist, and I can confirm that most evangelical Christians support “Jews” and “Israel,” but allow me to qualify this statement. The “Jews” supported by evangelical Christians are more myth than reality, and the alleged support offered by evangelical Christians for Israel is entirely self serving. That is, many evangelical Christians have absolutely no ties or affiliation with actual Jews, but they support “Jews” and “Israel” because they believe that the Israel will play a critical role in the “Second Coming.” Having grown up in fairly religiously homogenous area, I saw absolutely no evidence that my fellow evangelical Christians actually understood Judaism and Israel as anything more than a disposable player is their second coming pageant. If you don’t believe me, pick up a copy of the evangelical “Left Behind” series. The Jews in that series are portrayed as little more than carbon copies of the biblical era Jews also portrayed in “Passion of the Christ” (another evangelical favorite). These Jews are just lost souls waiting to be converted, and if you take the “Left Behind” series videos seriously, you’d think that modern Jews spoke Aramaic, wore robes, and were waiting idly in Israel to be saved by Jesus.


The actual Jews in my childhood community (and I only recall one or two) were generally alienated from the majority Christian culture. And no, the alleged “War on Christmas” isn’t about saving religion as a whole, it’s about “saving” Christianity, whatever that means. My grandfather visited me in New York recently, and as far as he was concerned, the blue and white Stars of David at the local supermarket were just another piece of evidence proving the “War on Christmas.” Is he pro-Jewish? He would say so...


Anyway, I've converted to Presbyterian, and I freely admit that my views on evangelical Christians are entirely negative and colored by my negative childhood experience. Nontheless, So I don't advise cozying up to evangelical Christians unless you want to play a bit role in a patronizing fundamentalist Christian pageant. As far as they’re concerned, if you don’t ultimately convert, you’ll be “left behind” just like everyone else. Anyway, you can discount my views because of my political leanings, but you really ought to search around online for information about WHY evangelical Christians support Israel, and what such 'support' actually means. You'll find that my characterization of the situation is quite accurate despite my admitted bias. On the other hand, you'll find that many moderate Christians actually accept Jews for who they are, not for what Israel will bring them in the "Second Coming."

Posted by: Carl on December 10, 2005 05:58 PM

14. Scott said:

Evangelical Christians support Jews and Israel for more than one reason... I think the main one is:

Genesis 12:3
And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed."

We seek to obey God through the instruction of His word left to us in the Bible. God singled out Abraham and through Him created the Hebrews. What a blessing and yet a tough thing that is. Jewish history has demanded so much from them.

As a Christian, I believe Christ when He said He is the only way to the Father. But God is not finished with Israel, and He will always protect Israel from utter destruction from the Earth. He said He would, and you can bank that. As a Christian, I feel they are my brothers and sisters and I will help them in the ways that I can. I also pray for the opening of their hearts and eyes to God's gift in Christ.

Thousands of years ago, my God singled out an individual and made him a great nation to be His own. He has preserved and protected the descendants of Abraham through countless trials. How can we as Christians do anything less than love Israel as God loves Israel? We can't. The Spirit of God dwells within us, and testifies to us of this need. As promised, God has written His law on our hearts.

Are evangelical Christians Israel's best friend? You better believe it. Albeit somewhat estranged, they are still our family.

God Bless,
/Scott.

Posted by: Scott on December 10, 2005 10:50 PM

15. Peter said:

There is a war on Christmas! And a Jewess like poster Laura above must ask herself: "If someone --- a Cristian, a Buddhist, or an atheist, say --- claimed, `Jews are paranoid; there is no anti-Semticism," --- what would she reply? She would certainly feel more qualified to know: being Jewish, she is certainly more attuned to whatever animosity towards the Jews exists.


And yet she is denying the same to Christians!


Ask your Christian friends before coming to any conclusions, Laura! But, then, a Leftist typically does not really know Christians (as opposed to people merely raised in Christian families).


I am Jewish, and there is no doubt in my mind whatever that there is a war on Christmas. Actually, there is a war on all religion, which is already won on the European front: there is no country in Northern Europe where church attendance is above 10%; there are more Muslims in Amstrdam (12%) than Protestants and Catholics combined (resp, 6% and 5%).


Now, this war goes on in America, and Christians bear the brunt of it. The atheists simply don't dare --- yet -- to raise their hands on minorities. But the war is by secularists against all religion.

To that extent, O'Riley is exactly right.

Jews like Laura should really remember the lesson of the Holocaust: you ARE thy brother's keeper. But, while lamenting the Holocaust (I am sure), she refuses to stand up for her Christian brothers (and sisters, if you are politically correct).


Well, from this Jew to all Christian friends: Merry Christmas to you all! Enjoy, celebrate, and never let the Leftists take it away from you! May G-d bless you and keep you!

Posted by: Peter on December 11, 2005 07:15 AM

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