Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly gets a lot of flak for taking note of the “war on Christmas.” Of course, O’Reilly is absolutely right: There has been a concerted effort, by anti-religious secularists and God-haters, to deprecate the cultural significance of Christmas. And, unfortunately, they’ve been very successful. Why, walk into any store in any large metro area (New York, Chicago, L.A., D.C., et al.), or any governmental complex, and you’ll rarely, if ever, hear someone say, “Merry Christmas.” Those words are now taboo. “Happy Holidays” is all the rage, and the implication is clear: Christmas is nothing special; it’s just another holiday, like Labor Day or New Year’s Day.
So it is refreshing (albeit not surprising) to hear a prominent Israeli Jew, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, say aloud what too many American Christians are afraid to say publicly: Merry Christmas. (H/T to Smitty over at The Other McCain.)
I say not surprising because, of course, it took a Jew (Jesus Christ) to found Christianity. And, as Netanyahu observes, the Jewish state is today a refuge, not only for Jews, but also for Christians, who are being persecuted and discriminated against in many Islamic states.
Mazal Tov, Prime Minister. Happy Hanukkah — and Merry Christmas.
