Israeli Ministry of Immigrant Absorption pulls "offensive" ads

[Simfan34]

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http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2011/12/netanyahu-cancels-anti-diaspora-ad-campaign/249404/

Talk about heavyhanded. "Not only do the goyim not understand, but the American Jews don't either!

Now, where's our money?"

[BigSkyBob]

One of the ads shows a grandchild being asked what holiday they were celebrating? The child answers  "Christmas."

What's wrong with celebrating Christmas?

[patrick1]

Oy that disapora. He never calls, he never writes.

[Simfan34]

One of the ads shows a grandchild being asked what holiday they were celebrating? The child answers  "Christmas."

What's wrong with celebrating Christmas?

I saw that. It was Hanukkah.

[phk]

Commercial was in bad taste, but I can empathize with the Israeli PoV. A lot of kids in my cohort would have behaved in a similar fashion had we had Skype in the 1980s.

[Brittain33]

One of the ads shows a grandchild being asked what holiday they were celebrating? The child answers  "Christmas."

What's wrong with celebrating Christmas?

This is one thing that separates Jews from lots of other non-Christian groups. Celebrating Christmas is considered a big denial of Jewish identity, while for many other people it's just a fun holiday in December that isn't really religious.

(I'm not interested in debating this or hearing why it shouldn't be this way; it just is.)

[BigSkyBob]

One of the ads shows a grandchild being asked what holiday they were celebrating? The child answers  "Christmas."

What's wrong with celebrating Christmas?

I saw that. It was Hanukkah.

The correct answer may very well have been "Hanukkah," but, is there anything problematic with the child's answer of "Christmas?"

[BigSkyBob]

One of the ads shows a grandchild being asked what holiday they were celebrating? The child answers  "Christmas."

What's wrong with celebrating Christmas?

This is one thing that separates Jews from lots of other non-Christian groups. Celebrating Christmas is considered a big denial of Jewish identity, while for many other people it's just a fun holiday in December that isn't really religious.

(I'm not interested in debating this or hearing why it shouldn't be this way; it just is.)

So, Jews have an offensive attitude towards Christmas, and, that shouldn't be a big deal for some reason?

[dead0man]

Why would you care if they don't like Christmas?

[Torie]

Israel was just wasting its money anyway. 

[Brittain33]

Why would you care if they don't like Christmas?

BSB, What is offensive about this attitude? Please spell it out. Note that "Christmas" is not a person and can't have hurt feelings in itself, and that this attitude does not apply to anyone but Jews.

Note that no one is talking about stopping Christians or other non-Jews from celebrating Christmas however you please.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Why would you care if they don't like Christmas?

BSB, What is offensive about this attitude? Please spell it out. Note that "Christmas" is not a person and can't have hurt feelings in itself, and that this attitude does not apply to anyone but Jews.

Note that no one is talking about stopping Christians or other non-Jews from celebrating Christmas however you please.

Didn't you hear? There's a war on. Against Christmas.

[milhouse24]

Israel should ban inter-racial marriage between Jews and non-Jews.

[ag]

The scandal, to the extent there is scandal, is not about Christmas (which, BTW, I happen not to celebrate). It's the attitude to the diaspora Jews, who've continuously been, to a surprising extent, full of all sort of sentimental feelings towards what they (or, at least, most of them) think is a Jewish state. Of course, the adds make it clear that it isn't: from the standpoint of it's own government, it is the state of the Israeli Jews alone, diaspora Jews being just another breed of the goyim.

Of course, as far as I am concerned, the Israeli government is right: Israel has nothing to do w/ the diaspora Jews, it's not a Jewish state, but an Israeli Jewish state alone.

[BigSkyBob]

Why would you care if they don't like Christmas?

To paraphrase Reagan, because we are paying for that ad!

Christmas, secular or Christian, is a holiday about peace on earth and goodwill to men. That we celebrate Christmas is one of our virtues. To attack our virtues is to attack America.

If Israel wants to lobby our government for our money and our support, then they ought not use that money to treat our virtues like a contamination.

[BigSkyBob]

Why would you care if they don't like Christmas?

BSB, What is offensive about this attitude?

Christmas is a holiday dedicated to peace on earth and goodwill to men. To treat the mention of "Christmas" as a cultural contamination is offensive to any America because it rejects the goodwill of the holiday.

[Хahar 🤔]

My family doesn't celebrate Christmas. Does that mean that we're attacking America?

[ag]

Christmas is a holiday dedicated to peace on earth and goodwill to men.

Christmas is a religious holiday of a single religion. To not see that shows, mostly, just poor education.

Not that I have anything against Christmas. But, obviously, for non-Christian faithful celebrating it is usually considered sacrilegious.

[Brittain33]

Christmas is a holiday dedicated to peace on earth and goodwill to men.

Christmas is a religious holiday of a single religion. To not see that shows, mostly, just poor education.

Not that I have anything against Christmas. But, obviously, for non-Christian faithful celebrating it is usually considered sacrilegious.

BSB is off-base, but it's accurate to say in the U.S. that lots of non-Christians celebrate Christmas as a non-religious holiday and don't see it as sacriligious, and many Christians don't have any religious attachment to the holiday, except that it's part of their cultural identity as Christians.

BSB wants to confiscate from Jews the right to define what is sacriligious for our own religion and make it all about him, which is why it's not worth debating.

[ag]

Well, sure. A lot of non-Christians celebrate it as a secular holiday - many of the secular Jews surely do. But the truly faithful don't - hence my choice of the word.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

My family doesn't celebrate Christmas. Does that mean that we're attacking America?

Yes. There's a war on, and you are the enemy. You, and all other subversives, should all be concentrated in camps, so that we can keep an eye on you and your heathen ways. It's what baby Jesus would have wanted.

[BigSkyBob]

My family doesn't celebrate Christmas. Does that mean that we're attacking America?

If you don't celebrate Christmas, that's your business. If you can't appreciate the virtues of American society, including its holiday celebrating peace on earth and goodwill to men, then, I suggest the polite thing for you to do is to not offend those that do celebrate Christmas.

[Brittain33]

My family doesn't celebrate Christmas. Does that mean that we're attacking America?

If you don't celebrate Christmas, that's your business. If you can't appreciate the virtues of American society, including its holiday celebrating peace on earth and goodwill to men, then, I suggest the polite thing for you to do is to not offend those that do celebrate Christmas.

This is an ad by an Israeli ministry aimed at Israeli expatriates.

[dead0man]

My family doesn't celebrate Christmas. Does that mean that we're attacking America?

If you don't celebrate Christmas, that's your business. If you can't appreciate the virtues of American society, including its holiday celebrating peace on earth and goodwill to men, then, I suggest the polite thing for you to do is to not offend those that do celebrate Christmas.

Or what, you'll blow up a ....something?  May I suggest you just ignore people that intentionally try to get a rise out of you.

[BigSkyBob]

Christmas is a holiday dedicated to peace on earth and goodwill to men.

Christmas is a religious holiday of a single religion. To not see that shows, mostly, just poor education.

Please, there is a religious holiday "Christmas" that celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ  [Mangers, Three Wisemen, etc.] That religious holiday celebrates Jesus Christ's message of peace and goodwill towards men. And, there is a secular holiday "Christmas" that celebrates the season [Christmas trees, Santa Clause, elfs, flying raindeer, snow etc.] That secular holiday celebrates the message of peace on earth and goodwill towards men.

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That's the rub here. People from other religions are entitled to celebrate their religious holidays. Clear enough. What that doesn't mean is that people from one religion are entitled to offend/ridicule/mock the holidays of other cultures. The ad clearly treated Christmas as a contamination. If you can't see that is deeply offensive, then it speaks more to a self-serving blindness to an unpleasant fact on your part than anything else.