The War On Christmas Meets The War On Israel At Portland's Tree Lighting

There was a time when Christmas tree lightings were among the safest, simplest joys of American life--moments when families braved the cold to watch bulbs flicker on and remember that light still shines in the darkness. But this year in Portland, that light was dimmed. 

A holiday tradition meant for children and families was overtaken by political theatrics as the annual tree-lighting ceremony was transformed into a stage for a "Free Palestine" rally, with accusations of "genocide," chants against Israel, and an unmistakable attempt to inject anti-Israel messaging into a moment meant for celebration and unity.

It was more than uncomfortable. For many Christians who were present--or who later watched the footage--it felt like a desecration of something sacred.

Portland officials had already stripped the event of its Christmas identity. The word "Christmas" was removed from promotional materials, replaced with the vague "the tree," as though the city feared speaking the name of the holiday that birthed the tradition. Even traditional hymns were rebranded "holiday songs," and no mention was made of Hanukkah or any other winter celebration.

Into that identity vacuum stepped an invited speaker who seized the moment to call Israel's war against Hamas "a full-blown genocide," holding a Palestinian flag and leading the crowd in chanting, "Free, free Palestine." A significant portion of the audience joined in; others were stunned. Parents with children on their shoulders came expecting Santa and sparkling lights--not a political rally echoing Hamas talking points.

For Christians, Christmas is not merely cultural--it is spiritual. It honors the birth of the Jewish Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth. The shift away from "Christmas" to the generic "holiday season" already felt like an erasure. But to replace that erasure with a rally built on misinformation about Israel was especially painful for believers who cherish the biblical link between Christianity and the Jewish people.

This wasn't just bad taste. It was an affront.

What happened in Portland is part of a larger cultural effort to rewrite the story of both Christmas and Israel. In recent years, progressive commentators and activists have tried to portray Jesus as "a Palestinian," despite the overwhelming historical, biblical, and archaeological evidence that He was a Jew living in Judea under Roman occupation. The goal is transparent: detach Jesus from His Jewish identity so the modern State of Israel appears foreign, illegitimate, or oppressive.

But the attempt collapses under simple facts. Jesus was a Jewish rabbi, from a Jewish family, in a Jewish community, celebrating Jewish festivals, reading Jewish Scriptures. The early Church fathers, the Gospel writers, and even Rome's own records affirm it. Recasting Him as Palestinian is not historical--it is political propaganda wrapped in theology.

The chanting of "Free Palestine" at a Christmas lighting also ignores another reality: Gaza is not occupied. Israel withdrew completely in 2005. Palestinian leadership has been offered multiple peace agreements--in 1937, 1947, 1967, 2000, 2008, and again in 2020--each time rejecting them, often violently. Hamas, which controls Gaza, openly declares in its charter that its goal is Israel's destruction, not coexistence.

To bring this narrative into a Christmas ceremony--without context, without truth, without compassion for the Israeli civilians massacred on October 7--is more than inappropriate. It's manipulative.

This should have been a night when families looked upward, remembering that the Light of the World entered history as a baby born in Bethlehem. Instead, organizers turned the event into yet another battleground for activism--a space where Christmas was unnamed, the gospel story ignored, and anti-Israel rhetoric amplified.

But here's the deeper tragedy: when cities secularize Christmas, they create a vacuum that ideologies are eager to fill. Remove Christ, and something else--usually something darker--rushes in.

For Christians, this moment is a reminder that the cultural battles around us are not ultimately about politics. They are about truth, identity, and the sacredness of what God has given us. Events like Portland's tree lighting reveal the need for believers to gently but clearly reclaim the meaning of Christmas and stand with Israel--not because it is politically popular, but because Scripture tells us to honor truth, to bless the descendants of Abraham, and to guard the sacred from being trampled by propaganda.

Even in moments like this, the true Light still shines. And no rally, no chant, and no act of cultural erasure can extinguish it.