You don’t have to be Christian to say, “Merry Christmas.” If you need evidence of that, take a listen to the holiday message that follows. It comes to us courtesy of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and begins with the words “To all of our Christian friends around the world, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.”
But as the Jewish News Service notes, it’s more than just a Christmas greeting. It is an affirmation of the “common bonds that Jews and Christians share” and acknowledges Israel’s “thriving Christian community.”
The message was recorded in the “courtyard of the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ), one of the world’s largest pro-Israel Christian ministries, with branches in more than 85 nations and supporters in 160 countries.”
