The Jerusalem Municipality has placed a Christmas tree at the Jaffa Gate plaza in advance of Christmas, causing an angry reaction from Sephardic Haredi party Shas.
City Council member, Rabbi Shmuel Yitzchaki, told Arutz Sheva that the tree is "a serious offense" against the Nation of Israel and a "tzelem baheichal" – literally, "a statue in the pavilion," a term used in reference to the deliberate placing of statues of pagan gods in the Temple by oppressors of the ancient Jews.