‘Free Palestine’ replaces Christmas at Portland holiday event

Organizers faced backlash for omitting “Christmas” while allowing political messaging.

By World Israel News Staff

Pro-Palestinian activists chanted “Free Palestine” during Portland, Oregon’s, annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony, transforming a festive, family-oriented holiday event into a platform for far-left political messaging.

Portland is known as one of the most progressive cities in the United States, long associated with an ultra-liberal agenda and permissiveness toward anarchist violence, drug use, and homelessness.

The 41st annual lighting — featuring the activation of roughly 10,000 lights on a large downtown Christmas tree — took a noticeably political turn.

This year’s speakers avoided saying the word “Christmas” entirely or referencing the Christian holiday at all. The Christmas tree itself was repeatedly referred to only as “the tree,” and traditional Christmas carols were described as “holiday songs.”

The omission was especially striking given that the ceremony made no attempt to represent other winter holidays — such as Judaism’s Hanukkah or the Hindu festival of Diwali — despite intentionally removing Christmas from the event’s language.

The ceremony opened with a representative from a local Native American tribe singing the “Strong Woman Song,” which is not typically associated with Christmas. Referring to the gathering as the “tree” lighting, she then introduced another speaker who quickly shifted the focus toward the Israel-Hamas war.

“There’s a full-blown genocide happening, live streaming in 4K,” the woman said, according to local reports. Holding a Palestinian flag and wearing a traditional Islamic hijab, she told the crowd, “This is the perfect time to bring this up. There are a lot of genocides going on,” before leading attendees in the chant, “Free Palestine.”

Footage of the event sparked backlash online, with critics accusing organizers of politicizing a family holiday tradition.

“Thousands came to the Christmas tree lighting — and many told me parts of the program felt like political messaging that was out of place and inappropriate for a family event,” the alternative Portland news outlet PDX Real wrote on X.

“Why are our public traditions being pulled into ideology and virtue signaling instead of serving the community? Portland deserves events that unite us, not moments that push someone’s narrative.”