Nazareth cancels Christmas celebs to protest Trump's move

Nazareth, the Israeli Arab city where Jesus is thought to have been raised, has canceled some Christmas celebrations in protest at U.S. President Donald Trump’s recognition of the occupied al-Quds ('Jerusalem') as Israel’s capital, an official said.

Trump announced the move last week, reversing decades of U.S. policy and recognized Quds as the capital of Israel.

Nazareth, the largest Arab town in Israel with a Muslim and Christian population of 76,000, is one of the Holy Land’s focal points of Christmas festivities.

“We have decided to cancel the traditional Christmas singing and dancing because we are in a time of dispute, because of what Trump has said about Jerusalem,” city spokesman Salem Sharara said.

Nazareth is traditionally thought to be where Jesus grew up.

The imposing Basilica of the Annunciation in central Nazareth is built on a site which many Christian faithful believe was the childhood home of Jesus’ mother, Mary.

Sharara said the town’s market stalls and the traditional Christmas church services would be held as they are every year.