After two years of regular terrorist attacks from multiple Islamic jihadi groups, Israel is healing from war this Hanukkah and Christmas season. And the town where Jesus Christ grew up is particularly eager to make this a beautiful and unforgettable holiday season.
Yasmeen Mazzawi is an Arab Christian from Nazareth and a volunteer medic with Magen David Adom (MDA), Israel’s emergency services system (read more about MDA’s life-saving work here). After two years of war, Nazareth natives are excited to celebrate the Christmas season, and Yasmeen shared her thoughts on the true meaning of Christmas and recovering from over two years of war with terrorists.
Hezbollah missile attacks became a constant reality of life for many civilians, emergency responders, and soldiers in northern Israel after the Oct. 7, 2023, atrocities. Some towns lost the majority of their buildings. It was a “very hard two years, personally, as a paramedic at MDA,” Yasmeen told me. “We work all together as — as Arabs, as Jews, Muslims, Christians, no matter, you know, the color or gender or background. They work all together for this one goal of saving lives.”
After these “very challenging years,” and “volunteering during this time has made that even more visible to me … [the] deep emotions,” Yasmeen described the effects of the conflict. “Serving as a paramedic with Magen David Adom has shown me how important compassion and presence and care are in moments of uncertainty, because we didn't know …what's happening” much of the time.
Related: Exclusive: Israeli Reservist’s Harrowing Story Surviving Terrorism
“And it was really hard because, you know, sometimes we were going to emergency cases in the north,” she continued. “Sometimes we used to go to the borders and we have sirens, we have to stop and go out of the ambulance and wait for 10 minutes or sometimes even more. [Then we] go back to the ambulance and go to the people. It was really, really uncertain.”
Yasmeen praised “the power and the energy” of “the teamwork when I saw that…we as citizens, Arabs and Jews, Christians, Muslims, Bedouins, all together, we worked all together for one goal of saving lives, no matter who the patient is, [his] gender, race, or religion.” This is something MDA workers have emphasized to me over the years, trying to tell the world how Israel gives equal rights regardless of race or religion, a unique situation in the Middle East, which is largely dominated by intolerant sharia regimes.
Interview with Yasmeen part I: Exclusive: Christmas Is Merry in Nazareth Again
Yasmeen witnessed “many difficult situations and emergency cases” as a paramedic, but that is precisely why it is so important that “Christmas [is] returning to Nazareth,” which is both her hometown and Christ’s. This year the holy day “feels especially meaningful, not just as a celebration, but as a reminder that Christmas is about the birth of Jesus and the message of hope He brought into this world,” she stated.
She quoted the Gospel of John (1:5): “the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." Now people “can breathe a little bit more and can go out and celebrate and see Nazareth, like with many celebrations and visitors out of the country, many Jewish people coming from the center [of Israel] to the north [to] visit Nazareth, and you can see this unity,” Yasmeen ended. She is “praying for better days and for Israel to stay united with the citizens here.”
Nazareth reignites the magic of Christmas: lights, parades,
— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) December 13, 2025
markets, concerts, and giant trees… a must-visit holiday destination.#Nazareth #Christmas2025 #Israel #ChristmasVibes #TravelNews#MiddleEast #News #Tourism #i24newsplus pic.twitter.com/xv4JbYDgLO
If you want to learn more about Christmas traditions in Nazareth, please read my previous piece on Yasmeen. The picture on this article is one she shared with PJ Media of the Christmas tree lighting in Nazareth.
Editor’s Note: Support and follow PJ Media’s coverage of holiday traditions and key news this holiday season with our special Christmas sale. Join PJ Media VIP and use promo code MERRY74 to get 74% off your membership.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member