He added: "My parishioners know why we will not be singing O Little Town in church this year."

And he highlighted reports that the Israeli government was prohibiting the movement of communion wine from Bethlehem this Christmas because it was deemed a security risk.

Sarah McLachlan - O Little Town Of Bethlehem

Anyone who believed it was valuable and important to fight against the bad policies of the Nazi's in World War 2 should also be concerned about the bad policies of Israel today; so it's great to see more and more people realizing this - the slow starvation of over a million and a half people to death with the blockade of Gaza is genocide, right in front of the eyes of the Western world.

The singing of this song is a celebration of the birth of Jesus and should not be politicized in any way.