O Tannenbaum O Tannenbaum "" (; "O fir tree", English: "O Christmas Tree") is a German Christmas song. Based on a traditional folk song, it became associated with the traditional Christmas tree by the early 20th century and sung as a Christmas carol. The modern lyrics were written in 1824, by the Leipzig organist, teacher and composer Ernst Anschütz. A "Tannenbaum" is a fir tree. The lyrics do not actually refer to Christmas, or describe a decorated Christmas tree. Instead, they refer to the fir's evergreen quality as a symbol of constancy and faithfulness. Anschütz based his text on a 16th-century Silesian
Elhanan Tannenbaum In 2000, Tannenbaum, who was in debt due to gambling and business failures, was approached by his childhood friend Kais Obeid, an Israeli-Arab, who was working for Hezbollah, and who had previously been tried by an IDF military court in the Gaza Strip for a planned operation to abduct an Israeli in Gaza and taking him to Lebanon by boat. Obeid, along with Lebanese Hezbollah operative Kaid Biro, was planning to abduct Tannenbaum in Dubai and take him to Lebanon for Hezbollah to use as a bargaining chip. Obeid offered Tannenbaum a part in an alleged lucrative drug-dealing operation. Tannenbaum