Israeli Ashtoreth Figurines

Dr. Daniel C. Peterson gives a lecture on the ancient Israeli worship of Ashtoreth. He is kinda trying to legitimize it but at the same time making a distinction between a "sanitized" Isreali conception of Ashtoreth as the "nursing mother" referred to in Isaiah  vs. a purely pagan fertility version.  However, in my mind, I wonder if the conception of Asthoreth in ancient times is not unlike our current conception of Santa Clause or the Christmas tree.



The reality is, that wherever you dig in Israel, north or south,  you will find Ashtoreth figurines.  Israel was supposed to only worship Jehovah, their "one true God".  So, why all the pagan figurines?  Israeli Ashtoreth figurines may be akin to modern Santa Clause or the Christmas tree. Future generations will no doubt dig up Santa representations among future Christian ruins.  Santa is a complex symbol that ultimately detracts from Christ, who should be the central figure of Christmas.  Many Christians and even LDS try to sanitize Santa as much as can focusing on the St. Nicholas Santa vs. the North Pole conception.  Could the Israeli "nursing mother" be a sanitized version of Ashtoreth.  Could Israeli leadership, who had previously failed to remove the conception of Asthtoreth from Israeli culture, decided to sanitize her instead?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CYqCti5rQM