Airport Christmas Trees Make Comeback

Rabbi Drops Lawsuit Threat Against Seattle Airport For Not Including A Menorah

(CBS/AP)  Christmas trees are back up at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

Pat Davis, president of the Port of Seattle commission, which directs airport operations, said late Monday that maintenance staff restored the 14 plastic holiday trees, festooned with red ribbons and bows, that were removed over the weekend because of a rabbi's complaint that holiday decor did not include a menorah.

Airport managers believed that if they allowed the addition of an 8-foot-tall menorah to the display, as Seattle Rabbi Elazar Bogomilsky had requested, they would also have to display symbols of other religions and cultures, which was not something airport workers had time for during the busiest travel season of the year, Airport Director Mark Reis said earlier Monday.

Port officials received word Monday afternoon that Bogomilsky's organization would not file a lawsuit at this time over the placement of a menorah, Davis said in a statement.

Davis added that the rabbi "never asked us to remove the trees; it was the port's decision based on what we knew at the time."

There were no immediate plans to display a menorah, airport spokesman Bob Parker said, saying restoration of the trees was expected to take place overnight Monday.

"A key element in moving forward will be to work with the rabbi and other members of the community to develop a plan for next year's holiday decorations at the airport," the port statement said.

The rabbi has also offered to give the port an electric menorah to display, said his lawyer, Harvey Grad.

"We are not going to be the instrument by which the port holds Christmas hostage," Grad said, emphasizing the rabbi never sought removal of the trees, but addition of the menorah.

The rabbi had received "all kinds of calls and emails," many of them "odious," Grad said, adding he was "trying to figure out how this is consistent with the spirit of Christmas."

Thirteen trees had sat above foyers that lead outside to the airport drive. The largest tree, which Reis estimated to be 15 or 20 feet tall, was placed in a large lobby near baggage claim for international arrivals.

After the removal, some airline workers decorated ticketing counters with their own miniature Christmas trees.

Customer service agents with Frontier Airlines pooled their money Monday morning to buy four 1-foot-high Christmas trees, which they placed on the airline's ticketing counter.

The airlines lease space for ticket counters from the airport, and can display trees there if they want, Reis said.

On Monday, Craig Watson, the port's chief lawyer, said Bogomilsky had threatened to file the lawsuit if the port didn't make a decision by the end of last week.

"It just wasn't going to get done before the threatened lawsuit was filed. They said they were on their way to the courthouse," Watson said. "We're not in the business of offending anyone, and we're not eager to get into a federal lawsuit with anyone."

Port commissioner John Creighton said he'd hoped the trees would come down "quietly." Instead, airline employees called Seattle television stations. Creighton said he's received several irate e-mails.

Hanukkah begins this Friday at sundown.

[olebd]

Happy Whatever You Celebrate to everyone!!!!

Let's all just have fun!

[mjv2944]

I don't believe a Christmas tree is a religious symbol. Can't believe that the ports lawyers hadn't figured that out. They should have known that the law suit would have failed. Anyway Merry Christmas / Happy Hanukkah / tis the season to be jolly!!!!

[ehshome]

I also don't believe a Christmas tree is a religious symbol. And these people should remember that Christmas is a recognized FEDERAL holiday, just like Labor Day and Independence Day and Memorial Day, so a tree display (without religious articles) is harmless and shouldn't step on any reasonable person's rights. Chanukah and Kwanzaa aren't federal holidays, so putting up a menorah (which IS a religious symbol) is just going to open up another big can of worms to some other highly-excitable individual who'll run to his or her lawyer or the ACLU. What a sad commentary on the millenium.

[suiteo1]

I couldn%u2019t agree more with olebd and also wish the same to all. I can't believe the level of stupidity regarding holidays or religion have come to. Can't show it at an airport, can't have it on currency, can't have it on the California Seal, but it's OK to write references about God or religion in the dirtiest of public restrooms! Time for a reality check people. How sad that this incident snowballed over the rabbi%u2019s simple request to add a Menorah. I can%u2019t help but wonder if this is somehow in retaliation for the uproar over Mel Gibson%u2019s comments regarding Jews. This isn't an issue of whose holiday or religion is more important. It's simply a time for celebration, peace and joy for all people, for all religions. Let%u2019s do it! Relax! Enjoy! Happy Holidays to ALL!

[plsthink]

from an atheist who cherishes the "old" american traditions and culture of this great holiday season....Merry Christmas!!

[ammermantm]

Christmas is a National Holiday, but it was a Christian Holiday first. the Jewish people have Christmas forced uppon them every year. Is it so bad to celebrate all holidays this time of year?

[triton441]

I for one will be glad to break the news that this isn't just a simple "holiday". Every holiday celebrates something. A Christmas tree is not a religious symbol. So what. A Christmas tree is only erected at one time of the year. Christmas. And the Christmas holiday celebrates the birth of Christ. Retail businesses and atheists and anyone else who wants to ignore Christ certainly has that option to call it whatever they want. It doesn't change the fact that the Christmas holiday only exists because of Jesus Christ. Our government and I would imagine other governments in various parts of the world recognize Jesus Christ and the holiday that was created because of Him. On Martin Luther King Day, should we begin saying thanks for the freedoms without recognizing the important part Mr. King actually played in order to consider a holiday? Or should we change every holiday to a generic day and say Happy Holiday year round? Christmas is about Jesus Christ coming into the world. Your choice to honor Him or not.

[observantx]

This is nuts. All this Sturm and Drang over a tree vs. a menorah. No disrespect to the Rabbi, but if he wants a menorah, he can have as many as he wants - at home. The tree is an old traditional secular tradition. Centuries ago the decorated tree was a religious symbol among the Germanic tribes. The Druids and even the Romans venerated trees. Today, the religious aspect of the trees is gone.

We have this same nonsense every year. Somebody starts wailing and weeping about a secular war on Christmas because people put up trees and Santas and snowmen instead of Nativity scenes and angels. Give it a rest. You want Christ in Christmas, do it as much as want in your own home. This is the United Sates. We have freedom of religion. That also means we have freedom FROM any particular religion.

Let%u2019s just enjoy the season and stop trying to force our religions down each others throats. We see enough of the damage that leads to in Iraq and other places.

By the way, Merry Christmas to you all.

[chutley1]

No matter what your beliefs are about Christmas or Hanukkah--no matter what your religious inclinations are---this whole situation falls squarely on the shoulders of the rabbi and his lawyer who threatened a lawsuit! They set a deadline for action and threatened a lawsuit! That's what got this whole stupid thing started! I think the rabbi and his lawyer handled the whole thing in a very immature way. Surely they could have raised their concerns in a better way--you know, acting like they practice what they preach. I don't think the response they got from the airport was unreasonable--who has time for that now? I'd rather the port folks worry about travel safety!! Why couldn't the menorah be offered in the spirit of the season in the first place instead of preceeding it with a threat? And people wonder why the world is the way it is.......

[love2live1]

Good Grief! Thank goodness the Christmas trees are back! The Rabbi should be ashamed of himself. A Christmas tree is tradition and has nothing to do with religion. Take a chill pill Rabbi! Enough's enough. "Merry Christmas" and Happy new year!

[agnim]

Was the Port Authority trying to be coy when it suspended the tree installation over the asinine objection of that ridiculous rabbi? LOL

All these objections to HARMLESS traditions from these foreign ideologies is just disgusting.

We should in turn be objecting synagogues and mosques.
Let them take their crappy symbols to the Middle East where they can fight among themselves and blow up each other mosques and synagogues.

[jumkey]

Well, I hate to break the news to you Triton441 but Christmas time for me has nothing whatsoever to do with Jesus Christ. Virtually every manner and method we use to celebrate Christmas is secular - from Santa Claus to the Christmas Tree to mistletoe to turkey dinner. All non-religious and enjoyed by non-Christians. Christ is immaterial to the holiday.

There have been winter pagan celebrations since man first walked out of the jungle, we just happen to call ours Christmas.

It's not your holiday so get over it.

[wadyaknow]

ObservantX I totally agree with you and couldn't have said it better!

[btalking1]

And may we ask the Rabbi how he justifies threatening a federal lawsuit as in the "spirit of Christmas"?

I am an agnostic but I am always happy to allow others to believe whatever they want and celebrate however they want. If it offends me, I leave! If I don't believe what they believe, they can't force me. And decorations don't change that. The rights of any one individual (or individual religion) do not negate the rights of others (or other religions). What is so hard about this concept?

[triton441]

To Jumkey:

I'm sorry the Christmas season means so little to you and I'm sorry I insulted you. Christmas is about Jesus Christ whether you like or not, believe it or not, enjoy it or not. Yes, you have the option to view it as you do. I see Christmas with Santa Claus and trees and presents as well..and I enjoy those. It still doesn't change the reason the holiday exists. Celebrate any holiday any way you choose. I see Christmas and Easter and consider Jesus Christ. I see Memorial Day and think of the people who have passed away and what they meant. I see your birthday and see "you" whether it means birthday cake, candles, presents, friends. It's still about you and people recognizing you regardless how you celebrate. I say Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. My tree is up and presents purchased. You're right. It's not my holiday. It's a holiday for everyone in the world to enjoy and share and for those who believe there is someone more important than themselves. And I thank Jesus every moment I can to consider Him and the peace He offers.

[jrevick]

All of Seattle and now the country has seen these people who threaten a law suit over christmas trees for what they really are...trouble makers and whiners. A christmas tree is not a religous symbol. They should be ashamed of themselves.

[shingles1]

Triton441, Merry Christmas to you!

However, jumkey is right - the holiday's origins pre-date Jesus. In this case, the pagan winter solstice celebration, among others. The early Christian church had a habit of piggy-backing on top of pre-existing Jewish and pagan holidays and celebrations. In fact, December 25th only became the official date of Christ's birth in the year 350 when Pope Julius I declared it so.

[triton441]

shingles1:

Agreed. I haven't studied to that extent however I will contend though that even when the early Christians piggybacked onto this date as symbolic of Jesus' birth, Pope Julius 1 chose it as the "official" date of Christ's birth. No one knows the exact date obviously but even that particular Pope made a declaration, thereby creating a date to recognize Jesus' birth and the importance of the Christ. The true meaning of Christmas is not lost on Christians. Even if it coincides with some sort of pagan ritualistic time frame, that shouldn't reduce the value of the date or diminish Jesus Christ. Christians targeted December 25th as the date to celebrate Jesus' birth. I would guess that most Christians who have a relationship with Jesus would consider it irrelevant what other historical events may have happened on the same date and for that matter whether December 25th is even the correct date. The concept that I am trying to convey is that December 25th in our current society is recognized as Christmas and that it revolves around honoring Jesus Christ regardless of how it is celebrated, who it insults or how many people want to change it. Only in the last few years has the "world" made a full court press to remove Christ from Christmas. That is like forgetting the dead on Memorial Day and having a barbecue because it's a great day to celebrate a 3 day weekend.

[rluhlman]

Congratulations to Rabbi Bogomilsky for his part in setting religious tolerance back another another step. Merry christmas anyway!

[honest_news]

Reading the amount of vitriol in these comments and those from the previous day's story, it makes me very sad how much hatred of the Jewish faith still resides in otherwise enlightened Christians. The level of anti-Semitic animosity directed toward the rabbi, who had simply requested that the airport include a single large Chanukiah alongside the eight Christmas trees, is astounding -- and frightening. Some reader responses used an intentionally non-capitalized "jew" as a synonym for "scroogelike" and "unbrotherly". Others claimed that Jews rush to file lawsuits to gain financially from laws that victimize Christians.

On the one hand, readers insist that Christmas trees are non-religious, yet they would never accept anything other than a decorated pyramidal evergreen tree to represent this Christian holiday. Other readers warn against forces intent on eliminating the "Christ" in "Christmas", but in the same breath they accuse those who would prefer that it be celebrated on a personal and not public level to be troublemakers.

In this season of self-professed love and goodwill toward men, it is painfully apparent how little progress mankind has made in acceptance and inclusion. If an airport spokesperson finds it appropriate to belittle the Festival of Lights that Jesus himself celebrated, calling the installation of a single Chanukah menorah "having to play cultural anthropologist", then we have a long, long way to go.

[thgdriver]

I am not saying that a decorated tree does not represent Christmas to most of us, but in reality
the decorated tree has nothing to do with religion nowadays, but the menorah is a symbol of the Jewish faith, always has always will, so I would say the Rabbi did not know what he was talking about and should have been ignored.

[thgdriver]

Merry Christmas to my christian brothers/sisters !

Happy holidays to everyone else!

[bellal-2009]

What an @ss. Next time I see a menorah, maybe I should throw a bloody fit and threaten a lawsuit until they put a Christmas tree next to it.

[texaskos_com]

Amazing. All this over Christmas trees. Obviously, we don't have a war, a budget deficit or something more important (who's Paris engaged to now?) to talk about?

The mistake the rabbi made was to see these trees, understandably, as a Christian symbol. The tree was part of the original pagan celebrations co-opted smartly by the Church to promote Christianity. So, if a pagan symbol can become a Christian one, a Christian symbol can become a secular symbol as well.

Symbols can change.

As a non-Christian, I LOVE this holiday & I LOVE seeing a Christmas tree anywhere. I don't associate it with Christ & don't need it to for it to be a special, spiritual time for me.

As for the rabbi, he's being made the Grinch but he just asked for something that was fairly reasonable: to be included. Is that too much to ask? Is Hanukkah also not celebrated now? It was SeaTac that pulled the plug on Christmas.

If the rabbi wanted to be a jerk, he wouldn't have pulled the lawsuit. Hopefully, they can figure out a way to return to the fundamental reason why humanity pre- and post-Christ have felt the need to huddle together in the darkness of winter: to bring light to the world and celebrate the devine bond that exists in humanity.

Whether it's the birth of the Lord or the SuperBowl or Stanley Cup, a community that can celebrate something together is a spiritually bonded society.

What does that say about our divided nation.

And, yes, Christ was born in March, but Merry Christmas!
TexasKaos.com

[thgdriver]

TexasKOS_com

If the rabbi wanted to be a jerk, he wouldn't have pulled the lawsuit.

Could it be possible he got a call form the Jewish business leaders and was told to shut up? When it comes to being business savvy, the Jewish people are very smart. Do you think the Jews do not make a nice living off the Christian dollar this time of year?

Speaking personally, the menorah is "far more" representative of a particular faith then any decorated tree.








Just my own hunch, I have no proof.

[gomanny1]

I've got a great idea, how about ZERO! holiday symbols on PUBLIC PROPERTY!!!!!

[mboutwe2]

The Christmas Tree has nothing to do with religion. If your religion is strong no matter what religion it is, then you don't need to cause a scene to be noticed. And for all those so called non believers.....You may say you don't believe in God but when you're on your death bed....whose name do you call out to help you? People and Scientist are so obsessed with proving something wrong that they lost faith. Having Faith in Something is better than having Faith in Nothing.

Merry Christmas and God Bless