Did A Lone Rabbi Mean to Ban Christmas Trees?

Townhall.com ^ | December 10, 2006 | Michael Medved

[beaversmom]

Related thread:

Airport's trees stoking "war on Christmas". (SEATAC Update)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1751685/posts

[The_Victor]

So what went wrong with this whole miserable affair?

The Rabbi let a lawyer in on the deal.

[PeteB570]

Oh, yeah, blame it on the lawyer.

Hey Rabbi, actions do have unintended consequences.

Q. Why were the trees removed? A. You!

[pikachu]

The Rabbi did not get what he wanted but he got what he asked for.

[camle]

triangulation: pitting one's enemies against each other.

[Hildy]

STFU....what is wrong with ASKING that one menorah be included amongst the Christmas Trees? The decision was not the Rabbi's, it was the Airport's. The Rabbi was doing his job...that's all...the Airport Executive office did not do theirs.

[HuntsvilleTxVeteran]

I will bet this "Rabbi" votes only for left wing democrats!

[desherwood7]

Does this "Rabbi" come from the Reform sect?

[mockingbyrd]

Sorry Michael, not buying it. If Christmas trees are so non offensive why get the lawyer in the first place and why make the asinine threat of a lawsuit. Your friend stepped in it big time...

[PeteB570]

He asked and then his lawyer threatened the airport.

So why did you type SFTU?

Have a problem with the truth?

Must be on a lib trail this AM.

[Retired Chemist]

He should not have asked to hold a lighting ceremony which would have turned it into a religious celebration. The airport wanted to avoid a costly legal battle.

[muawiyah]

Obviously the rabbi followed the wrong course of action ~ otherwise he would not have been outed as having Reform tendencies.

Besides, 99% of these situations have involved a dispute over a creche scene, wisemen, or something other than a tree decorated up as a "substitute sacrifice".

In the future that congregation has got to make sure they check the new rabbi's resume for any sign he attended Cincinnati.

[SJackson]

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And it should be noted that underlying the issue is the fact that these were NOT CHRISTMAS TREES Seattle is after all inclusive by definition and the HOLIDAY TREES on display presumably represented all religions. Now there's a war on Holiday Trees. Should the H and T be capitalized now?

"What we have are holiday trees," she said. "If we are going to display symbols representing other cultures, we have to think what that means and what's respectful and what would make a good display. Maybe it would be 'Holidays of the World.'

"Or maybe it's snowmen."
Terri-Ann Betancourt , airport spokesman (spokeswoman, spokesms, whatever)

 

This is a Christmas Tree. Maybe someone can post a Holiday Tree. I'd like to see what they look like.

[Libertarianize the GOP]

bttt

[Anitius Severinus Boethius]

Lawsuits because of offense are the root cause of all of this PC nonsense. Being offended is not something that should be eligible to bring suit against.

The lawyer who "threatened" the lawsuit should be the one to apologize. If the Rabbi told the lawyer to threaten, he should admit such and apologize. And the wusses at the airport should apologize for being so easy to intimidate.

Then put up the Christmas trees, a Nativity scene, a Menorah, and a festivus pole and be done with this nonsense.

[FreedomNeocon]

You missed it... as several others had said asking for a Menorah wasn't the problem / mistake.

It was hiring an attorney and threatening a federal lawsuit because they didn't respond to his request "in a timely manner" that caused the hubbub.

Either way it was (intentionally or not) the Rabbi's fault.

[sockmonkey]

So did this Rabbi just give his lawyer carte blanche, or did he not give the attorney permission to use the words "federal lawsuit" for leverage to get his way?

[APRPEH]

This Rabbi, was trying to include Seattle in with the other 11,000 public Menorah displays that Chabad Lubavitch sponsors around the country. Usually, these Menorahs are paid for by private donors and the host site merely provides a space and electricity. Who puts up the Christmas trees and who pays for them in public places?

[khnyny]

[After two months of indecision from the Port of Seattle (the quasi-governmental agency that runs the airport) concerning the request for a menorah, the rabbi’s lawyer made the mistake (yes, it was a mistake) of threatening a federal lawsuit and the airport people panicked and ordered the removal of the trees. “We’re not in the business of offending anyone and we’re not eager to get into a federal lawsuit with anyone,” said Craig Watson, chief lawyer for the Port of Seattle. Patricia Davis, head of the Port Commission said, “We didn’t have other cultures represented and rather than scramble around to find representations of other cultures at this late date, we decided to take them down and consider it later.” ]

The law of unintended consequences. Threatening a federal lawsuit was assinine.