Full-Size Christmas Trees to Return to Seattle Airport [all trees going back up!]

Fox News Online ^ | 12/12/06 | AP

[TheBigB]

SEATAC, Wash. — The Christmas trees are going back up at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

Port of Seattle officials had ordered the trees taken down over the weekend after a local rabbi threatened a lawsuit if a menorah wasn't also displayed at the airport.

Airport officials say they took that action out of concern that if they allowed the addition of a menorah, 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.

Rabbi Elazar Bogomilsky says he never asked that the trees be taken down, and the threat of a lawsuit was withdrawn.

With the threat of the lawsuit gone, airport spokesman Bob Parker says all 14 trees will go back up -- hopefully by tomorrow morning.

[djf]

Ken Schram, local radio putz said yesterday over and over if the trees went up and there was no Menorah, he would sue.

[grjr21]

I thought one of the main principles of the Christian faith was forgiveness, especially towards someone who is contrite. But maybe I am wrong.


Oww ! ...  That's gonna leave a mark

[grjr21]

but who has time to get into that issue right now when the holiday season is in full swing?

That's a point that bothers me .
The Rabbi asked permission to put up the menorah several months ago and Sea-Tac failed to reply.
Hanukkah is Dec. 15 , so when exactly did the airport plan to answer him , after the holiday ?
Passive aggressive way of saying no if you ask me ,I really can't blame him all that much for threatening a lawsuit

[COBOL2Java]

Livius: "The group he is part of, the Lubavitchers, goes around suing different places to put up menorahs every year."

Alouette: "They go around putting up menorahs, they do not go around suing people. Sometimes they have been sued by the ACLU for putting up the menorah.

Please get your facts straight, I am a member of this organization and two of my sons are very active in the menorah campaign, in Moscow and San Francisco."

Our idiot Drive-by-Media did not help during this news cycle either. Mark Twain was right when he said: "A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes." I for one am grateful for the work of the Lubavitchers.

[Road Warrior ‘04]

They can have "Holiday Candelabra" but that's as far as it goes...

ROFLMAO!

[The Wizard]

as they should be.....

[Jay777]

Spreading the word to the blogs!

[Farmer Dean]

He'd be forced to go into hiding if he tried that now.

[SJackson]

You forget there are still thousands of Menorahs out there because of Chabad. As you know from the threads, this places a severe barrier in the ability of select Christians to enjoy their holiday. Something should be done.

As to the ACLU, what they're missing is a complaintant who has suffered due to Sea-Tac's actions. If they find one, we may be reading about this for awhile.

[Road Warrior ‘04]

...in Moscow and San Francisco.

Interchangeable, aren't they? Both communist cities!

[Alouette]

As to the ACLU, what they're missing is a complaintant who has suffered due to Sea-Tac's actions.

If they read these threads they could find some.

[PigRigger]

Happy RamaHanuKwanzMas To All!

[LibKill]

1. It was WRONG of the rabbi to threaten a lawsuit. This in accordance with the principle of "That which is hateful to you, do not do unto others."

2. It was FOOLISH of the rabbi to threaten a lawsuit. This in accordance with the principle of "You don't point a lawyer at someone without pulling the trigger."

The airport officials neatly outmaneuvered this threat. It was predictable that the rabbi would take the heat for the removal of the Christmas trees. I congratulate the airport officials for defeating a frivolous lawsuit before it started.

[SJackson]

If they read these threads they could find some.

More likely they'll find a Jewish complaintant offended over the lack of the Menorah.

[Wormwood]

Great news!

And hopefully people have learned that perhaps threatening lawsuits isn't the best way to make friends.

(and the next time some whiny jerk sends a lawyer to the Port authority, I hope they take down and mulch the trees)

[SJackson]

The disingenuous of this rabbi is nauseating, and for some reason a lot of the local talk show hosts are taking him at his word. He tried to bully the airport with the threat of litigation, and now he whines that this isn't what he wanted. What a jerk.

It might have something to do with the fact that the organization he's associated with has between 6,000 and 11,000 Menorahs displayed, most of them in displays with Holiday Trees like Sea-Tac and in many cases Christmas Trees. His statements are consistant with his groups position, as well as his actions. That's why they believe him, he's credible. Not to everyone, I know, some people think the Rabbi is a jerk.

[leilani]

The tree tradition is a relatively recent arrival to America (late 19th c) and wasn't truly a widespread custom until the first few decades of the twentieth century. It's origins are believed to date back to pre-Christian times & pagan solstice rites. Though a few folks here & there in german immigrant communities decorated trees in early america, it wasn't til after Queen Victoria married Albert and adapted the german holiday custom for the royal household that it became popular in England & then later the US.

See the somewhat reliable wiki entry. I know Jews who put up trees. Go anywhere in world in December & in non-Christian cultures like Japan & you will see end-of-year trees. They are as much a symbol of commerce as anything else. That's why municipal trees in the US have survived challenges from the ACLU all these years - they are extra-religious symbols more widely associated with winter & the season of Jesus's birth than Christianity.Indeed, some fundamentalist Christians reject the practice, believing they are prohibited by scripture.

That being said, I think everybody should cut the Rabbi some slack. He made a mistake letting his lawyer go nuclear, has admitted it & apologized for it, the trees are back & no one was harmed. If we want to blame anybody for what happened at SEA-TAC, lets blame SCOTUS for making all of these issues such a lucrative business for self-aggrandizing lawyers & crooked hate-groups like the ACLU.

It's Yuletide/Christmas/Ramadan/Hannukah/Winter Solstice/End of Year Sale time: the season for giving and forgiving.

[gondramB]

>>The disingenuous of this rabbi is nauseating, and for some reason a lot of the local talk show hosts are taking him at his word. He tried to bully the airport with the threat of litigation, and now he whines that this isn't what he wanted. What a jerk.<<

Apparently he is getting death threats - very un Christian response.

Didn't he ask for a small Hanukkah display in addition to a large Christmas display on public property? That doesn't sound unreasonable. As for the knee-jerk response by the airport - that's really their fault for being knee jerk.

Now maybe the rabbi is a jerk too but it sure doesn't show in his interviews whereas the airport spokeswoman seemed to be dancing around and trying to spin.

[SJackson]

He knew perfectly well. The group he is part of, the Lubavitchers, goes around suing different places to put up menorahs every year, and they usually win. I doubt he paid for that lawyer himself.

I don't believe you. 6,000 to 11,000 Menorahs displayed. If that's because of lawsuits, it should take no time at all to provide a dozen examples. I'll be waiting.

[Muzzle_em]

You'd better believe it!
Get ready for the freaking MOOSLIMS to start making demands for prayer rooms and red crescents all over the airport!