Rabbi evicts Christmas Trees from Seattle Airport

By Patrick Cleburne

12/10/2006

This year there has been a deluge of newspaper articles, letters to the editor, and blog postings all asserting that there is no War against Christmas. This seems to the party line. However, the word did not get out to the Seattle/Tacoma area:
All of the Christmas trees inside the terminal at Sea-Tac have been removed in response to a complaint by a rabbi.

A local rabbi wanted to install an 8-foot menorah and have a public lighting ceremony. He threatened to sue if the menorah wasn’t put up, and gave a two-day deadline to remove the trees.

Xmas trees removed from Sea-Tac by Kim Holcomb King 5 News Saturday September 9, 2006

The real issue here is not the successful imposition of its preferences by a religious minority, but the enthusiastic cowardice of the authorities

Sea-Tac public affairs manager Terri-Ann Betancourt said the trees that adorn the Sea-Tac upper and lower levels may not properly represent all cultures … ."[W]e don’t want to litigate with this individual, we want to reach some kind of solution," Betancourt said. "But that is going to take some thoughtful discussion and we would like to have time to have that thoughtful discussion.

… .

Until then, no Christmas decor at Sea-Tac. The same decorations have been put up for at least 10 years, she said.

How much litigation was likely in the two weeks before Christmas? Indeed, why not let the man have his Menorah? (Assuming he really wanted it.)

Some of my most precious memories as a small child are images of Christmas scenes in public places, briefly glimpsed and remembered forever. Now the season’s flow of children through the Seattle Airport will not have that chance there, as they would normally have done.

It would be easy to blame the domineering selfishness of the complainant. The true culprit is the conniving pusillanimity of the Airport management.

Complain to Mark Reis, the Airport’s Managing Director, or to the Commissioners of the Port of Seattle, to which it belongs — they are elected.

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