I'm glad the rabbi backed down -- especially since he would have lost in court.

The holiday trees that went away in the middle of the night are back.

Tonight, Port of Seattle staff began putting up the trees they had taken down Friday night after a local rabbi requested that a Hanukkah menorah also be displayed. Port officials said the rabbi's lawyer had threatened to imminently file a lawsuit, leaving them with insufficient time to consider all the issues.

A nationwide furor erupted over the weekend as news of the trees' removal spread, with a flood of calls to Port officials and harshly worded e-mails to Jewish organizations. Today, Rabbi Elazar Bogomilsky said he would not file a lawsuit and the Port, in response, said it would put the trees back up.

"This has been an unfortunate situation for all of us in Seattle," Port of Seattle Commission President Pat Davis said in a statement. "The rabbi never asked us to remove the trees; it was the Port's decision based on what we knew at the time. We very much appreciate the rabbi's willingness to work with us as we move forward."

And I hope the menorah the rabi wants is put up -- and that a Nativity scene is added. After all, the rabbi has demanded the introduction of religious symbols to the airport's holiday display, which had been secular up to this point.

And by the way -- I'd like to heartily condemn those who have threatened the rabbi for his actions. Even though he was dead wrong, such threats of violence are never appropriate -- and especially not in the name of a holiday honoring the Prince of peace.

Posted by: Greg at 11:52 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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