YikeS ..It’s a MenoraH!
To the haters over at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport:
Say NO to Menorahs
“..a decision by airport officials to remove its nine Christmas trees instead of adding a giant Jewish menorah to the holiday display as a rabbi had requested…
After consulting with lawyers, port staff believed that adding the menorah would have required adding symbols for other religions and cultures in the Northwest. The holidays are the busiest season at the airport, Betancourt said, and staff didn’t have time to play cultural anthropologists.”
Didn’t have enough time?
Rabbi Elazar Bogomilsky gently put in the “request” over a month ago.
And erm…what other “religions and cultures” are they referring to exactly?
It’s clearly a case of Menorah Allergy Syndrome, Seattle.
Well, cheer up..here’s a peek at but a few places that Chabad has lit Menorahs..and to date….they’re all still in existence. 
Go figure.
Alberta, Canada
Argentina
Australia
Germany
Ohio
Rome
Russia
Tennessee
U.K.
Uruguay
Finland
Try it Seattle. You may jus like it. 
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Other BlogWorthies:
ConservativeCathas an array,RightWingGuyon I-ran, ChurchandStateon McKinney, PlancksConstanton Muzlim fashion.
December 11th, 2006 at 6:53 pm
Phear the menorah!!
Heh.
Unbelievable. People are nuts.
December 11th, 2006 at 6:55 pm
Nah, this is exactly like I heard it. I have no problem with putting up a Menorah if you want to. In fact, I own one, since my brother-in-law is Jewish.
I have a problem with someone saying they’ll sue if you put up a Christmas tree without a Menorah present. I applaud the Airport for only partially bowing to the pressure to be pc, and took the trees down rather than bow to such a ridiculous demand for holiday recognition.
Put up what you want, where you want. That’s my position. If they had only put up menorahs in the Airport and someone complained, I’d be against that complainer as well. They are selfish. Can’t stand that.
December 11th, 2006 at 7:02 pm
Let us see for a moment ..the base of an 8 foot high menora would be approximately 6 feet across..or the width of 3 boxes on the tile floor..easily placed off into the corner..and this the airport officals could not do!!???
A coke soda machine and a candy vending machine would be the space needed to place the menora and the airport officals STILL have a problem..
something tells me the problem is not the menora and surely not the rabbi..
Seattle, Washington the home of Microsoft…i wonder what would have happened if Bill Gates wanted a few feet to show off his newest gadget????
December 11th, 2006 at 8:53 pm
Hey, hon, I love those little animated images you have up. How do I get some and put them in my posts?
December 11th, 2006 at 8:54 pm
It’s the lawsuit that prompted the removal of the trees though. It’s really all over the top.
Think about it a bit, there’s nothing wrong with being inclusive with a menorah, but the rabbi threatened a lawsuit over it. What with the ACLU threatening every small jurisdiction over public displays of “religion” the Sea-Tac airport’s reaction is understandable.
Wrong-headed, but understandable.
The rabbi in question claims to be appalled at the reaction, but his lawyer clearly knew in advance what the reaction would be, since she warned the Port of Seattle what would happen if they took down the trees.
Political Correctness has run amok in this country, and it’s lawsuits like the one threatened here that are in large part directly responsible for it.
December 11th, 2006 at 8:56 pm
Blast… I fat-fingered it again. Rabbi Bogomilsky’s lawyer is a HE, not a SHE.
December 11th, 2006 at 9:17 pm
Did the big bad Menorah try to take Seattle-Tacoma International Airport away? lol. I don’t get the logic, but then again, I think these people learned everything they need to know in ACLU/NEA sanitized public school. That’s the alternate universe in which tolerance for something means removing it and everything like it.
I wonder if STIA will be getting the Carter Foundation Award this “Winter Festival” season? Maybe they can post signs of sensitivity declaring they are “jihad-friendly”.
December 11th, 2006 at 9:27 pm
Diversity= Christmas+Menorah
PC=none of the above
I prefer diversity
December 11th, 2006 at 9:51 pm
Freedom=Either or both.
I prefer freedom.
Perri Nelson is right though, and it’s what got me angry at this rabbi. It’s the lawsuit threat. If he would have complained or protested, I would have been on his side. When he tries to use the courts to force his opinion on someone, he became an enemy.
December 11th, 2006 at 9:52 pm
well let’s see- they’re afraid of offending people stepping off the plane into a CHRISTIAN nation, and discovering that … shock of all shocks … we celebrate our Christian herritage? I wonder if they give a fig about whether we’d be offended stepping off a plane in their country & seeing that they celebrate their religion? Nah- didn’t think so!
December 11th, 2006 at 9:55 pm
MY fellow americans, why are you missing the point…the Seattle airport simply needed to say YES..as ruled by the Supreme Court 1989..
the Rabbi requested the placing of a Menora next to the christmas tree as a showing of unity…the Seattle airport officials preferred to remove the tree “under durrest” to cause a stir….why???? i am not sure…
the threat of a lawsuit by the Rabbi is a standard everyday method of getting the attention of someone who is not listening!!!!… to reason.
December 12th, 2006 at 1:08 pm
What’s up with the airport? They could even put out little placards describing the origins of each display… It would be cool!
December 12th, 2006 at 3:04 pm
After waiting two months for a decision, I think the Rabbi had the right to threaten a lawsuit. C’mon guys. The aiport was clearly stonewalling, hoping he would go away. Then they decide to offend everybody by pulling down the Christmas trees and the menorah? Who really wins in this case? A handful of atheists, sure, but the real winners are the Muslims. Divide and conquer is their strategy, and anything they can do to split up Jewish-Christian co-operation benefits them more than anybody else.
December 12th, 2006 at 5:30 pm
Thanks y’alls for the additions and very interesting comments!
December 12th, 2006 at 11:04 pm
It’s the property of the owners of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and they should get to decide to do with it. There are some unconstitutional federal laws that have empower oppressors to infringe on the right to property while pretending to be good guys.
December 13th, 2006 at 10:20 am
There is a great article from Chabad regarding this at http://www.chabad.org/455712