SEATAC – Rabbi Elazar Bogomilsky could think of one thing to improve the holiday display at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport: Add an 8-foot-tall menorah next to the tallest plastic Christmas tree welcoming international arrivals.
When he brought his request to airport managers, they not only denied it, but ordered maintenance workers to take down and box up all nine of the airport’s Christmas trees. The work was done during the graveyard shift early Saturday morning, when airport bosses believed few people would notice.
“We decided to take the trees down because we didn’t want to be exclusive,” said airport spokeswoman Terri-Ann Betancourt. “We’re trying to be thoughtful and respectful, and will review policies after the first of the year.”
After consulting with lawyers, Port of Seattle 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.
Bogomilsky, who made his request weeks ago, said he was appalled by the decision. He had hired his own lawyer and threatened to file a federal lawsuit if the port didn’t add the menorah next to the trees, which had been festooned with red ribbons and bows.
“Everyone should have their spirit of the holiday. For many people the trees are the spirit of the holidays, and adding a menorah adds light to the season,” said Bogomilsky, who works at Chabad Lubavitch, a Jewish education foundation headquartered in Seattle’s University District.
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