SEATAC, Wash. - Port of Seattle officials said they decided Monday night to put the Christmas trees back up after Rabbi Elazar Bogomilsky and his Central Organization for Jewish Education Lubavitch said they would not file a threatened lawsuit.

Port of Seattle staff will be reinstalling the trees at Sea-Tac Airport after removing them late last week under threat of a federal lawsuit to be filed by the Central Organization for Jewish Education Lubavitch.

Port officials received word from Rabbi Elazar Bogomilsky late Monday afternoon that his organization will not file a lawsuit at this time over the placement of a menorah at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Given that, the holiday trees will be replaced as quickly as possible.

"This has been an unfortunate situation for all of us in Seattle," said Port of Seattle Commission President Pat Davis. "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."

A key element in moving forward will be to work with the rabbi and other members of the community to develop a plan for next year's holiday decorations at the airport.

"There's been such an outcry from the public from people of all faiths who believe that the trees should be reinstalled," Davis said, "I'm very thankful that we can return the trees and get back to running our airport during this very busy holiday season."

Hasty decision

The port's commissioner admits the move to remove the trees may have been a bit hasty.

All nine of the Christmas trees were removed last week instead of adding a giant Jewish menorah to the holiday display as a rabbi had requested. Rabbi Elazar Bogomilsky, who made his request weeks ago, said he was appalled by the decision.

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Maintenance workers boxed up the trees at SeaTac Airport during the graveyard shift early Saturday, when airport bosses believed few people would notice.

"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 with Chabad Lubavitch, a Jewish education foundation headquartered in Seattle's University District.

"People should have their Christmas trees back up and we should have a menorah standing in the airport," said Bogomilsky.

After taking the trees down last week, Sea-Tac officials reconsidered. Port of Seattle Commissioner John Creighton told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer: "In hindsight, we probably should have handled this in a more deliberate and thoughtful manner... I can think of at least three out of five commissioners who would like to see the trees back up."

Bogomilsky had hired a lawyer and threatened to sue if the Port of Seattle didn't add the menorah next to the Christmas trees, which had been festooned with red ribbons and bows. Hanukkah begins this Friday at sundown. Craig Watson, the port's chief lawyer, said Bogomilsky had threatened to file the lawsuit if the port didn't make a decision by the end of last week.

After consulting with lawyers, port staff believed adding the menorah would have required adding symbols for other religions and cultures in the Northwest. Since the holidays are the busiest season at the airport, said a spokesperson, the staff wouldn't have time to play cultural anthropologists.

"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."

Maintenance workers boxed up the trees during the graveyard shift early Saturday, when airport bosses believed few people would notice.

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Rabbi Elazar Bogomilsky

"They've darkened the hall instead of turning the lights up," said Bogomilsky's lawyer, Harvey Grad. "There is a concern here that the Jewish community will be portrayed as the Grinch."

Bogomilsky told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer on Sunday that his group no longer intends to file a lawsuit, regardless of the outcome.

The commissioners have a meeting Tuesday night. While they have a packed agenda, they may take up this issue then. Meanwhile, a few little trees have popped up at airline counters. The employee at Frontier Airlines took up a collection Monday morning and bought a few foot-tall trees for the counter.