Guess Who Came to the White House Hanukkah Reception 2019 (a not so nice pastor)

Today, the White House hosted its annual Hanukkah reception. Among the celebrants were

President Donald J. Trump
First Lady Melania Trump
Vice President Mike Pence
Second Lady Karen Pence

Jared Kushner, Assistant to the President and Senior Advisor, and son-in-law, who thanked the president for his amazing leadership.
Ivanka Trump, Advisor to the President, and daughter

Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Department of the Treasury
Secretary Betsy DeVos, Department of Education
Deputy Attorney General Jeff Rosen, Department of Justice

Sen. James Lankford, (R-OK), who left early to vote
Sen. Tim Scott, (R-SC), who left early to vote
Rep. Doug Collins, (R-GA-09)
Rep. Lee Zeldin, (R-NY-01)
Rep. David Kustoff, (R-TN-08)
Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) (came for the second)

Rep. Elaine Luria, (D-VA-02)
Rep. Josh Gottheimer, (D-NJ-05)
Rep. Max Rose, (D-NY-11)
(Trump said, “even the Democrats can come up” (to the podium)

Oscar Stewart, Army Veteran, Chabad Poway Hero, California
Jonathan Morales, Border Patrol Agent, Chabad Poway Hero, California

Austin Polonsky, San Francisco, age 12, wearing a red Trump kippah, who was invited after he wrote a supportive letter to the President

Rosalee Glass, age 102, Los Angeles (Rayzele Talerman Glass) who immigrated to America after surviving the Holocaust, Siberia and Soviet Kazakhstan.

Attorney Alan Dershowitz, He praised the president for his executive order, saying, “It is a game-changer, it will go down in history as one of the most important events in the 2000-year battle against anti-Semitism. You will be remembered by history for all time for having signed this very important order.” Additionally he said, “For 65 of my 81 years I have spent at universities all over the country and all over the world, there is no more important event in those 65 years to turn universities away from being bastions of hatred and discrimination than this executive order being signed today.”

Robert Kraft, (pictured above, speaking) Philanthropist and owner of the New England Patriots, who spoke and recalled his late wife’s commitment to Israel and Tikkun Olam.

Deputy Attorney General Jeff Rosen
Special Envoy on Antisemitism Elan Carr
Special Envoy for Iran Brian Hook
Morgan Ortagus, the U.S. State Department spokesperson
Lew Eisenberg, U.S. Ambassador to Italy (formerly finance chair of the RNC, Goldman Sachs partner, private equity leader, philanthropist, Chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey suring 9/11.
Former Special Envoy for mideast peace plan, Jason Greenblatt

and, surprise,
Pastor Robert Jeffress, Dallas, popular Evangelical Christian minister, who spoke at the event and is (in)famous for saying that Jewish people are going to hell and claiming that Hitler was part of God’s plan to return Jews to Israel. (but he is pro-Israel, and has a lot of influence, so who cares, right?). But then again, he also said some not so nice things about Mormons and Roman Catholics.

The second reception featured nearly all the same senior officials, including the Jared and Ivanka Kushner’s children and Jared’s parents.

Also the Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt (who Trump said was the nation’s largest landlord), Special Envoy Carr, and Sheldon and Dr. Miriam Adelson (who Trump mentioned had no cash problems).

Also present were Israel’s Ambassador to the United States Ron Dermer. Two of the rabbis present were Chabad Rabbi Moshe Margareten of the Tzedek Association, focused on prison reform, and Chabad Rabbi Z Boyarsky who serves as Aleph’s Director of Constitutional Advocacy and is a prison reform advocate. Jared worked on a prison reform portfolio. Also in attendance were the founders of the SSI Movement Valeria Chazin and Ilan Sinelnikov. TV Pundit and former radio personality Mark Levin was called up to the podium. Levin characterized Trump as the first Jewish president of the United States. Leonard Gordon was introduced. Aged 94, Mr. Gordon survived Dachau and was liberated by American troops. In America, he worked building submarines. Some in attendance were so elated that they chanted “4 more years,” before a Chabad rabbi said a prayer for those killed on Tuesday in Jersey City.

NOT TO BE SNARKY… but did you notice how President Trump tells the story of his friend who tells him his greatest achievement his cancelling the agreement with IRAN? At the IAC speech it was one friend. At the Hanukkah reception, it was Bob Kraft. At the second reception, it was Jared’s father.

Happy Hanukkah to all.

More Jewish a capella-ing at the White House pic.twitter.com/9DASCRCJH0

— Ben Gittleson (@bgittleson) December 11, 2019