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Shluchim Meet with Washington D.C. Officials

JTA

Congressional leaders and top Obama administration officials met with representatives of Chabad-Lubavitch, lead by Rabbi Avrohom Shemtov.

Lawmakers meeting June 21 with several hundred Chabad emissaries from across the United States and the world included Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.), the majority leader in the U.S. House of Representatives, who spoke of how Chabad rabbis have assisted him in his Jewish learning, and Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), the House minority whip, who spoke of his friendship with Cantor and bipartisan commitment to the U.S.-Israel relationship.

A number of other lawmakers briefed the rabbis on their favored issues. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) spoke of her commitment to passing a bill that would allow Holocaust survivors to seek restitution through the courts on World War II-era insurance policies.

Also addressing the “Living Legacy” conference, organized by American Friends of Lubavitch, were Jeremy Bash, the chief of staff to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta; Bruce Reed, Vice President Joe Biden‘s chief of staff; Holocaust memoirist and Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel; and former Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle, now the Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate.

The keynote speech, delivered June 20, was by Talmud scholar Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, with a response by Israel’s Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Yonah Metzger.

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7 Comments

  • in the know

    noticibly abset was jack lew obamas chief of staff

    no discussion about the rebbes stance against giving back land

  • still in westpoint

    hay r’ avremel shemtov it is very inspiring and nice to see your work in the battelfield!!!!

  • Ahavas Yisroel

    Did anyone use this opportunity to speak about Sholom Mordechai Rubashkin?

  • meir

    what of sm rubaskin?
    i’m sure that his situtation was at least mentioned?

  • Dubee

    What of Rubashkin, What of Pollard (he’s also a Jew eh?) Can these high profile rabbis stick out their neck for these 2 yiddin in jail? Rachmono L’Itzlan.

  • these are congressional leaders

    of a do nothing congress, perhaps the worst ever and you expect them to do something about rubashkin and pollard???? what a joke. congress cant even agree if the sky is blue!!!!!