White House party will fete Jewish culture

[babylonsister]

White House party will fete Jewish culture
By JOCELYN NOVECK, Associated Press


In politics, as elsewhere, it's a sport that's almost as popular as people-watching: Guest-list watching.

And this week, it's the Jewish community in Washington and beyond that's buzzing over who'll be on the list when Barack and Michelle Obama host the first-ever White House reception marking Jewish Heritage Month.

snip//

The most prominent guest on the list, according to several people familiar with it: former baseball great Sandy Koufax, the left-handed Hall of Fame pitcher for the Dodgers who famously refused to pitch in a World Series game on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in Judaism. (Koufax, now 74, could not be reached to confirm his plans.)

Names also mentioned by members of the Jewish community: Olympic swimmer Dara Torres, author Judy Blume, and a young woman who was wounded in a 1999 shooting at a Los Angeles Jewish center, Mindy Finkelstein.

But the list also includes a number of younger Jewish activists involved in interesting initiatives. One of them, Shawn Landres, heads Jumpstart, which he calls a "thinkubator for sustainable Jewish innovation." He's traveling to Washington from Los Angeles.

"There's been excitement about this, people posting on Facebook and talking about who's coming," says Landres.

"In the past," he adds, "when there were Jewish events at the White House, they tended to go to the same well of people -- big Jewish organizations, the usual suspects. What I've noticed here is a commitment to go beyond that. The administration is trying to engage the Jewish community in different ways."

more...

http://www.salon.com/wires/us/2010/05/24/D9FTMBP00_us_fea_white_house_jewish_reception/index.html

[vaberella]

1. This is the first?! Lordy.

Thanks Mr. President for respecting every culture. It's rather sad he's the first President to do this.

[nemo137]

2. I didn't know Judy Blume was Jewish. Neat!

[secondwind]

3. with a name like Blume, you can't go wrong.