White House Hanukkah party set for sunset

By Michelle Boorstein

After much debate about the size of the Obama White House's Hanukkah party, the event will take place Wednesday afternoon around sunset.

For several weeks, some in the Jewish community discussed a report in The Jerusalem Post that the party's guest list would be about 400, roughly half of what it was for the recent Hanukkah parties of the Bush presidency. Neither the office of the first lady, which handles party planning, nor the faith-based office, which advises the president on religious issues, would comment specifically on the guest list debate, which some attributed to political tone-deafness on the part of the Obama White House, while others wondered if it meant a diminished status for Jews and Israel under the new administration.

Tuesday, the White House still wouldn't go on the record, but an official said off the record that there would be 500 to 550 guests at the candle-lighting and reception early this evening. The official said that number is consistent with the numbers that were invited under Bush, though The Jerusalem Post's Washington correspondent, Hilary Leila Krieger, quoted an unnamed Jewish liaison under Bush who worked on the annual Hanukkah parties as saying there were "more than 800 invited."

Oy vey.

Regardless, the event begins at 4:30 p.m., the sixth night of the eight-day holiday. It starts with a menorah lighting by children of U.S. service members and includes kosher food prepared in a White House kitchen made ritually kosher especially for this event.

By

Michelle Boorstein

 |  December 16, 2009; 8:03 AM ET  |  Category:  Under God Save & Share:                 
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