White House Jewish Liaison
The
At times, the post has operated within the
The position is a difficult one to hold.
In recent years, the position has regularly been handled by younger staffers holding their first jobs in the
Liaisons
Carter administration
In 1978, Carter administration Jewish liaison Mark Siegel resigned the position after he became distressed with the administration's position towards Israel and Middle East policy and felt unable to influence it.[8]
Reagan administration
Marshall Breger was President
Clinton administration
Amy Zisook of Chicago served as Jewish liaison early in the Clinton Administration, followed by fellow Chicagoan Jay Footlik.[10][11] Footlik later was a candidate for Congress in Illinois's 10th congressional district,[12] losing to Dan Seals in the primary in 2008.[13] Other Jewish liaisons were Jeanne Ellinport[11][14][15] and Deborah Mohile, who served as Jewish liaison in the second term of the Clinton Administration.[11][16]
George W. Bush administration
During the Bush Administration, seven people held the position of White House Liaison to the Jewish community.[17][18]
The first liaisons during the Bush Administration, including Adam Goldman,
Additional Jewish liaisons in the Bush White House included researcher and scheduler Jeff Berkowitz;
The last liaison of the Bush Administration was Scott Arogeti.[18]
Obama administration
During the
In September 2011, it was announced that
After three years in the position, Nosanchuk was succeeded in May 2016 by former
Trump administration
Six months into his presidency, President Trump had not appointed a Jewish liaison, and a senior administration official told the media that the White House had no plans to fill the post.[2] The president's special representative for international negotiations, Jason Greenblatt, informally acted as a conduit for contact with the organized American Jewish community.[2]
Previous Jewish liaisons from the George W. Bush and Obama administrations spoke to the press to discuss the importance of the post and called for an appointment to be made.[2] Senior leaders from Jewish community described their concerns over the effects of the situation.[2]
A bipartisan group of 44
In August 2017, 11 former Jewish liaisons, from the Reagan, Clinton, George W. Bush, and Obama administrations, issued an open letter describing President Trump's reactions to the violence in Charlottesville and other examples of anti-Semitism as showing "that he neither understands his responsibilities nor the nature of the ancient hatred of anti-Semitism and other forms of hate."[11]
The liaisons' letter described Trump's "equivocation and unwillingness to speak clearly, without restraint, against blatant examples of racism, anti-Semitism and related manifestations of hate, as well as his refusal to lay blame for violence, [as] anathema to the best traditions of his office and to the examples set by the presidents we served," and as "exposing not just Jews but all Americans to greater danger."[11]
Biden administration
In August 2021, Biden made Chanan Weissman, a National Security Council staffer who had served as Jewish liaison during the Obama administration, the White House liaison to the Jewish community.[34] In 2022 he was succeeded by Shelley Greenspan, policy advisor for partnerships and global engagement at the National Security Council.[35]
References
- ^ "White House Office Of Public Engagement Launched, Replacing Office Of Public Liaison". Huffington Post. June 11, 2009.
- ^ Jerusalem Post. Archived from the originalon June 18, 2018. Retrieved June 17, 2018.
- ^ Tablet Magazine. Archived from the originalon July 15, 2013.
- ^ a b JNS.org (13 May 2016). "Obama's new liaison to Jewish community is Chanan Weissman". Cleveland Jewish News. Retrieved 2021-11-26.
- ^ a b c d James Besser, Wanted: Obama administration Jewish Liaison, The Jewish Week (New York) – JW Political Insider blog, January 19, 2009
- ^ a b "Exclusive: Meet the new White House Jewish liaison". Jewish Insider. 2016-05-12. Retrieved 2021-11-26.
- ^ a b c Hou, Courtesy of the White (30 March 2016). "Obama's Jewish Liaison Matt Nosanchuk Steps Down". The Forward. Retrieved 2021-11-26.
- ^ Smith, Terence (March 8, 1978). "Carter Aide Leaves Liaison Post". The New York Times.
- ^ The Jewish Daily Forward.
- ^ Hartstein, Larry (September 25, 1995). "Skokie Native Enjoying Role As Clinton Aide". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on June 18, 2018. Retrieved June 17, 2018.
- ^ a b c d e "11 Former White House Jewish Liaisons: Trump Doesn't Understand anti-Semitism". Jewish Telegraphic Agency / Haaretz. August 19, 2017. Archived from the original on June 18, 2018. Retrieved June 17, 2018.
- ^ "Historical Newspapers from 1700s–2000s". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2021-11-26.
- ^ "Clout St: National Dem targets three Illinois congressional races". newsblogs.chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2021-11-26.
- ^ Gross, Max (May 2, 2003). "Marking Israel's Birthday in Music". The Forward. Archived from the original on June 18, 2018. Retrieved June 17, 2018.
- ^ Morel, Linda (2007). "Passover Recipes for a Crowd". JW Magazine. Jewish Women International. Archived from the original on June 18, 2018. Retrieved June 17, 2018.
- ^ "Trojan Family Magazine". www.usc.edu. Archived from the original on 2005-11-24.
- ^ The Jewish Daily Forward.
- ^ Jerusalem Post. Jul 13, 2008.
- ^ Matthew E. Berger (Aug 8, 2003). "Bush Names Orthodox Adviser As New White House Jewish Liaison". The Jewish Press.
- ^ "White House Names Jewish Liaison, the Fourth of Bush's Administration". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. June 1, 2005. Archived from the original on September 21, 2016.
- ^ a b Smith, Ben. "Staffing up the RNC". POLITICO. Retrieved 2021-11-26.
- ^ "2006 White House Office Staff List - Salary - washingtonpost.com". www.washingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2021-11-26.
- ^ a b Bush picks Neusner as Jewish liaison, JTA, May 18, 2004
- ^ Ian Herbert, Susan Sher, Washington Post – WhoRunsGov.com wiki, June 25, 2009
- ^ Eric Fingerhut, For now, no separate Jewish liaison for Obama, JTA, February 4, 2009
- ^ "eNews Park Forest". eNews Park Forest. Retrieved 2021-11-26.
- ^ "First Lady's Chief Of Staff Leaving White House" Associated Press, CBS News, November 16, 2010.
- ^ Katherine Skiba (January 29, 2011). "First lady's former chief of staff 'blissfully unemployed'". Chicago Tribune.
- ^ Shabad, Rachel (June 17, 2012). "Obama sits down with rabbis". Philadelphia Jewish Voice.
- ^ "White House to name new Jewish liaison". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 2011-09-27. Retrieved 2021-11-26.
- ^ Park, Sumner (July 11, 2017). "Lawmakers press Trump to appoint liaison to Jewish community". The Hill. Archived from the original on June 18, 2018. Retrieved June 17, 2018.
- ^ "Lawmakers urge Trump to appoint White House Jewish liaison". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. June 23, 2017. Archived from the original on June 18, 2018. Retrieved June 17, 2018.
- ^ Cortellessa, Eric (July 6, 2017). "Top Democrat urges Trump to appoint anti-Semitism envoy, Jewish liaison". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on June 18, 2018. Retrieved June 17, 2018.
- ^ Kornbluh, Jacob (August 5, 2021). "Former Obama White House Jewish liaison reappointed to role under Biden". Forward. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
- ^ Deutch, Gabby (July 27, 2022). "White House to name Shelley Greenspan new Jewish liaison". Jewish Insider.
External links
- The White House Office of Public Liaison Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine – has some background on position