Wednesday night’s American Friends of Lubavitch gala dinner in Washington had a unique sight: Hundreds of attendees clapping and singing along to the disco anthem "I Will Survive."
They were led by 8-year-old Jewish pianist Ethan Bortnick, who attends a Jewish day school in South Florida and previously appeared on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Oprah. He also sang Louis Armstrong’s "What A Wonderful World" and some traditional Jewish songs as well.
Bortnick’s performance came in the middle of a program that also honored Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), Susan G. Komen for the Cure founder Nancy Goodman Brinker and the men and women of the U.S. military.
Lewis, who was introduced by Rep. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), noted all the rabbis he saw standing with him in the photos from his years as a civil rights activist that were shown in a video tribute.
"Thank you for being there on the firing line," he said. "Thank you for walking across the bridge."
Army Lt Gen. Kathleen Gainey, director of logistics for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, accepted the award on behalf of the members of the military. The award, a large menorah, will be shipped out to a new site every Chanukah to help soldiers around the world celebrate the holiday, said AFL Washington director Rabbi Levi Shemtov.
Danielle Borrin, who works on Jewish engagement at the White House and serves as associate director of the White House Office of Public Engagement, brought along greetings from President Obama. In addition, about 15 members of Congress and 15 foreign ambassadors — including Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren and the envoys from Japan, Italy, Turkey, Morocco and Bahrain — came by the event at Union Station. Among those who either gave greetings at the pre-dinner reception or were spotted in the crowd (and this is only a partial list) were House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), Rep. Ron Klein (D-Fla.), Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.) Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.), Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Sanford Bishop (D-Georgia). Former Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) also was there to enjoy the extensive hors d’oeuvres — carved meats, sliders, sushi and vegetable dumplings, to name a few — and steak and chicken dinner.
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