From JTA’s Eric Fingerhut:
About 50 leaders of The Jewish Federations of North America and Jewish federations across the country, met with President Obama and other top administration officials Monday afternoon at the White House.
The hour-long reception, scheduled after Obama had to cancel his scheduled Tuesday speech to the group’s General Assembly because he’ll be attending a memorial service for the solider killed at Ft. Hood last week, featured short remarks from Obama. Mostly, though, it was an opportunity to talk and schmooze one-on-one with the president and aides such as chief of staff Rahm Emanuel (who will speak at the GA on Tuesday), top advisers David Axelrod and Valerie Jarrett, Office of Management and Budget director Peter Orszag, Special Assistant to the President Dan Shapiro, Office of White House Public Engagement director Tina Tchen, White House Jewish outreach officials Susan Scher (also chief of staff to Michelle Obama) and Danielle Borrin.
Obama, who dropped by for about 30 minutes, said that the Jewish Federations of North America "perform every day of every week selfless acts of tzedakah," according to a person present at the meeting, and spoke about his experience with Chcago’s Jewish federation. He also made a pitch on health-care reform, talking about the importance of passing it and stating that he could "see the light at the end of the tunnel." He also said he looked forward to meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later Monday evening.
William Daroff, vice president of public policy and director of The Jewish Fedrations of North America’s Washington office, said that the group discussed "issues of concern to the Jewish community, including social services, foreign policy and the recession" with the president and his senior staff.
"To have the opportunity to speak one-on-one with the president and socialize with White Hosue staff is a once in a lifetime opportunity for which we are grateful," Daroff said. "It helped to move the ball forward on our public policy goals."
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