By COLlive reporter
Over 150 Congressional staffers and Members of the House and Senate gathered in the prestigious Mike Mansfield Room of the US Capitol to for the annual Capitol Hill Chanukah Celebration.
In addition to enjoying delicious latkes and donuts, dreidels, menorah kits and superb refreshments, of course, there was a unique moment during the lighting ceremony when 2 senior leaders, fierce political adversaries seemed to find some common ground.
Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Chair of the Democratic Party, joined House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA), a Republican and the most senior Jewish official in Congress in history, at the podium.
Many at the event commented how these two public figures are rarely, if ever, even seen at the same place, let alone joining together.
The uplifting reception was also somewhat bittersweet, as it marked the departure from Congress of 2 long-time staunch advocates of Israel and the Jewish people, Senator Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and Congresswoman Shelley Berkley (D-NV).
Berkley, whose loss in the last elections ended her 14-year career as the “Yiddishe Mameh of Capitol Hill,” has often said that while she never met the Rebbe, she saw his “goodness and G-dliness” in the Shluchim.
“No matter what was said about Berkley during the campaign, no one can say she didn’t work tirelessly in her 14 years in Congress, or that she didn’t love the state of Nevada,” Steve Sebelius wrote in the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Lieberman ended a 24-year tenure, during which he secured his place in history as the first-ever Jewish American on a national presidential ticket.
While running as the 2000 vice presidential nominee of Al Gore, Lieberman made a kiddush hashem by adhering to his Torah and Shabbos observance.
In addition, there was a special feature. Gen. Eliezer Shkedy, CEO of El-Al airlines, who arrived from Israel especially for this event.
With the Crown Heigths sofer Rabbi Moshe Klein by his side, Shkedy offered an opportunity to those in attendance to inscribe a letter in the unique Jewish Unity Torah scroll being written by the airline.
He said, “I take these words of Torah written here to Israel, and I wish to leave words of the Torah here as well,” whereupon he presented two copies of a special edition Tanach for use by Members of Congress.
