Who does President Obama plan to spend seder with?
“Also on the guest list are Eric Lesser, a personal aide to senior adviser David Axelrod, and his family. Lesser worked during the New Hampshire primary and later handled baggage for traveling reporters. White House videographer Arun Chaudhary — a constant presence on the trail — landed invitations for his family. Others in the exclusive group include Michelle Obama’s counsel and friend Susan Sher; Herbie Ziskend, a staff assistant to Vice President Joe Biden’s policy and economic advisers; and White House deputy director of advance and special events Lisa Kohnke. Two of the administration’s highest-profile members of the Jewish faith plan to miss the dinner. Obama chief of staff Rahm Emanuel doesn’t plan to attend, and Axelrod expects to be in Chicago with his family. “The White House says the Seder meal will be traditional, including matzo, bitter herbs, a roasted egg and greens in the family dining room in the executive mansion. The evening will feature the reading of the Haggadah,
A year ago, Barack Obama and a dozen of his campaign staff gathered in the basement of the Sheraton in Harrisburg, Pa., for an impromptu Seder to mark the start of Passover. After proclaiming the traditional “Next year in Jerusalem” refrain at the end of the meal, the future president, who was still in a heated battle for the Democratic nomination, raised his glass and added, “Next year in the White House.” Obama kept his word. On Thursday, when he hosts a Seder at the White House, Obama will not only be fulfilling that hope shared during his campaign, he will also become the first sitting president to attend, let alone host, the Jewish ritual feast at the executive mansion. “To break Matzo, so to speak, in the official White House dining room is historic,” said William Daroff, the director of the Washington office of United Jewish Community. The intimate 20-person Seder will be “an extension of the Harrisburg event,” said a senior administration official with knowledge of the so-calle
