Bush Visit May Boost Olmert

WASHINGTON — For the more than 50 American Jewish leaders invited to join President Bush’s special delegation to Israel’s 60th anniversary celebrations this week, the hottest ticket is for Mr. Bush’s speech Thursday at the Knesset.Although the people on the list, which includes everyone from author Elie Wiesel to the national director of the Anti-Defamation League, Abraham Foxman, are guaranteed face time with Israel’s president at a conference tomorrow and with America’s president at a reception Thursday evening, a place in the audience for Mr. Bush’s Knesset speech is not guaranteed.“I’m still trying to get my ticket,” the vice president for public policy for United Jewish Communities, William Daroff, said in an interview.Mr. Bush will arrive in Israel tomorrow for a conference sponsored by Israel’s president, Shimon Peres. He is scheduled to speak at 8 p.m. on a panel with Mr. Peres and Prime Minister Olmert titled, “Sixty Years of Friendship: Israel and the U.S.A.”The description of the event from a brochure of the conference describes the many differences between America and the Jewish state in language, geography, and size, but ends with these words: “Yet despite these palpable differences, when Israelis and Americans look at one another, they see something of themselves on the other side.”The conference also features panels on everything from robotic technology to the clash between Jews and Muslims. One panel is titled, “The Jewish People: In Need of a Good Publicist.” It will feature presentations from Mr. Foxman and from a pollster for President Clinton, Stanley Greenberg.Mr. Bush’s visit may give a prestige boost to Mr. Olmert, who is being investigated on corruption charges involving a Long Island businessman. In an interview yesterday with Israeli television, Mr. Bush described Mr. Olmert as “a frank man, an honest man, an open man, a guy easy to talk to and somebody who understands the vision necessary for Israelis’ security.”Mr. Bush also said his vision for the current Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, which appear to have stalled in recent weeks, remains. Last week the White House announced that there were no plans during this trip for a three-way meeting between Mr. Bush, Mr. Olmert, and the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas. Such a meeting in November 2007 at Annapolis, Md., kicked off the current round of talks, which Mr. Bush has said he hopes will result in the establishment of a new Palestinian Arab state by the end of his presidency.Participants in the trip said that the members of the president’s delegation to Israel are required to pay for their own travel and accommodations when in Israel. Most of the delegation will be staying at the David Citadel Hotel in Jerusalem, whose room rates begin at around $400 a night.The delegation that will attend celebrations in honor of the 60th anniversary of Israel: Dr. Miriam Adelson, Chairwoman, Dr. Miriam & Sheldon G. Adelson Clinic for Drug Abuse Treatment and ResearchMr. Sheldon Adelson, Chairman of the Board, Las Vegas Sands CorporationMr. Moshe Aflalo, CEO of Aflalo EquitiesMr. Neil Auerbach, Managing Partner, Hudson Clean Energy PartnersMr. Kenneth Bialkin, Partner, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLCMr. Elliott Broidy, Chairman and CEO of Broidy Capital ManagementMr. Matthew Brooks, Executive Director, Republican Jewish CoalitionMr. Alan Casden, Chairman and CEO of Casden Properties LLCMr. Stanley Chesley, President of the National Jewish FundMr. William Daroff, Vice President for Public Policy and Director of the Washington Office United Jewish CommunitiesMr. Nathan Diament, Director, Union of Orthodox Jewish CongregationsRabbi David Ellenson, Ph.D., President of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of ReligionMr. Michael David Epstein, President of Sensormatic Security CorporationMr. Donald Etra, Attorney, Law Offices of Donald EtraMs. Nancy Falchuk, National President, HadassahMs. Selma Fisch, Founder, Fisch PropertiesMr. David Flaum, Chairman, Republican Jewish CoalitionMs. Marilyn Fox, Chairman of the Fox Family Foundation and Former President of the St. Louis Jewish Community CenterThe Honorable Sam Fox, U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of BelgiumMr. Abraham Foxman, National Director, Anti-Defamation LeagueMr. Howard Friedman, President, AIPACMr. Tony Gelbart, Chairman and Co-Founder of Nefesh B’NefeshMr. Sander Gerber, Chairman and CEO, Hudson Bay Capital Management LPMr. Marc Goldman, Farmland DairiesThe Honorable Phil Gordon, Mayor of the City of Phoenix, ArizonaMr. Richard Gordon, President, American Jewish CongressDr. Jeffrey Gunter, President, Beverly Capital Management LLCMr. David Hager, President, Hager PacificMs. Cheryl Halpern, Member, CPB Board of DirectorsMr. Uri Harkham, CEO, Jonathan Martin Fashion GroupRabbi Marvin Hier, Founder and Dean, Simon Wiesenthal Center and Museum of ToleranceMr. Malcolm Hoenlein, Executive Vice Chairman, Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish OrganizationsMr. Murray Huberfeld, Chairman, Centurion Credit Management LPRebbetizin Esther Jungreis, Founder and President of HineniDr. Henry Kissinger, Chairman of Kissinger Associates, Inc.Dr. Richard Land, President, Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty CommissionMr. Ronald Lauder, President, World Jewish Congress and Chairman, Jewish National FundMr. Eliot Lauer, Senior Partner, Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & MosleMs. Linda Law, Founder, Law and AssociatesMr. Michael Lebovitz, Senior Vice President, CBL & Associates Properties, Inc.The Honorable Jay Lefkowitz, Special Envoy on Human Rights in North KoreaRabbi David Lincoln, Senior Rabbi, Park Avenue Synagogue, New York CityThe Honorable Linda Lingle, Governor of the State of HawaiiThe Honorable Earle Mack, Senior Partner, the Mack CompanyRabbi Isaac Neuman, Rabbi Emeritus of Sinai Temple, Champaign, IllinoisMr. Michael Oren, Senior Fellow, Shalem Center, Jerusalem; Professor Georgetown UniversityMr. Ronald Plotkin, Former COO, Monster.com Directional MarketingSteve Poizner, Insurance Commissioner, State of CaliforniaMr. Bruce Ramer, Attorney and Partner, Gang, Tyre, Ramer & BrownMr. J. Philip Rosen, Attorney, Partner, Weil Gotshal & Manges LLPMr. William Safire, Chairman, Dana FoundationMr. Lee Samson, President and CEO, SNF ManagementMr. Lenny Sands, Chairman, Alchemy WorldwideMr. Richard Schneider, Managing Member, Bunker Capital LLCMr. Fred Schwartz, Founder, the Auschwitz Institute for Peace and ReconciliationThe Honorable Melvin Sembler, Chairman of the Board of the Sembler CompanyMr. Dan Senor, Founding Partner, Rosemont CapitalMr. Joe Shapira, Managing Partner, Java Equities LLCMs. Florence Shapiro, Co-Chairwoman of the Education Policy Taskforce for the National Council of State GovernmentRabbi Levi Shemtov, Director, Washington Office of American Friends of LubavitchDr. Robert Shillman, Ph.D., Founder, Chairman and CEO of Cognex CorporationMr. Richard Sideman, President, American Jewish CommitteeMr. Mark Siegel, President of ReMY Investors & Consultants, Inc.Rabbi Michael Siegel, Norman Asher Rabbinic Chairman and Senior RabbiThe Honorable Ned Siegel, U.S. Ambassador to the Commonwealth of the BahamasMr. Ron Silver, President Emeritus, Actors’ Equity Association; Board of Directors, U.S. Institute of PeaceThe Honorable Martin Silverstein, Private Investor and Senior Counsel, Greenberg TraurigMr. Paul Singer, General Partner, Elliott Associates, LPThe Honorable Clifford Sobel, U.S. Ambassador to BrazilMr. Jaime Sohacheski, Chairman, Crown Realty and Development CorporationMr. Ronald Steinhart, Retired CEO, Commercial Banking, Bank One CorporationRabbi Mordechai Suchard, Founder and Director, Gateways OrganizationMr. Stephen Trachtenberg, President Emeritus, University Professor of Public Service, George Washington UniversityMs. June Walker, Chairperson, Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish OrganizationsMr. Leslie Wexner, Chairman of the Board and CEO, Limited BrandsMr. Elie Wiesel, University Professor; Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities; Professor of Philosophy and Religion in the College of Arts and Sciences; President, the Elie Wiesel Foundation for HumanityMr. Fred Zeidman, Chairman, U.S. Holocaust Memorial MuseumMr. Mark Zucker, Managing Member, Dorchester CapitalMr. Mortimer Zuckerman, Chairman and Editor in Chief of U.S. News & World Report; Publisher of New York Daily News; Co-Founder and Chairman of Boston Properties Inc.

Bush Visit May Boost Olmert

Bush Visit May Boost Olmert

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