Whippany—“The race for the White House: Which candidate is better for the American and global Jewish community?” This will be the topic of a discussion sponsored by Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ on Tuesday, November 1. Nationally acclaimed political analysts Jay Footlik (who served in the Clinton White House) and Jeff Berkowitz (who worked for George W. Bush and the RNC) will join Federation’s Community Relations Committee at a forum evaluating both presidential candidates through a Jewish lens. All members of the community are welcome to come and hear these two political veterans discuss where the candidates stand on such critical topics as Israel, terrorism, anti-Semitism, BDS, safety nets, hunger, racial and social inequality, reproductive rights and the environment. The event will be held on November 1 at 7:30 p.m. at the JCC MetroWest in West Orange. Admission is free but registration is requested.
Jay K. Footlik is the founding president and CEO of Global Policy Initiatives (GPI), a political and policy development consultancy. Jay served as Special Assistant to President Bill Clinton, helping build support for a range of domestic and foreign policy issues. He also served as the president’s liaison to the American Jewish community and has held various senior positions on numerous political campaigns over the past 25 years, including Bill Clinton’s successful campaign for president in 1992; Senior Middle East Advisor for John Kerry’s Presidential campaign in 2004; and Director of Constituency Outreach for Joe Lieberman’s presidential campaign, among others. Currently, Jay serves on the board of trustees of the American Council of Young Political Leaders (ACYPL) and the board of directors of the American Friends of the Rabin Center, and is a founding board member of SAFE (Securing America’s Future Energy), an organization dedicated to reducing America’s dependency on oil.
Jeff Berkowitz is CEO of Delve, a competitive intelligence firm providing insights for winning causes in the political, policy and business arenas. Prior to founding Delve and its predecessor firm, Berkowitz Public Affairs, Berkowitz led research and messaging operations for The White House, Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s presidential campaign, the Republican National Committee, the U.S. Department of State, and several prominent private sector and non-profit organizations. He also spearheaded community outreach on critical policy initiatives as the President’s Liaison to the Jewish Community. Jeff served three tours at the RNC, ultimately serving as Research Director where he oversaw all policy and legislative analysis and candidate and opposition research by the party. Jeff has worked on numerous campaigns at the federal, state and local level throughout the country. For President Bush’s re-election, he served as Senior Defense and Foreign Policy Analyst for the RNC and Bush-Cheney 2004.
To RSVP or for more information contact Mara Gellman at [email protected] or 973-929-3096.
The JCC MetroWest is located at 760 Northfield Avenue in West Orange.
