Gedaliah Afterman
DEFENCE Minister Brendan Nelson was one of only a few Australians to take part in a commemoration for the 12th yahrzeit of the late Lubavitcher Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson in Washington last week.
Nelson joined Holocaust survivor and Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel at the ceremony, which was attended by several high-profile members of the Bush administration.
The defence minister was a guest of Rabbi Nochum Schapiro of North Shore Synagogue, which is located in Nelson’s electorate.
Rabbi Schapiro approached Nelson a couple of weeks ago when he became aware that the minister would be in the US around the time of the commemoration.
Rabbi Schapiro, who also attended the event, said Nelson reacted “enthusiastically” to his invitation and “did everything he could” to fit the ceremony into his schedule.
Nelson, who was in the US for official talks, spoke “very warmly” of Israel and “highlighted the important role that the Jewish community as a whole and Chabad in particular play in Australian society”, Rabbi Schapiro added.
Also among the 300 guests at the event were Joshua Bolten, President George W Bush’s chief of staff, and leading talmudic scholar Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz.
DEFENCE Minister Brendan Nelson was one of only a few Australians to take part in a commemoration for the 12th yahrzeit of the late Lubavitcher Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson in Washington last week.
Nelson joined Holocaust survivor and Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel at the ceremony, which was attended by several high-profile members of the Bush administration.
The defence minister was a guest of Rabbi Nochum Schapiro of North Shore Synagogue, which is located in Nelson’s electorate.
Rabbi Schapiro approached Nelson a couple of weeks ago when he became aware that the minister would be in the US around the time of the commemoration.
Rabbi Schapiro, who also attended the event, said Nelson reacted “enthusiastically” to his invitation and “did everything he could” to fit the ceremony into his schedule.
Nelson, who was in the US for official talks, spoke “very warmly” of Israel and “highlighted the important role that the Jewish community as a whole and Chabad in particular play in Australian society”, Rabbi Schapiro added.
Also among the 300 guests at the event were Joshua Bolten, President George W Bush’s chief of staff, and leading talmudic scholar Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz.
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