FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: M. Litwack
October 23, 2008 202-513-6484

ORTHODOX UNION HOSTS PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN EVENT AT CLEVELAND SYNAGOGUE FEATURING GOVERNOR OF HAWAII LINDA LINGLE (McCain) & OBAMA SENIOR ADVISOR DANIEL SHAPIRO

The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America (The “Orthodox Union”), the nation’s largest Orthodox Jewish umbrella organization – is pleased to announce the sponsorship of a 2008 campaign event at Green Road Synagogue in Cleveland, OH.

This “townhall” style discussion will occur on October 29th at 8:00 pm and feature commentary from McCain campaign surrogate Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle and Obama Senior Advisor Daniel Shapiro.

Governor Linda Lingle took office on December 2, 2002, and was reelected for a second four-year term in November 2006 by the largest margin of victory in any gubernatorial race in Hawaii history. Governor Lingle is the sixth elected Governor of Hawaii. She is the first mayor, first woman and first person of Jewish ancestry to be Governor. She is also the first Republican to lead the Aloha State in more than 40 years.

Daniel B. Shapiro is senior policy adviser and Jewish outreach coordinator for the Barack Obama campaign. He has been advising the campaign on Middle East policy since the campaign was launched, and led Senator Obama’s visit to Israel in July 2008.
From 2001 to 2007, he served on the staff of Senator Bill Nelson (D-Florida) as his Deputy Chief of Staff and Legislative Director. He is a foreign policy specialist with particular expertise in the Middle East.

The Orthodox Union, a non-partisan charitable organization, is facilitating election discussions with presidential campaign surrogates the last week of this important election. These discussions will take place in OU Member Synagogues in key battleground states and feature back to back discussions with senior surrogates from the McCain and Obama campaigns. These discussions will also include appropriate time for questions and answers.

We invite the Jewish community to participate in this important opportunity to engage in the 2008 presidential election – an election which will affect the future of the Cleveland community and the world.

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