On Dec. 2, Rabbi Joshua Levine Grater will attend the annual Chanukah party at the White House.
“It was a surprise,” Grater said, of receiving the invitation. “I’m very humbled.”
Grater, who occasionally contributes to The Jewish Journal, presides over the Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center, a Conservative congregation, and serves on the national advisory board of J Street, a political action committee devoted to shaping public opinion regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
His work with J Street started his relationship with the White House. After a J Street delegation meeting in Washington, D.C., a couple of years ago, Grater established a correspondence with Danielle Borrin, who works in the office of Vice President Biden, and she worked to procure him an invitation, Grater said.
Grater also serves on the executive committee of the Board of Rabbis of Southern California and as a board member of Jewish World Watch.
