Email from Zionist Organization of America   ZIONIST ORGANIZATION OF AMERICA IN THE MEDIA     Hanukkah Candle Lighting Event on Capitol Hill Attended by Democrat & Republican Leaders & Jewish Leaders, Including ZOA’s Morton Klein House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) host menorah lighting alongside Chabad Rabbi Levi Shemtov, the executive vice president of American Friends of Lubavitch (Chabad), Dec. 10, 2025 (Credit: Office of House Speaker Mike Johnson) By Emily Jacobs (December 11, 2025 / Jewish Insider) Democrats and Republicans gathered for a rare moment of bipartisanship on Capitol Hill on Wednesday at the pre-Hanukkah menorah lighting ceremony hosted by congressional leadership. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) hosted the gathering alongside Chabad Rabbi Levi Shemtov, the executive vice president of American Friends of Lubavitch (Chabad), who led the prayer portions of the program and helped light the menorah candles. Over a dozen lawmakers from across the political spectrum mingled with rabbis and Jewish political operatives while noshing on sufganiyot and Star of David-shaped sugar cookies and sipping coffee and soft drinks at the annual gathering, which the three congressional leaders organized for the first time two months after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. Johnson was forced to miss the beginning of the event to oversee a dispute unfolding between several of his members on the House floor over the National Defense Authorization Act, but arrived in time to participate in the end of the menorah lighting. Among the lawmakers in attendance were Reps. Randy Fine (R-FL), Virginia Foxx (R-NC), Craig Goldman (R-TX), Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), David Taylor (R-OH), Tom Kean Jr. (R-NJ), Lois Frankel (D-FL), Wesley Bell (D-MO), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), Brad Schneider (D-IL), Dan Goldman (D-NY), Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Sara Jacobs (D-CA) and Melanie Stansbury (D-NM). Also present were Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun, the Trump administration’s nominee to be the State Department special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism; Matt Brooks, CEO of the Republican Jewish Coalition; Paul Teller, executive director of Advancing American Freedom; and Mort Klein, president of the Zionist Organization of America. Continue Reading   Share This Email Share This Email Share This Email   DONATE   www.zoa.org   Copyright © Zionist Organization of America 2026. All rights reserved. Zionist Organization of America | 633 Third Ave 31 B | New York, NY 10017 US Unsubscribe | Update Profile | Constant Contact Data Notice