Romney event to start well after Tisha Be’av ends

Timing of J'lem fundraiser at end of fast day commemorating destruction of First Temple has raised some eyebrows in capital.

By HILARY LEILA KRIEGER, JPOST CORRESPONDT
Mitt Romney steps off his campaign plane 370 (R) (photo credit: Brian Snyder / Reuters)
Mitt Romney steps off his campaign plane 370 (R)
(photo credit: Brian Snyder / Reuters)
WASHINGTON – The fundraiser being held for US Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney while he’s in Israel is scheduled to start at 9:30 p.m. on July 29, well after Tisha Be’av ends at sundown.
This according to an invitation obtained by The Jerusalem Post.
The invitation to the fundraiser, first reported by the Post, also specifies that dietary laws will be observed and that no refreshments will be served until after the fast.
The timing of the fund-raiser at the end of the fast day commemorating the destruction of the First Temple has raised eyebrows in Jerusalem.
The “evening reception,” as the invitation puts it, requires that attendees contribute $50,000 per couple or have raised $100,000 for the campaign.
The Post originally reported that the cost for attending the dinner would be $60,000.
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The fund-raiser is set to cap a day of meetings and a speech by Romney, who will be visiting Israel after attending the opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games in London on July 27.
Plans for the visit are being made as speculation swirls over who Romney will pick to be his vice presidential running mate.
On Thursday, the Drudge Report put former US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice’s name back on the front burner with a story suggesting campaign sources have placed her at the top of the short list.
Rice’s name has surfaced in the past, but she has consistently denied being interested in the position.
Instead, New Jersey Gov.
Christ Christie, Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and former Minnesota Gove. Tim Pawlenty are seen as leading choices.
Rice, however, has done well in polls of potential vice presidential choices, though she has detractors on the Right due to her pro-choice views and charges that she was not tough enough on countries like Iran while in office. She also could alienate moderates who see her as too closely aligned with former president George W.
Bush, under whom she served, and with unpopular policies such as the Iraq war.
However, she reiterated her disinterest in the position through a spokesman after the Drudge Report came out. ABC News said that Rice, according to the spokesman, stands behind earlier comments ruling out the job possibility.
In one of several recent statements on the subject, she told CBS last month, “There is no way I would do this.”