Los Angeles, CA – When attorney Donald Etra was invited to join President Bush at Camp David for a spring weekend in 2005, the invitation put him in a quandary. It was already Friday afternoon, and Etra, an Orthodox Jew, feared that if he traveled by car from the White House as planned, he’d never make it to the presidential retreat by sundown.
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The solution: Bush stepped in and offered to fly Etra and his wife, Paula, to Camp David in his helicopter, in order to ensure that they would get there by the start of the Sabbath.
Etra, 60, a high-powered Los Angeles criminal defense lawyer, has known Bush since the two men were friends at Yale University. Members of the class of 1968, the two pals joined the same prestigious secret society, Skull and Bones. The future president even traveled once to Manhattan’s Upper East Side from New Haven, Conn., to share a Sabbath meal with Etra’s family.
They have maintained the friendship ever since. Last month, Etra was one of 79 members of the president’s delegation to Israel in honor of the Jewish state’s 60th anniversary. In 2003, the president sent him to Poland to represent America at the 60th anniversary commemoration of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. This past spring, Bush reappointed Etra to his second five-year term on the United States Holocaust Memorial Council.
What is particularly striking about Etra’s long friendship with Bush, and his reputation as one of the president’s closest Jewish associates, is the rather less publicized fact that Etra is, by his own description, a liberal Democrat.
Maybe he’s like a me – a registered Democrat, so that I can vote in the primaries, but I always vote Republican in the General Elections!!! I think the Democrats at this point will be the ruin of this country!!!
if only the other ORTHODOX JEW, joe lieberman would’ve been at camp david, they could’ve had a mezimen by benching, at least he’s not a democrat….
No one cares what you think. This story is not about politics. You don’t always have to throw in your views everywhere you can.
what a waste of government money to fly him on helicopter
MR Etra and Mr Leiberman like in lkaewood add in the president shlo asani go
–what a waste of government money to fly him on helicopter —
What? Why is it a waste of money?!?
Do you really think that the President’s guest should WALK???????
Thats librel thinking!
thanks for posting the story… it gave me hope…
“Maybe he’s like a me – a registered Democrat, so that I can vote in the primaries, but I always vote Republican in the General Elections!!! I think the Democrats at this point will be the ruin of this country!!!”
You have to be kidding I voted Republican and regret it. The Republican’s have been running the show for the better part of the last 16 years. They are to blame for the shape we are in. Bush is a fool yes I admit I was taken in I will vote for Obama this time forget about McCain look into the mans eyes when he speaks a crazy man lurks in that head. Enuf of this war it will bankrupt this country. I won’t be fooled again.
isnt etra the lawyer for the rebbe that kasirer massered on? will bush pardon the rebbe before he leaves office?
“The future president even traveled once to Manhattan’s Upper East Side from New Haven, Conn., to share a Sabbath meal with Etra’s family”
can you invite a non Jew to a Shabbos meal?
zoltan,
the war may bankrupt the country but the arabs will KILL you!
the stinkin libs are to blame for the problems anyway. if we wouldnt have these crazy laws that dont allow us to use our resources correctly, we wouldnt have to rely on OPEC for oil. we have so much oil IN the usa (Alaska and in the Rockies) not to mention off shore where the chinks are already drilling that we could use our own oil to the tune of well OVER ONE MILLION BARRELS A DAY!
The problem is these liberal wakko environmentalist groups who have no concern for people at all and thats why we need to buy more oil from opec.
I will also tell you that on the war on terror, if you would have had your lib kerry in office (WHO BY THE WAY SERVED IN VIETNAM AND ALSO VOTED FOR THE WAR TWICE!!) we would now be americstan CHV.
Let’s not forget and I know the lib talking points are trying to make you forget that the dems had the same intelligence (I cant believe I am using that word in the same sentence as democrats) that the President had and THEY VOTED FOR THE WAR. Just because HKBH decided it shouldnt go as well in the first year is not a reason to pull up and run. Thank G-d these idiots werent around in the 40s when we went into Normandy and lost more troops in one day than we have in the 5 years of this war.
Lets not forget the yishmaelim yemach sh’mom started with the USA as they continue to opress Eretz Yisroel and SOMEONE has to do something. If you ask why we wont do anything to the countries associated with the war in EY, thats a good question.
Laiv Malochim B’yad HaShem. Keep that in mind.
Mark please enuf of your conservative rable rousing stchick Things have to be done differently your old ways did not work.wE must take a different approach
Zoltan, what is not working about the current method?? We have not had a terrorist attack since 9/11. The attack of 9/11 was planned when Clinton who tried the other way was in office!! The other way does not work. Israel has talked to every Arab nation, given back land, let them establish their gov’t, and yet what has the result been? 50 bombs were dropped on israel yesterday!!
Talking does not work!! Get that crap out of your system.
Mark Levin,
Even if you are correct and we could produce an additional one million barrels of oil per day, the US imports approximately ten million barrels of oil per day, over half from OPEC countries. Furthermore, most of that additional production could not be extracted at a cost that would allow it to be competitive with the much easier to access OPEC oil. The numbers are with the environmentalists on this one.