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UPDATE II: White House to get new Jewish liaison, sources say

ADAM KREDO

UPDATE II: A handful of high level Jewish officials have reacted to the news of Borrin's departure. See below.

The Obama administration will appoint a new liaison to the Jewish community in mid-October, replacing Danielle Borrin, who's held the post for the past two years, according to multiple sources with ties to the White House.

Borrin, who currently serves as the associate director of the White House office of public engagement, as well as a special assistant in the office of the vice president, will be replaced by Jarrod Bernstein, a deputy assistant secretary in the office of intergovernmental affairs at the Department of Homeland Security, sources said. (*This Bernstein should not be confused with the economist Jared Bernstein, who served as chief economist and economic policy adviser to Joe Biden.)

"This is a very stressful position and I'm not very surprised that Danielle is moving on," noted one source who would speak only on background about the topic.

*Borrin will remain at the White House, performing her communications gig for Biden full-time, I'm told.

It's noteworthy that Borrin's tenure in the post lasted this long given that past administrations have cycled through Jewish liaisons at a rapid pace. Former President George W. Bush, for instance, had seven of them in his eight-year presidency.

Some in the Jewish community have been critical of the Obama White House's outreach to Jews.

"In the three years of the administration, there's not been a serious attempt at having a full-time Jewish liaison with connectivity and knowledge of the Jewish community," one Jewish official told me last month.

Susan Sher, the White House's first Jewish liaison one-time point person on Jewish matters, isn't closely tied to the Jewish community and Borrin "has great Jewish know-how and knowledge, but is only in her 20s and has no real influence in the administration," the source explained. (*A source points out that, technically, Sher never held the title of Jewish liaison.)

I've asked the White House to weigh in and will update when/if they respond.

UPDATE: Jewish officials are beginning to respond to the news that Borrin will soon be replaced.

"It has been a pleasure to work closely with Danielle over the last few years. She is warm, smart, and deeply committed to Jewish community," Jared Feldman, deputy Washington director of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, told me in a statement this afternoon. "Representing the White House, she has been an active and accessible partner for the JCPA and the broader Jewish community. We appreciate her hard work wish her the best and a smooth transition as she takes up her new portfolio. We look forward to working with Jarrod in his new role."

UPDATE II: William Daroff -- like all of those who weighed-in -- had nothing but good things to say about Borrin.

"Danielle Borrin is an incredibly hard-working, intelligent, and articulate professional," said Daroff, the Jewish Federations of North America's vice-president for public policy and director of its Washington office. "As the White House liaison, she diligently helped the Jewish community communicate with the White House, as well helping the President communicate with the Jewish community. As her role shifts, President Obama and Vice President Biden are fortunate that Danielle will remain at the White House."

Alan Solow, the former chairman of the Conference of President's of Major American Jewish Organizations, said that Borrin's "accessibility and responsiveness were outstanding."

Solow added that, during her tenure, she "helped arrange any number of outreach events and worked tirelessly to make certain that requests for information and access received prompt and knowledgeable answers. Part time or not, communication has never been an issue -- she will be missed in this capacity."

Nathan Diament also praised Borrin -- but looked to the future.

"President Obama has a record to run on in the Jewish community," noted Diament, who serves as the director of public policy at Orthodox Union. "It will be very useful for the White House to have new, hopefully additional, resources to engage with the Jewish community."

Diament added: "Danielle Borrin proactively and creatively engaged the Jewish community on behalf of the President wherever and whenever she could."

Another senior Jewish organizational official said that while Borrin served ably, others at the White House dropped the ball when it comes to the Jewish community.

"Borrin has done a first rate job (on Jewish outreach) with second rate support," the source said. "The senior staff at the White House often did not give her the room or the resources to implement her ideas."


Eric D. Schwerin
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