February 26th, 2025, 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
The recoding of the debate is at https://youtu.be/R3KyPXSpJDI
Our MOST POPULAR and MOST FUN event is back. The merits and demerits of the traditional Hanukkah and Purim foods will be debated. There will be actual delicious Latkes and Hamantaschen to enjoy for those attending in-person at Adas Israel Congregation, 2850 Quebec St NW, Washington, DC 20008. It will also be livestreamed for those who cannot attend in-person. The live event at Adas Israel will have an admission charge to cover the food costs — $10 per person at the door. The Zoom version will be free.
The humorous and astute Howard Mortman is again the Master of Ceremonies. And he has a very diverse set of debaters.
Emily Jacobs is the Congressional correspondent at Jewish Insider. She was previously a Congressional reporter at the Washington Examiner, covering the Senate, and a politics reporter for the New York Post. She began her career as a ticker writer for Fox News. Emily graduated from Muhlenberg College, where she studied political science.
Hannah Spiro is the rabbi of Hill Havurah, an independent congregation on Capitol Hill. Hannah is a DC-area native and a 2017 graduate of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. Hannah serves on the board of directors of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association and on the steering committee of the Washington Area Rabbi-Imam Summit. You can typically find Hannah parenting her two little ones with her spouse in Northeast DC, practicing aerial acrobatics, learning daf yomi, and watching Survivor.
Tevi Troy is a senior fellow at the Ronald Reagan Institute, a Senior Scholar at Yeshiva University’s Straus Center, and a former Deputy Secretary of HHS and senior White House aide. He is the author of five books on the presidency, including The Power and the Money: The Epic Clashes Between Commanders in Chief and Titans of Industry that was named one of 2024’s best books by The Economist, The Guardian and The Week.
Mark S. Zaid is an attorney in Washington, D.C. with a practice focused on national security law, freedom of speech constitutional claims, and government accountability. In 1998 he founded the James Madison Project, dedicated to reducing government secrecy. He’s had many government whistleblowers clients, and his cases often involve the Freedom of Information Act. Mark is co-editor of Litigation Under the Federal Open Government Laws. He also co-founded the Whistleblower Aid legal organization that helps whistleblowers forward their concerns without incurring legal liability.
Howard Mortman has been C-SPAN’s Communications Director since early 2009. He directs media outreach, corporate communications, and public relations efforts for the nation’s only public affairs cable television network. He also researches, scripts, and voices the C-SPAN podcast The Weekly that uses C-SPAN’s vast archive to connect today’s policy and political news with significant historical events.
Howard’s book When Rabbis Bless Congress: The Great American Story of Jewish Prayers on Capitol Hill was published in October 2020. It is the first-ever academic and historical examination of a little-known tradition in Congress: opening each session of the House and Senate in prayer. Kirkus Review calls Mortman’s book “Academically detailed yet esoterically fun.” Howard has conducted additional research into rabbis in the political process as a Director’s Fellow for the American Jewish Archives in Cincinnati.
With a quarter century of experience, Howard is a seasoned veteran of the Washington media, marketing, and political communities.
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