BBLF Chair Meets President Bush and Chancellor Merkel

BBLF Chairman Maxim Behar joined the American Jewish Committee's centennial dinner in Washington, attended by President Bush, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.

"It is a great honor to receive the invitation from the Executive Director David Harris and I accepted it with great pleasure. I am sure that thousands meetings I had in Washington and New York during the Leadership Conference, organized by AJC will bring more new knowledge and experience also as my work as a Chairman of BBLF", Behar said.

At the very dinner in National Building Museum in Washington President Bush introduced German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who became the first German chancellor to address the annual meeting of the American Jewish Committee.

"I know that this is anything but a matter of course for a chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany to be invited to address you here tonight," Merkel said.

Fifty five countries were represented at the dinner. Former German Foreign Minister Joshka Fisher and many other politicians were among the participants in the event at the Washington's National Building Museum. President of Poland Lech Kaczynski, newly elected Israeli PM Ehud Olmert and Australian PM John Howard greeted the dinner with special video messages.