Rabbi David Wolpe to deliver benediction to Democrats

Prayer at the Democratic National Convention will precede speech by president Clinton

LOS ANGELES (JTA) — Rabbi David Wolpe of Sinai Temple in Los Angeles confirmed that he will deliver the benediction at the Wednesday evening session of the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina.

His prayer will focus on the ideals animating the United States, Wolpe said, and will precede speeches by Elizabeth Warren, Democratic candidate for the US Senate seat from Massachusetts; and former President Bill Clinton.

In a bipartisan endorsement of the American rabbinate, the presentation by the Conservative Rabbi Wolpe will balance the invocation given by Orthodox Rabbi Meir Soloveichik at the opening session of the Republican National Convention in Tampa.

This year, Wolpe was named the most influential rabbi in America by Newsweek magazine and one of the 50 most influential Jews in the world by the Jerusalem Post.

He is the author of seven books and widely known as a newspaper columnist and radio and television commentator.