Homeward-bound members and congressional staff can get a jump on holiday festivities Thursday by ducking into the Senate’s Mike Mansfield Room for a taste of Jewish food, fun and fraternity.  

The annual Capitol Hill Chanukah Celebration, a seasonal gathering hosted by the Capitol Jewish Forum, is scheduled to take place in S-207 from 4:45 to 6 p.m. Anyone with a valid congressional ID is automatically in; non-staffers must RSVP either by phone (202-332-5600) or email (cjf@afldc.org ) in order to secure a spot.  

“Hanukkah doesn’t begin until next week … but we thought we might get our friends into the spirit a little early,” Rabbi Levi Shemtov, executive vice president of American Friends of Lubavitch, said of the preemptive strike.  

Attendees can look forward to latkes, doughnuts, live music, menorah kits and, more than likely, huddling with the congressional leaders that stop by to pay their respects each winter.  

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