Lewinsky’s rabbi to lead prayer after Clinton speech

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton. AFP/CHIP SOMODEVILLA/GETTY IMAGES

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina—Former US president Bill Clinton may wish there were a few more degrees of separation between him and the next speaker at the Democratic convention on Wednesday.

Shortly after “Bubba” takes to the stage in Charlotte, North Carolina to give his prime-time address in defense of President Barack Obama, rabbi David Wolpe will come to the podium to deliver the evening’s closing benediction.

As well as being widely touted as one of America’s most influential religious figures, Wolpe was also rabbi to a young Monica Lewinsky, the White House intern who was at the center of a White House sex scandal.

“The (Lewinsky) family grew up in my synagogue,” he said in a 2009 opinion piece which repeated his long-standing criticism of Clinton over the episode, which led to the 42nd president being impeached.

Lewinsky, a California native, attended the Los Angeles temple, as well as its religious school.

“During the Lewinsky scandal, it was the lying and smearing of Monica Lewinsky that marked the low point of the event, not the sex, which was primarily an issue for the individuals and families involved,” the rabbi said.