Biden stands speaking at a podium with a large American flag behind him
Joe Biden, seen here speaking in Pennsylvania July 9, 2020, has hired a longtime Democratic strategist to lead Jewish outreach for his campaign. (Photo/JTA-Spencer Platt-Getty Images)

Aaron Keyak, S.F. native and longtime Jewish political organizer, to head Biden’s national Jewish outreach

With four months to Election Day, Joe Biden’s presidential campaign now boasts a staffer dedicated to mobilizing Jewish voters.

Aaron Keyak, who has already been working on Biden’s campaign, is filling the role, first advertised late last month. Jewish Insider was the first to report Keyak’s appointment on Friday.

Keyak grew up observant, his family belonging to Adath Israel Congregation, a Modern Orthodox synagogue in San Francisco. His father, Jeffrey Keyak, who died in 2016, served as board president at Adath Israel and his mother, Vicki Keyak, as vice president.

three white men in suits smiling together
Aaron Keyak (left) at the soft of launch of Bluelight Strategies, which he cofounded, William Daroff (center) of the Jewish Federations of North America and Bluelight cofounder Steve Rabinowitz. (Photo/file)

Keyak is a longtime Democratic political strategist whose work has included leading a Jewish outreach effort for Barack Obama’s successful 2012 reelection bid; cofounding Bluelight Strategies, a consulting group; and briefly heading the National Jewish Democratic Council, the lobbying group that essentially folded because of lawsuits from political adversaries.

In his new role, Keyak “will build and manage a national outreach program to support the political objectives of the campaign,” according to the job posting, which is no longer online.

Last year, Keyak made the case in a Jewish Telegraphic Agency op-ed that President Donald Trump should bring on a White House Jewish liaison — a position, he wrote, that existed for more than four decades before Trump entered office.

“Even when the Jewish liaison wasn’t able to change the position of their boss, a nuanced and full understanding of the Jewish community is essential to advising the most powerful person on earth,” Keyak wrote.

Philissa Cramer
Philissa Cramer

Philissa Cramer is editor in chief of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

JTA

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