The White House has cancelled its annual celebration of Jewish American Heritage Month (JAHM) due to recently enacted across-the-board spending cuts known as sequestration, according to JTA.
"A White House official confirmed to JTA that the reception, which usually takes place toward the end of May, would not take place this year because of the congressionally mandated across-the-board budget cuts that kicked in last month," according to the report.
JAHM was created in 2006 by an act of Congress and has been celebrated at the White House since 2010. The celebration has typically honored Jewish singers, academics, politicians, and other leaders.
The 2010 White House JAHM ceremony is where geriatric journalist Helen Thomas said that the Jews should "get the hell out of Palestine" and go "back home" to Germany, comments that effectively ended her career.
