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The Harmonie Club: Founded in 1852 by Jews after Christian clubs would not let them join, it’s lately been hitting headlines because of its own exclusivity. MTA chief Dale Hemmerdinger was pressured by black and Latino politicians to quit the club (he was a former president) before taking on his post this month. The membership of Bernard Spitzer, father of Eliot, has been much discussed of late, as has Barack Obama’s decision to cancel a fund-raiser there earlier this year. Mayor Bloomberg himself canceled his membership before taking office, citing their lack of diversity as his main complaint. So it’s perhaps an off choice of location for Rudy Giuliani’s Republican Jewish fund-raiser today, as the Daily News’s Daily Politics blog reports. The campaign was hush-hush about it, so maybe they were hoping no one would notice. It might also be the case that he agrees with Ed Koch and thinks the club has every right to exclude non-Jews. Or maybe he just doesn’t care what New Yorkers think of him anymore, unless they’re giving him money. Our secret theory is that he was confused and thought the Harmonie Club was only keeping out straight people. Just because of, you know, the name.
Giuliani at the Harmonie? [NYDN]
