U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman will keynote the kickoff dinner for the 2008 Annual Campaign of United Jewish Federation of Princeton Mercer Bucks, set to take place Sunday evening, Oct. 14, at the Greenacres Country Club in Lawrenceville.

The evening will also include remarks from Joel Alperson, immediate past national campaign chair for United Jewish Communities, the umbrella organization representing 155 Jewish federations and 400 independent Jewish communities across North America. Alperson serves as chair of the organization's National Interfaith Campaign.

Gail and Lionel (Lonny) Kaplan and Ruth and Rob Davidson, all of Princeton, are cochairs of the event. Serving as vice chairs are Lauren and Adam Pechter of Princeton, Jill and Brian Chevlin of West Windsor, and Eve and Stephen Milstein of Yardley.

Lieberman, who was the Democratic candidate for vice president in 2000, is now serving his fourth term representing Connecticut in the Senate — this time as an Independent Democrat. He is chair and former ranking member of the Senate's Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, which is responsible for oversight of the Department of Homeland Security. He is known as a steadfast advocate for Israel and for the continued prosecution of America's war in Iraq.

Lonny Kaplan, a Trenton attorney and Democratic activist, said he has known Lieberman personally for the past 15 years. "He has been the most visible leader in terms of pro-Israel activism in that period," said Kaplan, president emeritus of AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, as well as a past president of the PMB federation and a current member of federation's executive committee.

Kaplan said he expects Lieberman to keynote the dinner by presenting an overview of the geopolitical situation in the Middle East, including his perspective on Israel and its needs — United States-Israel relations, the threats of Iran and Hamas, and the benefits of the recently signed memorandum of understanding that will bring Israel $30 billion in American military aid over the next 10 years.

"I think he will be very well received," Kaplan said. "It should help energize the community and bring a lot of people out.

"The kickoff is the event that helps set the tone for the whole year in terms of energizing the federation base," he added. "It's very important to have a good turnout. Hopefully, people will walk away energized and committed to making our community stronger."

Gail Kaplan also welcomed the choice of Lieberman to headline the program that focuses the community's attention on the annual campaign. "We're very thrilled that he's coming," she said. "We know the community will really want to come out and hear what he has to say."

Kaplan said she personally finds Lieberman to be incredibly knowledgeable on a variety of subjects, and she views his successful run for the Senate as an independent in 2006 as "very impressive."

"Winning as he did was quite a stellar moment, and speaks highly of him in terms of the kind of man he is and how he reaches out to everyone," she said. "He's very warm, he's very haimish, he's very comfortable. And when he's speaking inside the Jewish community, he's family."

Ruth Davidson also stressed the importance of having Lieberman as the keynote speaker for the event that launches the campaign. "His wealth of knowledge is incredible, and he has tremendous experience," she said. "For federation to be able to have him speak is very, very exciting for us. It gives people an opportunity to speak to him and ask questions."

With Lieberman as the headline attraction, the kickoff dinner has sparked the interest of a good number of volunteers in the community, Davidson added. "We've had a lot of good feedback — good involvement," she said. "For me, it's a chance to become more involved in federation. It's something I've wanted to do and now I have the opportunity."

Rob Davidson, a member of federation's executive committee, is also optimistic about the success of the dinner.

"This event is all about launching the campaign, which benefits all our local agencies as well as Israel and Jews across the world," he said. "It's going to be a great pleasure to have Sen. Lieberman come to our community to address us and help us launch a successful campaign for 2008. I know the community will come out in force to hear him."

The occasion will also be an opportunity for the PMB community to hear someone of Alperson's national stature for the first time, said Lisa Smukler, federation's vice president for the campaign.

"I think he will make a great case for giving," Smukler said. "People are really going to get a lot out of what he has to say."

The dinner will begin at 5:30 p.m.; for information, call Linda Cohen, the federation's associate executive director/campaign, at 609-219-0555.