From www.politico.com
May 03, 2010
Posted by Ben Smith 07:01 PM
The White House, in the midst of an intense charm offensive aimed at the Jewish and pro-Israel communities, has dropped an archaic phrase that has, in the past, rankled Jewish groups.
The use of the proclamation boilerplate "in the year of our Lord" for a celebration of Jewish Heritage Month had struck a slightly off-key note for Jewish groups in Obama's last proclamation, as in those of Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.
This year, the phrase has been replaced by the simple phrase, "in the year two thousand ten.”
Steven Freeman, an official at the Anti-Defamation League, tells Andrew Silow-Carroll that "we see it as a welcome, sensitive, and attentive gesture," though it doesn't seem ever to have been a major bone of contention.
And regardless of the phrase employed, the year is still calculated from the birth of Christ, after all.
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