Despite the advance attention it got in the media, Steve Bannon, newly-announced White House Chief Strategist and special advisor to President-elect Donald Trump, was a no-show at the Zionist Organization of America’s annual dinner in New York on Sunday.

ZOA president Mort Klein told Jewish Insider that he was not sure why Bannon did not show up.

Klein insisted that he was not the one who invited the controversial Chairman of Breitbart News, but that Bannon called up and asked to attend the dinner. “We don’t have to have everybody here,” Klein said. He noted that two of Trump’s campaign advisors, David Friedman and Jason Greenblatt, attended the event.

Ahead of the event, a few hundred protesters marched down 42nd street to protest Bannon’s appointment.

UPDATE: Alexandra Preate, a spokeswoman for Bannon, told Jewish Insider that Bannon “wanted to attend” but was with Trump in Bedminster until 10:00 pm “with cabinet selection and transition work.”