List of Jewish American politicians

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This is a list of famous Jewish American politicians, arranged chronologically. For other famous Jewish Americans, see List of Jewish Americans.

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Contents 1 List 1.1 Cabinet members and senior administration officials 1.2 Current Senators 1.3 Former Senators 1.4 Current Representatives 1.5 Former Representatives 1.6 Ambassadors 1.7 Governors 1.8 Mayors 1.9 Economists 1.10 Other 2 Footnotes 3 External links

[edit] List

[edit] Cabinet members and senior administration officials

• Judah Benjamin, Confederate States of America: Attorney General (1861), Secretary of War (1861), Secretary of State (1862–65)
• Oscar Straus, Secretary of Commerce and Labor (1906–09)
• Henry Morgenthau, Jr., Secretary of the Treasury (1934–45)
• Arthur J. Goldberg, Secretary of Labor (1961-1962)
• Abraham A. Ribicoff, Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare (1961-62)
• Walter W. Rostow, National Security Advisor (1966-69)
• Wilbur J. Cohen, Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare (1968-69)
• James Schlesinger, CIA Director (1973), Secretary of Defense (1973–75) (convert to Lutheranism)
• Henry Kissinger, National Security Advisor (1969–75); Secretary of State (1973–77)
• Ron Nessen, White House Press Secretary (1974-77)
• Edward Levi, Attorney General (1975–1977)
• W. Michael Blumenthal, Secretary of the Treasury (1977–79)
• Harold Brown, Secretary of Defense (1977–81)
• Neil Goldschmidt, Secretary of Transportation (1979–1981)
• Philip Morris Klutznick, Secretary of Commerce (1980–1981)
• Caspar Weinberger, Secretary of Defense (1981-87) (Episcopalian; paternal descendant of Czech Jews)
• Richard Perle, U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense (1981-1987),
• Kenneth Duberstein, White House Chief of Staff (1988–1989)
• Richard Darman^{[citation needed]}, Director of the Office of Management and Budget (1989-93) (convert to Episcopalianism)
• Robert Reich, Secretary of Labor (1993–97)
• Alice M. Rivlin^{[citation needed]}, Director of Office of Management and Budget (1994-96)
• John M. Deutch, Belgian-born CIA director (1995–96)
• Robert Rubin, Secretary of the Treasury (1995–99)
• Dan Glickman, Secretary of Agriculture (1995–2001)
• Mickey Kantor, Secretary of Commerce (1996-97)
• Madeleine Albright, Secretary of State (1997–01) (raised Catholic by adoptive parents)
• William S. Cohen, Secretary of Defense (1997-01) (Jewish father; lists self as Unitarian Universalist)
• Sandy Berger, National Security Advisor (1997–01)
• Larry Summers, Secretary of the Treasury (1999–01)
• Jacob Lew, Director of Office of Management and Budget (1999–2001)
• Leon Fuerth, National Security Advisor to Vice President Al Gore (1993–2001)
• Ari Fleischer, White House Press Secretary (2001–03)
• Elliott Abrams, Special Assistant to the President (2001-2005), Deputy National Security Advisor for Global Democracy Strategy (2005-2008)
• Paul Dundes Wolfowitz, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense (2001-2005)
• Douglas J. Feith, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy (2001-2005)
• Lewis Libby, (Irve Lewis "Scooter" Libby), Assistant to the former President of the United States, George W. Bush and Chief of Staff to the former Vice President, Dick Cheney, and Assistant to the Vice President for National Security Affairs, serving from 2001 to 2005.
• Victoria Nuland, U.S. Permanent Representative to NATO (2005-2008)
• Michael Chertoff, Secretary for Homeland Security (2005–2009)
• Joshua Bolten, Director of Office of Management and Budget (2003-06); White House Chief of Staff (2006–2009)
• Michael Mukasey, Attorney General (2007-2009)
• Rahm Emanuel White House Chief of Staff (2009-)
• Peter Orszag Director of Office of Management and Budget (2009-)

[edit] Current Senators

	Name	Party	State	Took office	Notes
	Carl Levin	Democratic	Michigan	1979
	Arlen Specter	Democratic	Pennsylvania	1981	Formerly a Republican; switched parties on April 28, 2009.
	Frank Lautenberg	Democratic	New Jersey	2003	Previously served 1982–2001
	Herb Kohl	Democratic	Wisconsin	1989
	Joe Lieberman	Independent Democrat	Connecticut	1989	Formerly a Democrat, but lost 2006 party primary; reelected on the Connecticut for Lieberman ticket, he currently serves as an Independent Democrat and caucuses with Senate Democrats but endorsed Republican John McCain for president in 2008. In the 2000 presidential election, Lieberman was the Democratic nominee for vice president, running alongside presidential nominee Al Gore, becoming the first Jewish candidate on a major American political party presidential ticket.
	Dianne Feinstein	Democratic	California	1992
	Barbara Boxer	Democratic	California	1993
	Russ Feingold	Democratic	Wisconsin	1993
	Ron Wyden	Democratic	Oregon	1996
	Charles Schumer	Democratic	New York	1999
	Ben Cardin	Democratic	Maryland	2007
	Bernie Sanders	Independent	Vermont	2007	Sanders is a self-described "democratic socialist" and is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, but because he does not belong to a formal political party he appears as an Independent on the ballot. Sanders caucuses with the Democratic Party and is counted as a Democrat for the purposes of committee assignments.
	Ted Kaufman[1]	Democratic	Delaware	2009	Appointed to take Joe Biden's seat in the Senate when he became Vice President under Barack Obama. Jewish father, raised Roman Catholic. Identifies as Roman Catholic. [2]
	Michael Bennet[3]	Democratic	Colorado	2009	Appointed. Jewish mother, Christian father.
	Al Franken	Democratic	Minnesota	2009

[edit] Former Senators

• David Levy Yulee, senator (D-FL: 1845–51, 1855–61)
• Judah Benjamin, senator (Whig-LA: 1853–61)
• Benjamin F. Jonas, senator (D-LA: 1879–85)
• Joseph Simon, senator (R-OR: 1898–03)
• Isidor Rayner, senator (D-MD: 1905–12)
• Simon Guggenheim, senator (R-CO: 1907–13)
• Herbert Lehman, senator (D-NY: 1949–57)
• Barry M. Goldwater, senator (R-AZ: 1953–1965, 1969–1987), raised as an Episcopalian
• Richard L. Neuberger, senator (D-OR: 1955–60)
• Jacob Javits, senator (R-NY: 1957–81)
• Ernest Gruening, senator (D-AK: 1959–69)
• Abraham Ribicoff, senator (D-CT: 1963–81)
• Pierre Salinger, senator (D-CA: 1964) (Catholic mother)
• Howard Metzenbaum, senator (D-OH: 1974, 1976–95)
• Richard B. Stone, senator (D-FL: 1975–80)
• Edward Zorinsky, senator (D-NE: 1976–87)
• Rudy Boschwitz, senator (R-MN: 1978–91)
• William Cohen, senator (R-ME: 1979–97) (Jewish father; Irish-Protestant mother)
• Warren Rudman, senator (R-NH: 1980–93)
• Jacob Hecht, senator (R-NV: 1983–89)
• Paul Wellstone, senator (D-MN: 1991–02)
• George Allen, senator (R-VA: 2001–2007) (Allen's mother is Jewish, he was raised as a Presbyterian)^[4]
• Norm Coleman, senator (R-MN: 2003-2009)

[edit] Current Representatives

This article is incomplete and may require expansion or cleanup. Please help to improve the article, or discuss the issue on the talk page.

	Name	Party	District	Elected	Note
	Henry Waxman[5]	Democrat	CA-30	1974
	Barney Frank[6]	Democrat	MA-04	1980
	Gary Ackerman[7]	Democrat	NY-05	1982	Currently heads the International Council of Jewish Parliamentarians (ICJP)
	Howard Berman[8]	Democrat	CA-28	1982
	Sander M. Levin[9]	Democrat	MI-12	1982
	Eliot L. Engel[10]	Democrat	NY-17	1988
	Nita Lowey[11]	Democrat	NY-18	1988	First female chairwoman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which she chaired from 1991 to 1992
	Ileana Ros-Lehtinen[12]	Republican	FL-18	1989	Ros-Lehtinen is currently the most senior Republican woman in the United States Congress, and is the first Republican woman elected to the House of Representatives from Florida. Ros-Lehtinen’s maternal grandparents were Sephardic Jews from Turkey who had been active in Cuba’s Jewish community [4]. However, Project Vote Smart lists Ros-Lehtinen as an Episcopalian [5].
	Bob Filner[13]	Democrat	CA-51	1992
	Jane Harman[14]	Democrat	CA-36	1992	Served 1993–1999 and 2001–Present
	Jerrold Nadler[15]	Democrat	NY-08	1992
	Steve Rothman[16]	Democrat	NJ-09	1996
	Robert Wexler[17]	Democrat	FL-19	1996
	Shelley Berkley[18]	Democrat	NV-01	1998	First Jewish congresswoman from Nevada
	Jan Schakowsky[19]	Democrat	IL-09	1998
	Brad Sherman[20]	Democrat	CA-27	1998
	Anthony D. Weiner[21]	Democrat	NY-09	1998
	Eric Cantor[22]	Republican	VA-07	2000	House Minority Whip
	Susan Davis[23]	Democrat	CA-53	2000
	Steve Israel[24]	Democrat	NY-02	2000
	Adam Schiff[24]	Democrat	CA-29	2000
	Allyson Schwartz[25]	Democrat	PA-13	2004
	Debbie Wasserman Schultz[26]	Democrat	FL-20	2004	First Jewish congresswoman from Florida
	Steve Cohen[27]	Democrat	TN-09	2006	Tennessee's first Jewish congressman[27]
	Gabrielle Giffords[28]	Democrat	AZ-08	2006	Arizona's first Jewish congresswoman
	Paul Hodes[29]	Democrat	NH-02	2006	New Hampshire's first Jewish Congressman
	Steve Kagen[30]	Democrat	WI-08	2006
	Ron Klein[31]	Democrat	FL-22	2006
	John Yarmuth[32]	Democrat	KY-03	2006	Kentucky's first Jewish congressman
	Ed Perlmutter[33]	Democrat	CO-07	2006	Father was Jewish; Perlmutter himself is an evangelical Christian.[34] Identified as Jewish in official congressional biography. [35]
	John Adler[36]	Democrat	NJ-03	2008
	Alan Grayson[37]	Democrat	FL-08	2008
	Jared Polis[38]	Democrat	CO-02	2008

[edit] Former Representatives

Prominent representatives only — for a full list see jewishvirtuallibrary.org.
(Chronologically)

• Francis Salvador, first Jewish member of a colonial legislature.
• Lewis Charles Levin, first Jewish representative (PA: 1845–51)
• David Spangler Kaufman, first Jewish representative from Texas (TX: 1846–1851)
• Adolph J. Sabath, (D-IL, 1907–1952)
• Victor L. Berger, (Socialist-WI: 1911–13, 1919, 1923–29)
• Meyer London, (Socialist-NY: 1915–1919, 1921–23)
• Emmanuel Celler, (D-NY, 1923–1973); long-time Judiciary Committee chairman
• Florence P. Kahn, (R-CA, 1925–37); first Jewish woman representative
• Jacob K. Javits, (R-NY, 1947–54)
• Abraham A. Ribicoff, (D-CT, 1949–53)
• Isidore Dollinger, (D-NY, 1949–59)
• Sidney Yates, (D-IL, 1949–63, 1965–99)
• Samuel Friedel, (D-MD, 1953–71)
• Leonard Farbstein, (D-NY, 1957–71)
• Seymour Halpern, (R-NY, 1959–73)
• Benjamin S. Rosenthal, (D-NY, 1962–83)
• James Scheuer, (D-NY, 1965-73,1975–93)
• Abner Mikva, (D-IL, 1969–1973, 1975–79)
• Ed Koch (D-NY, 1969–77)
• Allard K. Lowenstein, (D-NY, 1969–71); civil rights activist
• Bella Abzug, (D-NY, 1971–77); feminist leader and gay rights activist
• Benjamin Gilman, (R-NY, 1973–2003)
• Elizabeth Holtzman, (D-NY, 1973–81)
• Elliot Levitas, (D-GA, 1975–85)
• Sala Burton, (D-CA, 1983–87
• Theodore Weiss, (D-NY, 1977–92)
• Dan Glickman, (D-KS, 1977–95)
• Eric Fingerhut, (D-OH, 1993–95)
• Martin Frost, (D-TX, 1979–2005); former chairman of the House Democratic Caucus and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee
• Ron Wyden, (D-ORE, 1981-96)
• Charles Schumer, (D-NY, 1981–1999)
• Tom Lantos, (D-CAL, 1981–2008); the only Holocaust survivor to ever serve in Congress
• Bobbi Fiedler, (R-CA, 1981–87) leader of anti-busing movement in the San Fernando Valley, defeated long-time incumbent Congressman James C. Corman in the 1980 elections
• Sam Gejdenson, (D-CT: 1981–2001)
• Barbara Boxer, (D-CA, 1983–92)
• Benjamin Erdreich, (D-AL, 1983–1993)
• Bernie Sanders, (Independent-VT, 1991–2007)^[39]
• Peter Deutsch (D-FL: 1993–2005)
• Ben Cardin (D-MD: 1987–2007)^[40]
• Rahm Emanuel(D-IL: 2003–2009)^[41]

[edit] Ambassadors

• Henry Morgenthau Sr., ambassador to Ottoman Empire (1913–16)
• Henry Grunwald, ambassador to Austria (1988–1990)
• Martin Indyk, ambassador to Israel (1995–97, 2000–01)
• Dennis Ross, Middle East envoy
• Randal Jilek, ambassador to Ethiopia (1988-1991)
• Matthew Takash, ambassador to Pakistan (1987-1990)
• Don Bandler, ambassador to Cyprus ()
• Robert Schwarz Strauss, ambassador to the Soviet Union during the presidency of George H. W. Bush
• Martin J. Silverstein, ambassador to Uruguay (2001–2005)
• Sam Fox, ambassador to Belgium (2007-)
• Daniel C. Kurtzer, ambassador to Israel and formerly ambassador to Egypt
• Ronald S.Lauder, ambassador to Austria (1986-87)
• Leonard S. Unger, ambassador to Laos (1962-1964); ambassador to Thailand (1967); ambassador to Taiwan (1974-1979)
• David Hermelin, ambassador to Norway (1998-2000)

[edit] Governors

• David Emanuel, governor of Georgia (D/R-GA: 1801-1801)
• Edward Salomon, governor of Wisconsin (R-WI: 1862–64)
• Edward S. Salomon, governor of the Washington Territory (R-WA: 1870–72)
• Franklin Israel Moses, Jr., governor of South Carolina (R-SC: 1872–74) (raised Episcopalian)
• Washington Bartlett, governor of California (D-CA: 1887–1887)
• Moses Alexander, governor of Idaho (D-ID: 1915-1919), first elected practicing Jew to serve as a state governor
• Simon Bamberger, governor of Utah (D-UT: 1917–21)
• Arthur Seligman, governor of New Mexico (D-NM: 1931–33)
• Julius L. Meier, governor of Oregon (Ind-OR: 1931–35)
• Henry Horner, governor of Illinois (D-IL: 1933–40)
• Herbert H. Lehman, governor of New York (D-NY: 1933–42)
• Ernest Gruening, territorial governor of Alaska (D-AK: 1939–53)
• Abraham Ribicoff, governor of Connecticut (D-CT: 1955–61)
• Samuel H. Shapiro, governor of Illinois (D-IL: 1968–69)
• Frank Licht, governor of Rhode Island (D-RI: 1969–73)
• Marvin Mandel, governor of Maryland (D-MD: 1969–77)
• Milton Shapp, governor of Pennsylvania (D-PA: 1971–79)
• Madeleine M. Kunin, governor of Vermont (D-VT: 1985–91)
• Neil Goldschmidt, governor of Oregon (D-OR: 1987–91)
• Bruce Sundlun, governor of Rhode Island (D-RI: 1991–95)
• George Allen, governor of Virginia (R-VA 1994–98) (Allen's mother is Jewish, he was raised as a Presbyterian)
• Linda Lingle, governor of Hawaii (R-HI: 2002–present)
• Ed Rendell, governor of Pennsylvania (D-PA: 2003–present)
• Eliot Spitzer, governor of New York (D-NY: 2007–2008)
• Jack A. Markell, governor of Delaware (D-DE: 2009–present)

[edit] Mayors

• Beverly Hills, California: Jimmy Delshad (2007–present)
• Cincinnati: Bill Gradison (1971), Jerry Springer^[42] (1977–78)
• Dallas, Texas: Laura Miller (2002–07), Annette Strauss (1987–1991)
• Indianapolis: Stephen Goldsmith (1992–99)
• Iowa City: Moses Bloom (1873, First Jewish Mayor of a Major city)
• Kansas City, Missouri: Richard L. Berkley (1979–91))
• Las Vegas: Oscar Goodman (1999–present)
• Louisville: Jerry Abramson (1985–98, 2002–present)
• New York: Fiorello LaGuardia (1934–45; Episcopalian; Jewish mother)
• New York: Abe Beame (1974–77)
• New York: Ed Koch (1978–89)
• New York: Michael Bloomberg (2002–present)
• Philadelphia: Edward Rendell (1992–2000)
• Pittsburgh: Sophie Masloff (1988–1993)
• Portland, Maine: James Cohen (2005–06)
• Portland, Oregon: Vera Katz (1992–2004)
• Providence: David Cicilline (2003–present)
• Saint Paul, Minnesota: Norm Coleman (1994–2002)
• San Diego: Susan Golding (1992–2000)
• San Francisco: Washington Bartlett (1883–1887)
• San Francisco: Adolph Sutro (1894–1896)
• San Francisco: Dianne Feinstein (1978–88)^[43]
• Seattle: Bailey Gatzert (1875–76)
• Worcester, Massachusetts: Israel Katz (1974–75)
• Worcester, Massachusetts: Jordan Levy (1980–81, 1988–93)

[edit] Economists

See also List of Jewish American economists

• Bernard Baruch, economic adviser to many U.S. presidents, statesman, stock market speculator
• Ben Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve (2006–present)
• Milton Friedman, Nobel Prize-winning economist
• Alan Greenspan, chairman of the Federal Reserve (1987–2006)
• Eugene Meyer, chairman of the Federal Reserve (1930–1933), president of the World Bank (1946)
• Haym Solomon, financier during the American Revolution
• Joseph E. Stiglitz, 2001 Nobel Prize winner and Chief Economist of the World Bank (1997–2000)
• James Wolfensohn, president of the World Bank (1995–2005)
• Paul Wolfowitz, president of the World Bank (2005–2007)
• Paul Krugman, Nobel Prize-winning economist

[edit] Other

• Jay Dardenne, Louisiana secretary of state since 2006
• Franklin J. Moses, Sr., politician, judge, and attorney important in the history of 19th Century South Carolina
• Bernard Stone, alderman of the 50th Ward in Chicago, Illinois
• Kinky Friedman, 2006 Texas Independent gubernatorial candidate
• Jason Bedrick, first Orthodox elected official in New Hampshire
• Harvey Milk, first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California, as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.
• Rosalind Wyman, first Jewish woman elected to Los Angeles City Council.
• Jan Perry, Los Angeles City Councilwoman (D-9th District)
• Harold Dobbs,San Francisco Board of Supervisors
• Roger Boas, San Francisco Board of Supervisors
• Robert Mendelsohn, San Francisco Board of Supervisors
• Milton Marks, Assemblyman and State Senator From San Francisco

[edit] Footnotes

[edit] External links

• Most Jews ever set to enter Congress — from The Jerusalem Post (Jan. 7th, 2007)
• The American Israel Public Affairs Committee