Steve Israel

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For the football player, see Steve Israel (American football). For the American fraudster, see Samuel Israel III.
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Steve Israel
Steve Israel, official photo portrait, 2009.jpeg
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New York's 3rd district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 3, 2013
Preceded by Peter T. King
Chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 3, 2011
Preceded by Chris Van Hollen
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New York's 2nd district
In office
January 3, 2001 – January 3, 2013
Preceded by Rick Lazio
Succeeded by Peter T. King
Member of the Huntington Town Board
In office
1993–2001
Personal details
Born Steven J. Israel
(1958-05-30) May 30, 1958 (age 54)
New York City, New York
Political party Democratic
Spouse(s) Marlene Budd Israel
Residence Huntington, New York
Alma mater George Washington University
Occupation Public relations executive
Religion Jewish[1][2][3]
Website Congressional Website

Steven J. "Steve" Israel[4] (born May 30, 1958) is a U.S. Representative for New York's 3rd congressional district, serving since 2001. He is a member of the Democratic Party and head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Before serving in the US Congress, he served on the Huntington, New York city council. He is a native of New York.

Contents

Early life, education, and career [edit]

Israel was born in Brooklyn, New York and grew up in Wantagh, on Long Island. He graduated from Nassau Community College and George Washington University. At George Washington University, he worked as an aide for Robert Matsui and then Richard Ottinger. Israel went on to become Suffok County director of the American Jewish Congress. In 1987 he unsuccessfully ran for a seat in the county legislature. After this defeat, he spent three years working as an aide to the Suffolk County executive and founded a PR and marketing firm.[5]

He was elected to the town council in Huntington, New York, in 1993. While there, he reportedly convinced the Republican supervisor to switch parties. A town official said that he persuaded colleagues to move for pay raises while opposing them himself, which was seen as a politically safer move.[6]

U.S. House of Representatives [edit]

Elections [edit]

After Rick Lazio left his House seat to run for the United States Senate in 2001, Israel was elected to his seat, receiving 48% of the vote, defeating Republican Joan Jonhson, who received 34%, and four independent candidates.[7]

Committee assignments [edit]

Caucus membership [edit]

Party leadership [edit]

  • Assistant Democratic Whip
  • House Democratic Caucus Task Force On Defense and the Military (Chair)
  • House Democratic Study Group on National Security Policy (Co-chair)

Policy Positions [edit]

Abortion

Israel supports allowing abortions to be legal in cases of rape, incest, and the life of the mother. He does not support abortions being legal in all cases.[8] He has voted against bills that would prohibit federal funding for abortions, a bill that would eliminate federal funding for Planned Parenthood, an organization that provides abortions, and the Abortion Pain Act, which would prevent abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. He has received 100% ratings from the pro-choice groups NARAL, Planned Parenthood, and the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association, as well as 0% ratings from the National Right to Life Committee, consistently since 2004.

Gun Issues

Steve Israel supports increased regulation on gun ownership. He voted against several bills and amendments which would decrease federal regulation of safety precautions of guns and decrease federal regulations on the sale of firearms. He also cosponsored the 2009 “No Fly, No Buy” act,[9] stating “Gun safety measures like the 'No Fly, No Buy' Act should be a no brainer for every Member of Congress. It's common sense legislation.”[10] He has received a 0% rating from the pro gun rights NRA and the Gun Owners of America, as well as a 100% rating from the pro gun regulation Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence.[11]

Health Care

Steve Israel voted for the 2010 Affordable Care Act,[12] and against several bills to repeal it.[11]

LGBT Rights

Israel supports legalizing same sex marriage. In a press release in June 2009, he said “I’m proud of what Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut and Vermont have done for marriage equality. I hope that my home state of New York will soon follow.” [13] His home state did follow, as New York legalized same-sex marriage in 2011.

He also voted for the repeal of Don't ask, don't tell, and for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.[11]

He has a 100% rating from the pro LGBT rights Human Rights Campaign and a 0% rating from the Family Research Council.[8]

Tenure [edit]

Israel voted to authorize George W. Bush to use military force against Iraq, even though over 60% of his Democratic colleagues in the House voted against the bill.[14]

In his second term, Israel was tapped for a leadership position as Assistant Whip. In his third term, Israel was appointed to chair the House Democratic Caucus Task Force on Defense and Military, a group of 15 members of Congress who will outreach to the defense community and advise the House Democratic Leadership on military policy. In 2006, Israel harshly criticized Jimmy Carter for his book Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid and at the same time criticized the Palestinian government.[15]

Israel supported a study on the feasibility of switching from Tuesday to weekend voting.[16]

Occupy Wall Street

Israel's support for Occupy Wall Street drew criticism from conservatives, who claimed the movement harbored "anti-Semitic" elements. Outraged at this, Israel pointed towards his support for Israel as well as his own Jewish heritage.[17]

DCCC chairman [edit]

As an ally of Nancy Pelosi, Israel was mentioned in 2010 as a possible successor to Chris Van Hollen, the then-chairman of the DCCC; he declined to speak about it until after the midterms were over, saying he was "just completely focused on supporting Nancy Pelosi."[18]

It was reported that Pelosi's selection of Israel to head the DCCC had much to do with the district he represents, where "Democrats hold a modest registration edge but independents decide elections." It was noted that Israel had gained respect through fundraising and recruiting candidates for the campaign committee. Israel was one of the few Democrats to run campaign ads in defense of his vote on health care.[6]

J Street Controversy [edit]

Steve Israel was an honorary member of the gala host committee for a Gala dinner on October 27, 2009 by J Street, a liberal,[19][20][21] nonprofit lobbying group. In the weeks leading up to the Gala dinner, those aligned with the Likud, the political party of Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, criticized Rep. Israel and those supporting J Street. The Weekly Standard blogger Michael Goldfarb called the J Street dinner an "anti-Israel bash."[22] In response, Lindsay Hamilton, Rep. Israel's spokeswoman said "It's absurd that this has become a controversy...The congressman agreed to be on the gala host committee. That doesn't mean he agrees with every viewpoint of every speaker at the event.[23]

Electoral history [edit]

New York election law allows for fusion voting, where a candidate can run as a member of multiple parties. In 2000, Israel ran only as a Democrat in his winning bid for Congress, but since 2002 he has also ran as the candidate for the Independence Party, and the Working Families Party. In 2000, the Republican candidate ran only as a Republican, but since 2002, every Republican has also run as the candidate for the Conservative Party of New York.

U.S. House, 2nd District of New York (General Election)
Year Winning candidate Party Pct Opponent Party Pct
2000 Steve Israel Democratic 48% Joan B. Johnson Republican 35%
2002 Steve Israel Democratic 58% Joseph P. Finley Republican 40%
2004 Steve Israel Democratic 67% Richard Hoffmann Republican 33%
2006 Steve Israel Democratic 70% John W. Bugler Republican 30%
2008 Steve Israel Democratic 67% Frank J. Stalzer Republican 33%
2010 Steve Israel Democratic 56% John Gomez Republican 43%
2012 Steve Israel Democratic 58%[24] Stephen Labate Republican 42%[24]

Personal life [edit]

Israel lives in Dix Hills with his wife, Marlene Budd, who served on the Huntington Town board before being elected as a county family court judge in 2005. He has two daughters.

References [edit]

  1. ^ National Jewish Democratic Council
  2. ^ Project Vote Smart
  3. ^ Jews in political news: Jack Lew, Steve Israel on the hotseat James Besser, Jewish Week, 11/21/2010
  4. ^ Lambert, Bruce (May 21, 2000). "Fight Already On for a House Seat That Could Prove Decisive". The New York Times. 
  5. ^ "Israel (D-NY)". 
  6. ^ a b "L.I. Congressman Leads Uphill Charge Toward a Democratic House". The New York Times. 18 March 2011. 
  7. ^ http://www.elections.ny.gov/NYSBOE/elections/2000/wcon2000.pdf
  8. ^ a b http://votesmart.org/candidate/political-courage-test/55440/steve-israel
  9. ^ http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/111/hr2401
  10. ^ http://votesmart.org/public-statement/424302/reps-mccarthy-and-israel-to-stand-with-law-enforcement-and-announce-no-fly-no-buy-act-today
  11. ^ a b c http://votesmart.org/candidate/political-courage-test/55440/steve-israel/
  12. ^ http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2010/roll165.xml
  13. ^ http://israel.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=689%3Acounting-marriage-equality&catid=49%3Ablog&Itemid=1
  14. ^ See http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2002/roll455.xml
  15. ^ "– The Jewish Daily Forward". Forward.com. Retrieved 2010-08-23. [dead link]
  16. ^ "Why Tuesday? Goes To Washington". July 16, 2009. 
  17. ^ "Steve Israel Furious At Republican Charge That He Embraces Anti-Semitism In Occupy Wall Street". The Huffington Post. 20 October 2011. 
  18. ^ "Steve Israel to Chair Democratic Campaign Arm". The Atlantic. 19 November 2010. 
  19. ^ Abramowitz, Michael (April 15, 2008). "Jewish Liberals to Launch A Counterpoint to AIPAC". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 29, 2008. 
  20. ^ Eggen, Dan (April 17, 2009). "Year-Old Liberal Jewish Lobby Has Quickly Made Its Mark". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 5, 2010. 
  21. ^ Stockton, Farah (February 27, 2010). "Delahunt’s journey to Mideast upended". Boston.com. Retrieved September 22, 2010. 
  22. ^ Eggen, Dan (October 25, 2009). "Israel conference to open amid controversy". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 24, 2010. 
  23. ^ http://www.jpost.com/LandedPages/PrintArticle.aspx?id=158056
  24. ^ a b http://elections.msnbc.msn.com/ns/politics/2012/new-york/#.UKFgQuTAcwI

External links [edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Steve Israel
United States House of Representatives
Preceded by
Peter T. King		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New York's 3rd congressional district
2013–present		 Incumbent
Preceded by
Rick Lazio		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New York's 2nd congressional district
2001–2013		 Succeeded by
Peter T. King
United States order of precedence
Preceded by
Mike Honda
D-California		 United States Representatives by seniority
132nd		 Succeeded by
Darrell Issa
R-California
Party political offices
Preceded by
Chris Van Hollen
Maryland		 Chairman of Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee
2011–present		 Incumbent
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Representatives
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Other states'
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Current leadership of the United States House of Representatives
Presiding Officer: John Boehner (R-Speaker)
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