Steve Israel
 | This article's lead section may be too short to adequately summarize the key points. (November 2012) |
Steve Israel | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2011 | |
| Preceded by | Chris Van Hollen |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 2nd district | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2001 | |
| Preceded by | Rick Lazio |
| Member of the Huntington Town Board | |
| In office 1993–2001 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Steven J. Israel May 30, 1958 New York City, New York |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Marlene Budd Israel |
| Residence | Huntington, New York |
| Alma mater | George Washington University |
| Occupation | Public relations executive |
| Website | Congressional Website |
Steven J. "Steve" Israel[4] (born May 30, 1958) is the U.S. Representative for New York's 2nd congressional district, serving since 2001. He is a member of the Democratic Party and head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
Early life, education, and career
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 Robert 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
Elections
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
- Caucus membership
- Co-chair and founder of Congressional Center Aisle Caucus
- House Cancer Caucus (Co-chair)
- Long Island Sound Caucus (Co-chair)
Party leadership
- Assistant Democratic Whip
- House Democratic Caucus Task Force On Defense and the Military (Chair)
- House Democratic Study Group on National Security Policy (Co-chair)
Tenure
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.[8]
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.[9]
Israel supported a study on the feasibility of switching from Tuesday to weekend voting.[10]
- 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.[11]
DCCC chairman
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."[12]
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]
Controversy
Steve Israel was an honorary member of the gala host committee for a Gala dinner on October 27, 2009 by J Street, a liberal,[13][14][15] 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."[16] 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.[17]
Electoral history
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 ran as the candidate for the Conservative Party of New York.
Personal life
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
- ^ National Jewish Democratic Council
- ^ Project Vote Smart
- ^ Jews in political news: Jack Lew, Steve Israel on the hotseat James Besser, Jewish Week, 11/21/2010
- ^ Lambert, Bruce (May 21, 2000). "Fight Already On for a House Seat That Could Prove Decisive". The New York Times.
- ^ "Israel (D-NY)".
- ^ a b "L.I. Congressman Leads Uphill Charge Toward a Democratic House". The New York Times. 18 March 2011.
- ^ http://www.elections.ny.gov/NYSBOE/elections/2000/wcon2000.pdf
- ^ See http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2002/roll455.xml
- ^ "– The Jewish Daily Forward". Forward.com. Retrieved 2010-08-23. [dead link]
- ^ "Why Tuesday? Goes To Washington". July 16, 2009.
- ^ "Steve Israel Furious At Republican Charge That He Embraces Anti-Semitism In Occupy Wall Street". The Huffington Post. 20 October 2011.
- ^ "Steve Israel to Chair Democratic Campaign Arm". The Atlantic. 19 November 2010.
- ^ Abramowitz, Michael (April 15, 2008). "Jewish Liberals to Launch A Counterpoint to AIPAC". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 29, 2008.
- ^ Eggen, Dan (April 17, 2009). "Year-Old Liberal Jewish Lobby Has Quickly Made Its Mark". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 5, 2010.
- ^ Stockton, Farah (February 27, 2010). "Delahunt's journey to Mideast upended". Boston.com. Retrieved September 22, 2010.
- ^ Eggen, Dan (October 25, 2009). "Israel conference to open amid controversy". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 24, 2010.
- ^ http://www.jpost.com/LandedPages/PrintArticle.aspx?id=158056
- ^ http://elections.msnbc.msn.com/ns/politics/2012/new-york/#.UKFgQuTAcwI
- ^ http://elections.msnbc.msn.com/ns/politics/2012/new-york/#.UKFgQuTAcwI
External links
- U.S. Representative Steve Israel, official U.S. House site
- Congressman Steve Israel, official campaign site
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
- Profile at Vote Smart
- Profile at SourceWatch