Jerome Michael Segal (born November 25, 1943) is an American philosopher, political activist, and
perennial candidate
A perennial candidate is a political candidate who frequently runs for elected office and rarely, if ever, wins. Perennial candidates' existence lies in the fact that in some countries, there are no laws that limit a number of times a person can ...
who resides in
Silver Spring, Maryland
Silver Spring is a census-designated place (CDP) in southeastern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, near Washington, D.C. Although officially unincorporated, in practice it is an edge city, with a population of 81,015 at the 2020 censu ...
. He was the founder of the socialist Bread and Roses Party, which achieved ballot access in
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
, and which Segal ran from 2018 to 2021.
Segal is a research scholar at the
University of Maryland, College Park
The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of Mary ...
, and the president of the Jewish Peace Lobby. He was a candidate in the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
primary in the
2018 United States Senate election in Maryland
The 2018 United States Senate election in Maryland took place on November 6, 2018, in order to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Maryland. It was held concurrently with other elections to the United States Sena ...
. He unsuccessfully ran in the
2020 United States presidential election
The 2020 United States presidential election was the 59th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020. The Democratic ticket of former vice president Joe Biden and the junior U.S. senator from California Kamala Ha ...
and the
2022 Maryland gubernatorial election. Segal is currently a candidate in the Democratic primary in the
2024 United States Senate election in Maryland.
Early life and education
Segal was born and raised in
The Bronx
The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...
. His father, a
socialist
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
and member of the
Jewish Labor Bund
The General Jewish Labour Bund in Lithuania, Poland and Russia ( yi, אַלגעמײנער ייִדישער אַרבעטער־בונד אין ליטע, פּױלן און רוסלאַנד , translit=Algemeyner Yidisher Arbeter-bund in Lite, Poy ...
, was born in
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
and immigrated to the United States, where he found employment as a factory worker in the garment industry. After graduating from the
Bronx High School of Science
The Bronx High School of Science, commonly called Bronx Science, is a public specialized high school in The Bronx in New York City. It is operated by the New York City Department of Education. Admission to Bronx Science involves passing the Spec ...
, Segal went to
City College of New York
The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, Cit ...
, where he received honors in philosophy and economics, and was awarded the Brittain Prize in Moral Philosophy. Segal went on to receive a PhD from the
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
, and taught in the philosophy department of the
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...
. He later received an MPA from the
Hubert Humphrey School of the
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...
.
Career
After receiving his MPA from the University of Minnesota, Segal moved to Washington, D.C. in 1974 to work as an aide to
Congressman Donald M. Fraser and administrator of the
House Budget Committee
The United States House Committee on the Budget, commonly known as the House Budget Committee, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. Its responsibilities include legislative oversight of the federal budget process, ...
's task force on distributive impacts of economic policy. In 1979, he became Coordinator for the Near East in the policy bureau of the
US Agency for International Development
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government that is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. With a budget of over $27 bi ...
and, later, Senior Advisor for Agency Planning. After leaving government, he joined the Institute for Philosophy and Public Policy at the
University of Maryland
The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...
as Senior Research Scholar.
Segal has been a leader of the American Jewish peace movement, starting in 1982 with Washington Area Jews for Israeli-Palestinian Peace (WAJIPP), a group that opposed the Israeli invasion of Lebanon. In 1987, he traveled to
Tunis
''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois
, population_note =
, population_urban =
, population_metro = 2658816
, population_density_km2 =
, timezone1 = CET
, utc_offset1 ...
to meet
Yasser Arafat
Mohammed Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf al-Qudwa al-Husseini (4 / 24 August 1929 – 11 November 2004), popularly known as Yasser Arafat ( , ; ar, محمد ياسر عبد الرحمن عبد الرؤوف عرفات القدوة الحسيني, Mu ...
and leaders of the
Palestine Liberation Organization
The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ar, منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية, ') is a Palestinian nationalism, Palestinian nationalist political and militant organization founded in 1964 with the initial purpose of establ ...
. No American Jewish delegation had ever met with the
PLO, which the U.S. government officially considered a terrorist organization at the time. In August 1988, Israel raided the offices of
Faisal al-Husseini, a Palestinian militant, and discovered a plan, based in part on earlier writings by Segal, for a
''declaration of Palestinian independence." That plan, along with other writings by Segal in Palestinian papers such as
Al-Quds, were a catalyst for the
Palestinian Declaration of Independence
The Palestinian Declaration of Independence formally established the State of Palestine, and was written by Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish and proclaimed by Yasser Arafat on 15 November 1988 (5 Rabiʽ al-Thani 1409) in Algiers, Algeria. It had ...
later that year and the Palestinian peace initiative in which Israel's right to exist was recognized.
In May 1989, Segal founded the Jewish Peace Lobby, which he envisioned as acting as a counterweight to the
American Israel Public Affairs Committee
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC ) is a lobbying group that advocates pro-Israel policies to the legislative and executive branches of the United States. One of several pro-Israel lobbying organizations in the United Stat ...
(AIPAC). The Peace Lobby remains active today, with about 5,000 members (including 400 rabbis).
As a candidate
Segal ran for a seat in the
US Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and powe ...
against incumbent Senator
Ben Cardin
Benjamin Louis Cardin (born October 5, 1943) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Maryland, a seat he has held since 2007. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously was the U.S. representati ...
in the
2018 midterm elections
The 2018 United States elections were held on Tuesday, November 6, 2018. These midterm elections occurred during Republican Donald Trump's term. Democrats made a net gain of 41 seats in the United States House of Representatives, gaining a majo ...
. After losing in the Democratic primary to Cardin, he attempted to be included in the general election under the Bread and Roses party, but was prohibited due to the "sore loser" statute of Maryland state law, which prohibits candidates from running in the
general election
A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
after losing a
primary
Primary or primaries may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels
* Primary (band), from Australia
* Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea
* Primary Music, Israeli record label
Works
* ...
.
Bread and Roses Party
After the 2018 election, Segal founded a new
socialist
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
political party called "Bread and Roses", after submitted a petition with more than 15,000 signatures to the Maryland Board of Elections. The party is named after a slogan used by striking workers during the
1912 Lawrence textile strike
The Lawrence Textile Strike, also known as the Bread and Roses Strike, was a strike of immigrant workers in Lawrence, Massachusetts, in 1912 led by the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). Prompted by a two-hour pay cut corresponding to a ne ...
.
The Board certified the Bread and Roses party in January 2019, allowing its candidates to run for office in Maryland in the 2020 election.
In August 2019, Segal announced a run in the
2020 United States presidential election
The 2020 United States presidential election was the 59th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020. The Democratic ticket of former vice president Joe Biden and the junior U.S. senator from California Kamala Ha ...
under the Bread and Roses party banner. He said that he would not compete in swing states to avoid taking votes from a Democratic candidate running against
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
.
The Bread and Roses party identified itself as "socialistic" in nature, distinguishing itself from "traditional
socialism
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
". The party advocated socialist ideals such as "
From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs" while also advocating democratic principles of limited government, individual liberty and rule of law. Their website also advertised ideals like "plain living, high thinking and a Utopian future".
Disbanding
In December 2021, Segal disbanded the Bread and Roses party to seek the Democratic nomination for the
2022 Maryland gubernatorial election. His running mate was Justin Dispenza, a member of the town council of
Galena, Maryland. After conceding in the Democratic primary on July 20, 2022, Segal started a campaign for
2024 United States presidential election
The 2024 United States presidential election will be the 60th quadrennial presidential election, scheduled for Tuesday, November 5, 2024. It will be the first presidential election after electoral votes were redistributed during the 2020 ce ...
as a Democrat. On May 1, 2023, after U.S. Senator
Ben Cardin
Benjamin Louis Cardin (born October 5, 1943) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Maryland, a seat he has held since 2007. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously was the U.S. representati ...
announced that he would not run for re-election in
2024, Segal ended his presidential campaign and instead started a campaign to succeed Cardin.
Books
*''Creating the Palestinian State''
*''Agency and Alienation''
*''Negotiating Jerusalem''
*''Graceful Simplicity''
*''Joseph's Bones''
*''Agency, Illusion, and Well-Being''
* ''85 Rochdale Road''
References
External links
Dr. Jerome M. Segal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Segal, Jerome
20th-century American Jews
1943 births
20th-century American philosophers
21st-century American philosophers
Activists from Maryland
American people of Polish-Jewish descent
American political activists
American political candidates
Candidates in the 2018 United States Senate elections
City College of New York alumni
Jewish philosophers
Jewish socialists
Living people
Maryland Democrats
Maryland socialists
Politicians from the Bronx
People from Silver Spring, Maryland
Philosophers from Maryland
Simple living advocates
University of Maryland, College Park faculty
University of Michigan alumni
Humphrey School of Public Affairs alumni
University of Pennsylvania faculty
The Bronx High School of Science alumni
Writers from New York City
Candidates in the 2020 United States presidential election
21st-century American Jews
Candidates in the 2022 United States elections
Candidates in the 2024 United States presidential election
Jewish American candidates for President of the United States