Joshua Eilberg (February 12, 1921 – March 24, 2004) was a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

Early life and education

Eilberg was born in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. He graduated from

Central High School (Philadelphia) Central High School is a public high school in the LoganLogan Redevelopment Area ...

, the

Wharton School The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania ( ; also known as Wharton Business School, the Wharton School, Penn Wharton, and Wharton) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in P ...

at 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 ...

and

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then calle ...

School of Law, both in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Legal and early political career

He entered the

United States Naval Reserve The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2005, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called Reservists, are categorized as being in either the Se ...

and became a private practice lawyer, later becoming assistant district attorney of the city of Philadelphia from 1952 to 1954. He was elected to the

Pennsylvania State House of Representatives The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts. It ...

, serving from 1954 to 1966, rising to the position of majority leader in 1965–1966. He was a delegate to the

Democratic National Conventions The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 ...

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Jan ...

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...

and

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Janu ...

, and was the Democratic ward leader for the fifty-fourth ward of Philadelphia.

Congress

He was elected in 1966 as a Democrat to the 90th and to the five succeeding Congresses. In 1974, Eilberg defeated Chris Matthews, former host of

MSNBC MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and politi ...

's ''

Hardball with Chris Matthews ''Hardball with Chris Matthews'' was an American television talk show that was hosted by Chris Matthews. The program premiered on the now-defunct America's Talking network in 1994 (as ''Politics with Chris Matthews'') before moving on CNBC, and t ...

'', in the Democratic primary. In 1978, he defeated

Mark B. Cohen Mark B. Cohen (born June 4, 1949) is a Democratic Party (United States), Democratic politician from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He represented Pennsylvania House of Representatives, District 202, District 202 in the Pennsylvania House of R ...

in the Democratic primary, before losing to Charles F. Dougherty. While in office, he served as the Chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, and International Law. In that role, Representative Eilberg led a legislative veto to override the Attorney General's suspension of deportation of Jagdish Rai Chadha and five others under the Immigration and Nationality Act. The Supreme Court later found the legislative veto unconstitutional in ''INS v. Chadha'', 462 U.S. 919 (1983).

Controversy, indictment and guilty plea

In 1978, then-U.S. Attorney David W. Marston investigated Eilberg for money he received in connection with a federal grant to

Hahnemann University Hospital Hahnemann University Hospital was a tertiary care center in Center City Philadelphia. It was the teaching hospital of Drexel University College of Medicine. Established in 1885, it was for most of its history the main teaching hospital associate ...

in Philadelphia. Eilberg contacted the

Carter Carter(s), or Carter's, Tha Carter, or The Carter(s), may refer to: Geography United States * Carter, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Carter, Mississippi, an unincorporated community * Carter, Montana, a census-designated place * Carter ...

White House, and Marston was later fired. Eilberg lost his 1978 reelection bid, and, three months later, pleaded guilty to conflict of interest charges. He was sentenced to five years of probation and a $10,000 fine.

Death

Eilberg died in Philadelphia on March 24, 2004, of complications of Parkinson’s Disease.Obit in L.A. Times
/ref>

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eilberg, Joshua 1921 births 2004 deaths 20th-century American Jews 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American politicians 21st-century American Jews American government officials convicted of crimes Central High School (Philadelphia) alumni Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania Jewish American military personnel Jewish members of the United States House of Representatives Democratic Party members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Pennsylvania lawyers Pennsylvania politicians convicted of crimes Politicians from Philadelphia Temple University Beasley School of Law alumni United States Navy reservists Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania alumni