David Steiner (AIPAC)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

David S. Steiner is a New Jersey real estate developer, a former President of 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), who sits on the board of the
National Jewish Democratic Council The National Jewish Democratic Council (NJDC) was a political lobbying organization that advocated within the Democratic Party for viewpoints aligned with the American Jewish community and in support of the state of Israel, and within the polit ...
, is the CEO of the Steiner Equities Group, owns
Steiner Studios Steiner Studios is a film studio at Brooklyn Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York City. It is the largest film and television production studio complex in the United States outside Hollywood. Steiner Studios, spread across , contains 30 soundstages a ...
, and is a commissioner of the
Port Authority of New York & New Jersey The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, PANYNJ; stylized, in logo since 2020, as Port Authority NY NJ, is a joint venture between the U.S. states of New York (state), New York and New Jersey, established in 1921 through an interstate com ...
.New Jersey Jewish News: "Former AIPAC prez endorses Pascrell for Ninth - Democratic primary sees foes competing for Jewish support" by Robert Wiener
March 7, 2012


Biography

Steiner was born to a
Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
family and graduated from
Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology ...
with a degree in civil engineering.Port Authority of New York and New Jersey: "Board of Commissioners - David S. Steiner"
retrieved November 23, 2014
Steiner was a minority partner for over 40 years with Samuel Sudler, the Chairman and President of Sudler Construction which was founded by his father Hyman Sudler in 1907.
July 3, 2012
In 1996, after Sudler's death, Steiner who was a minority partner at the time, left Sudler and started Steiner Equities Group; and then created Steiner NYC as its New York arm. Originally focused on industrial real estate, he re-directed its investments to commercial office parks and retail properties. In addition to development, the company also does property management, leasing and construction. In December 1996, Steiner was a member of the New Jersey State Electoral College, one of 15 electors casting their votes for the Clinton/Gore ticket. In 2003, he was appointed to the Board of Commissioners of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey by New Jersey governor
Jim McGreevey James Edward McGreevey (born August 6, 1957) is an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who served as the 52nd governor of New Jersey from 2002 until his resignation in 2004 following the revelation of his extramarital affair w ...
. He was reappointed by Governor
Chris Christie Christopher James Christie (born September 6, 1962) is an American politician, lawyer, political commentator, lobbyist, and former federal prosecutor who served as the 55th governor of New Jersey from 2010 to 2018. Christie, who was born in Ne ...
in 2011.


Controversy and resignation from AIPAC

He resigned his AIPAC Presidency in November 1992 after
Haim Katz Haim Katz ( he, חַיִּים כַּץ, born 21 December 1947) is an Israeli politician. He currently serves as the Minister of Tourism. Katz was the Minister of Labor, Welfare and Social Services from 2015 to 2019, and served as a member of t ...
, a New York real estate developer, secretly recorded a telephone conversation with him and released it to ''
The Washington Times ''The Washington Times'' is an American conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., that covers general interest topics with a particular emphasis on national politics. Its broadsheet daily edition is distributed throughout ...
''. Steiner told Katz he had significant influence over American foreign policy and the selection of US political leaders. Among the things Steiner told Katz:
I got, besides the $3 billion, you know they're looking for the Jewish votes, and I'll tell him whatever he wants to hear.... Besides the $10 billion in loan guarantees which was a fabulous thing, $3 billion in foreign, in military aid, and I got almost a billion dollars in other goodies that people don't even know about.... I have friends on the Clinton campaign, close associates.... I've known Bill for seven, eight years from the National Governors Association. I know him on a personal basis.... One of my friends is
Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...
's scheduler, one of my officer's daughters works there. We gave two employees from AIPAC leave of absence to work on the campaign. I mean, we have a dozen people in the campaign, in the headquarters, in Little Rock, and they're all going to get big jobs.... I also work with a think tank, the Washington Institute. I have
Michael Mandelbaum Michael Mandelbaum (born 1946) is a professor and director of the American Foreign Policy program at the Johns Hopkins University, School of Advanced International Studies. He has written a number of books on American foreign policy and edited ...
and
Martin Indyk Martin Sean Indyk (born July 1, 1951) is an American diplomat and foreign relations analyst with expertise in the Middle East. He was a distinguished fellow in International Diplomacy and later executive vice president at the Brookings Institution ...
being foreign policy advisers... Steve Spiegel.... We have Bill Clinton's ear. I talked to
Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
. He's going to be very good for us.... A girl who worked for me at AIPAC stood up for them at their wedding. Hillary lived with her. I mean we have those relationships.... Susan Thomases, who's in there, worked with me on the
Bradley Bradley is an English surname derived from a place name meaning "broad wood" or "broad meadow" in Old English. Like many English surnames Bradley can also be used as a given name and as such has become popular. It is also an Anglicisation of t ...
campaign. We worked together for 13 years. She's in there with the family. They stay with her when they come to New York. One of my officers, Monte Friedkin, is one of the biggest fund-raisers for them. I mean, I have people like that all over the country.... He's said he's going to help us. He's got something in his heart for the Jews, he has Jewish friends.... Clinton is the best guy for us.... We're just negotiating. We're more interested right now in the secretary of state and the secretary of National Security Agency.... I've got a list. But I really can't go through it. I'm not allowed to talk about it.... We'll have access.
After the transcript of the recording was made public, Steiner and AIPAC claimed he had exaggerated. "In an effort to encourage and impress what I thought was a potential political activist calling on the telephone," Steiner said, "I made statements which went beyond over-zealousness and exaggeration and were simply and totally untrue. I apologize to Governor Clinton, Chief of Staff Baker, and AIPAC for these actions." Steiner was replaced as President of AIPAC by Steve Grossman.


Philanthropy

Steiner supports a number of Jewish causes including the United Jewish Communities of MetroWest NJ, the Rachel Coalition, and the
National Yiddish Book Center The Yiddish Book Center (formerly the National Yiddish Book Center), located on the campus of Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States, is a cultural institution dedicated to the preservation of books in the Yiddish language, a ...
where he funded the Steiner Summer Internship Program.


Personal life

He is married to Sylvia Steiner;New York Sun: "Taking on Hollywood From Brooklyn Navy Yard - Lunch at the Four Seasons" By PRANAY GUPTE
May 18, 2006
they have four children: Ellen Sue Steiner Dolgin, Nancy Steiner,
Douglas C. Steiner Douglas Craig Steiner is a Brooklyn-based real estate developer who developed properties in New Jersey and New York and other states. In addition, he was chairman of Steiner Studios in Brooklyn, New York, the largest studio in the United States o ...
, and Jane Steiner Hoffman.New York Times: "WEDDINGS;Michael Hoffman and Jane Steiner"
October 29, 1995


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Steiner, David Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American real estate businesspeople 1996 United States presidential electors American Jews Carnegie Mellon University College of Engineering alumni American chief executives American Israel Public Affairs Committee