Steven J. Israel (born May 30, 1958) is an American political commentator, lobbyist, author, bookseller and former politician. He served as a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from New York from 2001 to 2017. A member of 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 ...

, he was elected in until 2013 and until his retirement. At the time of his departure from Congress, his district included portions of northern Nassau County and Suffolk County on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

, as well as a small portion of

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

in New York City. Israel chaired the

Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) is the United States Democratic Party, Democratic Hill committee for the United States House of Representatives, working to elect Democrats to that body. The DCCC recruits candidates, raises ...

from 2011 to 2015 and Democratic Policy and Communications Committee from 2015 to 2017. Prior to his election to Congress, he served on the Huntington

Town Board A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

, starting 1993. After leaving Congress in 2017, Israel joined

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...

as a political commentator. In 2019, he was appointed the inaugural director of the Institute of Politics and Global Affairs at

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

. , Israel also serves on the Board of Advisors for lobbying firm Michael Best Strategies.

Early life and career

Israel was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

and raised in the

community of

Levittown, New York Levittown is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York. It is located halfway between the villages of Hempstead and Farmingdale. As of the 2010 census, the CDP had a tota ...

. He attended

Nassau Community College Nassau Community College (NCC) is a public community college in Uniondale, New York, using the Garden City, New York ZIP Code. It was founded in 1959 and is part of the State University of New York. History Nassau Community College was cre ...

and

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

for one year before graduating from

George Washington University , mottoeng = "God is Our Trust" , established = , type = Private federally chartered research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.8 billion (2022) , preside ...

with a Bachelor of Arts in 1982. After earning his bachelor's degree, Israel became a staff member for U.S. Representative

Richard Ottinger Richard Lawrence Ottinger (born January 27, 1929) is an American legal educator and politician from New York. A Democrat, he served in the United States House of Representatives for eight terms, from 1965 to 1971 and from 1975 to 1985. Early y ...

. He was later elected to the town council in

Huntington, New York The Town of Huntington is one of ten towns in Suffolk County, New York. Founded in 1653, it is located on the north shore of Long Island in northwestern Suffolk County, with Long Island Sound to its north and Nassau County adjacent to the west. ...

, in 1993.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

After

Rick Lazio Enrico Anthony Lazio (; born March 13, 1958) is an American attorney and former four-term U.S. Representative from the State of New York. A Long Island native, Lazio became well-known during his bid for U.S. Senate in New York's 2000 Senate e ...

left his House seat to run for the

United States 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 pow ...

in 2000, Israel was elected to his seat, receiving 48% of the vote, defeating Republican Joan Johnson, who received 34%, and four independent candidates. He was reelected six times with relatively little difficulty, despite representing a swing district on paper. On January 5, 2016, Israel announced that he would not seek reelection in November 2016.

Committee assignments

Committee on Appropriations The United States House Committee on Appropriations is a committee of the United States House of Representatives that is responsible for passing appropriation bills along with its Senate counterpart. The bills passed by the Appropriations Commi ...

** Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development ** Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs ** Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies

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 in Iraq, even though more than 60 per cent of his Democratic colleagues in the House voted against the bill. In his second term, Israel was tapped for a leadership position as Assistant

Whip A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally e ...

. In his third term, Israel was appointed to chair the House Democratic Caucus Task Force on Defense and Military, a group of 15 Democratic House members who reach out to the defense community and advise the House Democratic leadership on military policy. In 2006, in response to

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...

's book '' Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid'', Israel said, "I disagree with President Carter fundamentally. The reason for the Palestinian plight is the Palestinians." Israel supported a study on the feasibility of switching from Tuesday to weekend voting. ;Occupy Wall Street Israel's support for

Occupy Wall Street Occupy Wall Street (OWS) was a protest Social movement, movement against economic inequality and the Campaign finance, influence of money in politics that began in Zuccotti Park, located in New York City's Financial District, Manhattan, Wall S ...

drew criticism from conservatives, who claimed the movement harbored "anti-Semitic" elements. In response Israel pointed to his support for the nation of Israel as well as his own Jewish heritage.

DCCC chairman

As an ally of

Nancy Pelosi Nancy Patricia Pelosi (; ; born March 26, 1940) is an American politician who has served as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives since 2019 and previously from 2007 to 2011. She has represented in the United States House of ...

, Israel was mentioned in 2010 as a possible successor to

Chris Van Hollen Christopher Van Hollen Jr. (born January 10, 1959) is an American attorney and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Maryland since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Van Hollen served as the U.S. representative for ...

, the 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." 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." Israel had gained respect through fundraising and recruiting candidates for the campaign committee. Israel is one of the few Democrats who has run campaign ads in defense of his vote on health care.

Policy positions

Abortion

Israel has said he supports legal abortions in cases of rape, incest, and threat to the life of the mother, though he does not support abortions being legal in all cases. He has voted against bills that would prohibit federal funding for abortions, against a bill that would eliminate federal funding for

Planned Parenthood The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is a nonprofit organization that provides reproductive health care in the United States and globally. It is a tax-exempt corporation under Internal Reve ...

, an organization that provides abortions, and against the Abortion Pain Act, which would have prevented abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. Since 2004 he has consistently received 100% ratings from the pro-choice groups

NARAL NARAL Pro-Choice America, commonly known as simply NARAL ( ), is a non-profit 501(c)(4) organization in the United States that engages in lobbying, political action, and advocacy efforts to oppose restrictions on abortion, to expand access to ...

, Planned Parenthood, and the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association, as well as a 0% rating from the

National Right to Life Committee The National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) is the oldest and largest national anti-abortion organization in the United States with affiliates in all 50 states and more than 3,000 local chapters nationwide. Since the 1980s, NRLC has influen ...

Economics

On July 4, 2013 Israel announced legislation that would require all U.S. national parks to sell merchandise that is

Made in the USA A Made in USA mark is a country of origin label affixed to homegrown, American-made products that indicates the product is "all or virtually all" domestically produced, manufactured and assembled in the United States of America. The label is reg ...

Gun issues

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, 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." He has received 0% ratings from the pro-

gun rights The right to keep and bear arms (often referred to as the right to bear arms) is a right for people to possess weapons (arms) for the preservation of life, liberty, and property. The purpose of gun rights is for self-defense, including securi ...

NRA The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States. Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent gun rights lobbying organization while conti ...

and the

Gun Owners of America Gun Owners of America (GOA) is a gun rights organization in the United States. It makes efforts to differentiate itself from the larger National Rifle Association (NRA) and has publicly criticized the NRA on multiple occasions for what it consi ...

, as well as 100% ratings from the pro-

gun control Gun control, or firearms regulation, is the set of laws or policies that regulate the manufacture, sale, transfer, possession, modification, or use of firearms by civilians. Most countries have a restrictive firearm guiding policy, with on ...

Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and the

Coalition to Stop Gun Violence The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence (CSGV) and the Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence (EFSGV or Ed Fund), its sister organization, are two parts of a national, non-profit gun control advocacy organization that is opposed to gun violence. Since 1 ...

. Israel was an original cosponsor of the bill

To extend the Undetectable Firearms Act of 1988 for 10 years (H.R. 3626; 113th Congress) The bill , long title "To extend the Undetectable Firearms Act of 1988 for 10 years", is a bill that extended the Undetectable Firearms Act of 1988 for ten years. The Undetectable Firearms Act of 1988 made it "unlawful to manufacture, import, ...

, which passed the House on December 3, 2013. The bill allowed for a ten-year extension of the

Undetectable Firearms Act of 1988 The United States Undetectable Firearms Act of 1988 makes it illegal to manufacture, import, sell, ship, deliver, possess, transfer, or receive any firearm that is not as detectable by walk-through metal detection as a security exemplar containi ...

, but did not expand any of its provisions (related to plastic guns).

Health care

Israel voted for the 2010

Affordable Care Act The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and colloquially known as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by Presid ...

, and against several bills repealing it.

LGBT rights

Israel supports 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." New York legalized same-sex marriage in 2011. He voted for the repeal of

Don't ask, don't tell "Don't ask, don't tell" (DADT) was the official United States policy on military service of non-heterosexual people, instituted during the Clinton administration. The policy was issued under Department of Defense Directive 1304.26 on Decemb ...

, and for the

Employment Non-Discrimination Act The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) is legislation proposed in the United States Congress that would prohibit discrimination in hiring and employment on the basis of sexual orientation or, depending on the version of the bill, gender ...

. He has a 100% rating from the pro-LGBT rights

Human Rights Campaign The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) is an American LGBTQ advocacy group. It is the largest LGBTQ political lobbying organization within the United States. Based in Washington, D.C., the organization focuses on protecting and expanding rights for LGB ...

and a 0% rating from the

Family Research Council The Family Research Council (FRC) is an American evangelical activist group and think-tank with an affiliated lobbying organization. FRC promotes what it considers to be family values. It opposes and lobbies against: access to pornography, emb ...

Social media

In October 2022, Israel joined the Council for Responsible Social Media project launched by

Issue One Issue One is an American nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that seeks to reduce the role of money in politics. It aims to increase public awareness of what it views as problems within the present campaign finance system, and to reduce the influ ...

to address the negative mental, civic, and public health impacts of

social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...

in the United States co-chaired by former

House Democratic Caucus The House Democratic Caucus is a congressional caucus composed of all Democratic Representatives in the United States House of Representatives and is responsible for nominating and electing the Democratic Party leadership in the chamber. In its ...

Leader

Dick Gephardt Richard Andrew Gephardt (; born January 31, 1941) is an American attorney, lobbyist, and politician who served as a United States House of Representatives, United States Representative from Missouri from 1977 to 2005. A member of the Democratic ...

and former

Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor The lieutenant governor of Massachusetts is the first in the line to discharge the powers and duties of the office of governor following the incapacitation of the Governor of Massachusetts. The constitutional honorific title for the office is His ...

Kerry Healey.

J Street controversy

Steve Israel was an honorary member of the gala host committee for a Gala dinner on October 27, 2009, by

J Street J Street ( he, ג'יי סטריט) is a nonprofit liberal advocacy group based in the United States whose stated aim is to promote American leadership to end the Arab–Israeli and Israeli–Palestinian conflicts peacefully and diplomatica ...

, a liberal nonprofit lobbying group. In the weeks leading up to the Gala dinner, those aligned with the

Likud Likud ( he, הַלִּיכּוּד, HaLikud, The Consolidation), officially known as Likud – National Liberal Movement, is a major centre-right to right-wing political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin and Ariel Sharon ...

, the political party of Israeli Prime Minister,

Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu (; ; born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who served as the ninth prime minister of Israel from 1996 to 1999 and again from 2009 to 2021. He is currently serving as Leader of the Opposition and Chairman of ...

, criticized Steve Israel and those supporting J Street. ''

The Weekly Standard ''The Weekly Standard'' was an American neoconservative political magazine of news, analysis and commentary, published 48 times per year. Originally edited by founders Bill Kristol and Fred Barnes, the ''Standard'' had been described as a "red ...

'' blogger Michael Goldfarb called the J Street dinner an "anti-Israel bash." In response, Steve Israel's spokeswoman Lindsay Hamilton 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".

Electoral history

New York election law allows for

fusion voting Electoral fusion is an arrangement where two or more political parties on a ballot list the same candidate, pooling the votes for that candidate. It is distinct from the process of electoral alliances in that the political parties remain separat ...

, 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 run as the candidate for the

Independence Party Independence Party may refer to: Active parties Outside United States * Independence Party (Egypt) * Estonian Independence Party * Independence Party (Finland) * Independence Party (Iceland) * Independence Party (Mauritius) * Independence Part ...

and the

Working Families Party The Working Families Party (WFP) is a minor political party in the United States, founded in New York in 1998. There are active chapters in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Ne ...

. 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 The Conservative Party of New York State is an American political party founded in 1962 following conservative dissatisfaction with the Republican Party in New York. Running on the Conservative Party line, James L. Buckley won election to the U ...

. , - , colspan=10 , , - !Year !Winning candidate !Party !Pct !Opponent !Party !Pct , - ,

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

, , Steve Israel , , Democratic , , 48% , , Joan B. Johnson , ,

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

, , 35% , - ,

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

, , Steve Israel , , Democratic , , 58% , , Joseph P. Finley , , Republican , , 40% , - , 2004 , , Steve Israel , , Democratic , , 67% , , Richard Hoffmann , , Republican , , 33% , - ,

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

, , Steve Israel , , Democratic , , 70% , , John W. Bugler , , Republican , , 30% , - ,

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, , Steve Israel , , Democratic , , 67% , , Frank J. Stalzer , , Republican , , 33% , - ,

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, , Steve Israel , , Democratic , , 56% , , John Gomez , , Republican , , 43% , - ,

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

, , Steve Israel , , Democratic , , 58% , , Stephen Labate , , Republican , , 42% , - ,

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

, , Steve Israel , , Democratic , , 54% , , Grant Lally , , Republican , , 45% , -

Personal life

Israel has two adult daughters. He has written two novels of political satire: ''The Global War on Morris'' (2014) and '' Big Guns'' (2018). The 2012 sale of Israel's marital home was the subject of minor controversy, after it was discovered that he had received financial contributions from lenders who also gave him a favorable deal on a short sale of the home in the wake of his separation from his wife from 2003 to 2014, Marlene Budd. In November 2021, Israel opened a bookstore in Oyster Bay, NY named after former President and town resident

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

Bibliography

* * *

References

External links

* * , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Israel, Steve 1958 births 20th-century American politicians 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American politicians American lobbyists American male novelists American satirical novelists Cornell University faculty CNN people Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) George Washington University alumni Jewish members of the United States House of Representatives Living people New York (state) city council members Politicians from Brooklyn People from Wantagh, New York Politicians from Suffolk County, New York Nassau Community College alumni Novelists from New York (state) Syracuse University alumni People from Huntington, New York People from Oyster Bay Cove, New York