The Gentleman from New York

NIKYA, ABNER J.

The Gentleman from New York Jews in American Politics Sandy Maisel and Ira N. Forman, editors Lanham, Md: Rowman & LMefield, 2001. 506 pp., hardcover $39.95 REVIEWED BY ABNER J. NIKYA Some...

...Another part of the phenomenon is that until very recently, almost all the Jewish legislators came from New York...
...The Gentleman from New York Jews in American Politics Sandy Maisel and Ira N. Forman, editors Lanham, Md: Rowman & LMefield, 2001...
...From the introduction by Connecticut Senator Joseph Lieberman, who takes his Yiddishkeit very seriously, to a recounting of congresswoman Bella Abzug's taunt (she told another Jewish colleague that there would be plenty of women present the next time there was a "Last Supper"), the book recounts some of the amazing influence Jews have wielded...
...Before 1900, there were perhaps 25 Jews elected to the Congress of the United States...
...Others listed have gone to some lengths to leave their Jewishness behind them...
...There are probably some listed who weren't born of a Jewish mother...
...So should anybody who has an interest in Jewish influence on the public scene...
...Sam Steiger, a former congressman from Arizona, and Ted Koppel, the newscaster, don't consider themselves present members of the tribe...
...When I was first elected to Congress in 1969, Speaker John W. McCormack would always recognize me as, "The gentleman from New York," until the parliamentarian reminded him that I was from Illinois...
...The book gives a useful, albeit brief, summary of the way in which the political influence of Jews developed, as well as a description of how and why it grew...
...Appellate Court Judge Richard Posner, might well insist that their role is not political...
...Even more useful are the brief biographies of all of the Jewish players, from cabinet officers to mayors of major cities...
...Our then-Speaker couldn't digest the fact that in 1969 there were two Jews elected from Illinois...
...Since 1900, there have been nearly 200...
...Those are nit-pickings that in no way diminish the usefulness of this very-wellput- together compendium of the Jews involved in American public life, the offices they held, and their impact on the body politic...
...What makes this influential role even more phenomenal is that the history of Jews in American politics has been relatively recent...
...Abner Mikva, a former congressman and federal judge, is a visiting professor at the University of Chicago Law School...
...506 pp., hardcover $39.95 REVIEWED BY ABNER J. NIKYA Some of the people listed in this long overdue reference book would deny that they were involved in politics...
...Judges, such as Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg or U.S...
...And many who are not listed could provoke some interesting discussions as to their absence...
...Anybody who writes about public people ought to have this book in his or her library...

Vol. 27 • February 2002 • No. 1


 
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