Congressional Jewish Caucus | |
|---|---|
| Co-chairs | Jerry Nadler (NY-12) Brad Schneider (IL-10) |
| Founded | February 6, 2025; 12 months ago (2025-02-06) |
| Ideology | Opposition to antisemitism |
| Seats in theHouse | 21 / 435 |
| Seats in theHouse Democratic Caucus | 21 / 213 |
| Seats in theHouse Republican Caucus | 0 / 220 |
TheCongressional Jewish Caucus is an organization of members of theUnited States Congress who areAmerican Jews. The caucus focused on issues affecting Jews and Israel, such as antisemitism andU.S.-Israel relations. The caucus first met and received official recognition in 2023 during the118th United States Congress, spurred by increasedantisemitism in the United States during theGaza war. However, the caucus did not officially form until the119th Congress in 2025.
There were 36 Jewish members of the116th United States Congress, which sat from 2019 to 2021, an increase from 30 during the115th United States Congress. In the117th United States Congress, there were 26 Jewish lawmakers in theU.S House of Representatives, all but two of them members of theDemocratic Party.[1] Jews were first elected to both the Senate and the House in 1845, and have continually sat in the Senate since 1949 and in the House since 1857.
In 2019,Jack Rosen, president of theAmerican Jewish Congress, called for a bi-partisan Congressional Jewish Caucus as acongressional caucus, in response to increasing antisemitism, political factionalism in the Jewish community, and anti-Israel advocacy in Congress.[2] An informal group of Jewish members of the U.S. House, almost all of them members of theDemocratic Party, led byEliot Engel andNita Lowey, had met since at least to discuss issues such asantisemitism. However, there was no formal body similar to theNew York City Council Jewish Caucus and the California Legislative Jewish Caucus. Following controversial comments byIlhan Omar, in which she referred to Americans who supported Israel as "pushing for allegiance to a foreign country", conversations to formalize the group increased.[3]
Citing a rising in antisemitic hate crimes and to coordinate a unified policy on U.S.–Israel relations, Jewish members of the117th United States Congress had formed an informal Jewish caucus by May 2023. The group was led byJerry Nadler, the longest-serving Jewish member of Congress and the dean of the Jewish delegation. The caucus met as a group with Israeli ambassadorMichael Herzog during the crisis over the2023 Israeli judicial reform.[4]
During the118th United States Congress, CongresswomanDebbie Wasserman Schultz filed to create a Jewish Caucus in November 2023, in the context of theGaza war. The caucus was formally approved by theHouse Administration Committee.[5] According to Wasserman Schultz, the caucus would be secular and have the purpose of seeking Jewish unity in the U.S. House. The caucus held its first meeting on December 1, 2023, convened by Wasserman Schultz.[1] Nadler announced he would not join the caucus, citing the existence of the informal group and the "chaos" of the Gaza war.[5] Nadler was also upset that Wasserman Schultz had apparently not consulted with all Congressional Jews before creating the caucus.[1]David Kustoff, one of two Jewish Republicans, also did not plan to join, because he does not join caucuses in Congress.[5]
On February 6, 2025, during the119th United States Congress, Jewish members of the House of Representatives votes to create a formal Jewish caucus for the first time. The caucus was initially chaired byJerry Nadler andBrad Schneider, of the progressive and moderate wings of the Jewish members. The group was open to all Jewish members of the House, but only Democrats joined.[6] On April 1, 2025, Aaron Weinberg of Rep.Jerry Nadler's office and Gil Thompson of Rep.Brad Schneider's office were named executive directors of the caucus.[7]
The caucus currently has 21 members:[8]