Jewish lawmakers formed a caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives for the first time on Thursday as a venue to “exchange ideas and advocate for the issues important to the American Jewish community.”
Of the 24 Jewish members of the House, 18 gathered to elect Reps. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) and Brad Schneider (D-Ill.) as co-chairs with Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) as founder.
“In response to unprecedented rising antisemitism in the United States and the challenges the American Jewish community has faced in the wake of the horrific terrorist attacks of Oct. 7, the need for this caucus is understandable,” Nadler stated. “I am confident this caucus will bring Jewish members together to strive to achieve unity, not unanimity, and will be a productive forum to discuss issues of import to the American Jewish community.”
An informal caucus of Jewish House members met for the first time after the Hamas-led assault in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and previously working group meetings of Jewish elected representatives have taken place. But Thursday’s gathering is the first time that such a group has been organized formally as a congressional member organization. The House has dozens of such organizations to support racial or ethnic groups, including the Congressional Black Caucus, or to advance issue sets, like the Congressional Nuclear Cleanup Caucus or the Congressional Cranberry Caucus.
All 18 Jewish House members who met on Feb. 6 were Democrats, though three Jewish Republicans sit in the 119th Congress. The caucus is “open to all members who self-identify as Jewish and agree with the mission statement,” a spokesman for Nadler told JNS.
JNS sought comment from the three Republicans about whether they intended to join the group. The office of Rep. Max Miller (R-Ohio) told JNS he would not be joining the caucus. Rep. David Kustoff (R-Tenn.) has previously said he does not join caucuses.
Nadler said he believes that the group will foster discussions and an exchange of perspectives about Jewish issues.
“After all,” he said, “as the old adage goes: two Jews, three opinions.”