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This past century women have successfully entered into the male-dominated world of Politics. Florence Prag Kahn, the first Jewish woman to serve in Congress, succeeded her husband upon his death in 1924 and served the San Francisco area for five terms. Kahn's inauguration into Congress occurred shortly after Rose Schneiderman unsuccessfully ran for Senate in 1920. Schneiderman was a passionate political activist, lending her voice to areas of reform including women's suffrage and the labor movement.
One of the most out-spoken and accomplished Jewish congresswomen was Bella Abzug, one of JWA's Women of Valor. "Born yelling" in 1920, the first year women were allowed to vote in a U.S. Presidential election, Bella began her political career as a young child, giving impassioned Zionist speeches on the subway in the Bronx, New York to raise money for a Jewish homeland. Her involvement continued into her adulthood, and in 1961, Bella helped initiate the Women's Strike for Peace. In 1970 she was the first woman elected to U.S. Congress on a women's rights/peace platform. During her three terms in the House of Representives, Bella fought for women's, environmental, and human rights. In 1971, she co-founded the National Women's Political Caucus, and in 1977 presided over the first National Women's Conference in Houston, Texas. Today, two Jewish women serve in the Senate – California Democrats Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein – and eight Jewish women serve in the House of Representatives – Shelley Berkley (D-NV), Susan Davis (D-CA), Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ), Jane Harman (D-CA), Nita M. Lowey (D-NY), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Allyson Schwartz (D-PA), and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL). Jewish women have made their mark in state government as well. Linda Lingle (Republican Governor of Hawai'i) became the second Jewish woman elected governor of a U.S. state after Madeleine Kunin (D) served as Governor of Vermont from 1985 until 1991. In the 2008 election, two local congressional races included two Jewish woman candidates – a Democrat and a Republican – each vying for the same seat. In Pennsylvania, the incumbent Allyson Schwartz (D), a first-generation American whose family fled Nazi persecution in Austria defeated Marina Kats (R), a Ukrainian Jewish immigrant. In South Florida, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R) of Cuban Jewish descent defeated Colombian-born Annette Taddeo (D), a business leader who converted to Judaism. Know of other Jewish women in politics? Let us know.
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