SAN DIEGO– Over the Labor Day 2013 break, here are some statistics to ponder.
There are 11 Jews in the 100-member U.S. Senate.
Dianne Feinstein (D-California) at age 80, is the oldest member of the Senate
Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), half her age at 40, is the second-youngest U.S. Senator. (The very youngest senator is Chris Murphy of Connecticut, who also is 40.)
Here are the rankings for the Jewish delegation:
1. Dianne Feinstein of California, 80
5. Carl Levin of Michigan, 79.
16. Barbara Boxer of California, 72.
17. Bernie Sanders, Independent of Vermont, 71.
23. Ben Cardin of Maryland, 69.
29. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, 67.
39. Ron Wyden of Oregon, 64.
47. Chuck Schumer of New York, 62
51. Al Franken of Minnesota, 62
90. Michael Bennet of Colorado, 48
99. Brian Schatz of Hawaii, 40
In the United States, the average life expectancy is 79, but when you divide that by gender, it is 76 for men and 81 for women. Neither of the two women Jewish senators (Feinstein and Boxer, both from California) have reached the age of life expectancy, but Carl Levin of Michigan has surpassed it by three years.
The average age of all the Jewish senators is 64.
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Currently in the 435-member U.S. House of Representatives there are 21 Jewish members. All are Democrats except Eric Cantor, the Republican Majority Leader, who was elected from Virginia in 2001.
The dean of the Jewish delegation is Henry Waxman of California, who took office in 1975.
In the order of each member’s first day of office, he is followed by
Sander Levin of Michigan, 1983.
Eliot L. Engel, New York, 1989
Nita Melnikoff Lowey, New York, 1989
Jerrold Lewis Nadler, New York, 1992
Brad Sherman, California, 1997
Jan Schakowsky, Illinois, 1999
Susan Davis, California, 2001
Steve Israel, New York, 2001
Adam Schiff, California, 2003
Alysson Schwartz, Pennsylvania, 2004
Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Florida, 2005
John Yarmuth, Kentucky, 2007
Alan Grayson, Florida, 2009-2011, 2013
Jared Polis, Colorado, 2009
Ted Deutch, Florida, 2010
David Cicilline, Rhode Island, 2011
Lois Frankel, Florida, 2013
Alan Lowenthal, California, 2013
Brad Schneider, Illinois, 2013
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Sixteen of the 50 states have Jewish members of their Congressional delegations, either in the U.S. Senate or the House of Representatives or both.
The states with the largest number of Jews serving in the two houses of Congress are: California with 6 (2 senators, 4 Representatives), New York with 5 (1 Senator, 4 Representatives); Florida, 3 Representatives; Colorado and Michigan, each with 1 Senator and 1 Representative; and Illinois, 2 Representatives. The other 10 states have either 1 Senator or 1 Representative per above.
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Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted at donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com