Debbie Wasserman Schultz
Debbie Wasserman Schultz has spent more than two decades in Congress, becoming one of the Democratic Party’s best-known Jewish lawmakers and one of Capitol Hill’s persistent advocates for the US-Israel relationship.
As Florida’s first Jewish congresswoman, she entered the House in 2005, later chaired the Democratic National Committee, and has remained a voice on antisemitism, reproductive rights, healthcare, and Democratic politics.
Her imprint on American Jewish public life is unusually concrete. Wasserman Schultz helped establish Jewish American Heritage Month and has continued to promote it as a tool for education and combating antisemitism. In Congress, she has repeatedly defended Israel’s security while supporting a two-state solution and criticizing Israeli government decisions when she believes they undermine that goal. This combination of pro-Israel advocacy and Democratic criticism has made her a bridge inside an increasingly divided party.
That role was tested again in August 2026, when Republican-led redistricting pushed her into a newly configured South Florida district and a crowded Democratic primary. Wasserman Schultz won the race, defeating challengers who attacked her support for Israel and ties to pro-Israel groups. The victory extended a congressional career that has survived ideological shifts, national party battles, and changes in Florida’s political map.
For Jewish Democrats, Wasserman Schultz represents something increasingly difficult to sustain: a senior lawmaker who speaks openly about Jewish identity, puts fighting antisemitism near the center of her work, and remains firmly rooted in the party’s establishment. Her longevity, committee experience, and ability to win primaries keep her influential.
Randy Fine
Randy Fine entered Congress in April 2025, representing Florida’s Sixth District after serving in the state legislature. He quickly became one of the most headline-generating Jewish Republicans in Washington, largely because of inflammatory comments about Muslims, Palestinians, and the war in Gaza.
Fine serves on the House Foreign Affairs and Education and Workforce committees, but his national profile has been driven less by legislative work than by repeated controversies over his rhetoric.
He has called for sweeping restrictions on Muslim immigration, described mainstream Islam in terms that drew criticism from both Democrats and Republicans, and faced condemnation from Jewish officials after a social media response that was widely interpreted as comparing Muslims to dogs.
In July 2025, he sparked intense bipartisan backlash after posting on social media that Gazans should “starve away” until Israeli hostages are released. He has used language about Palestinians that critics, including pro-Israel Jewish figures, have described as dehumanizing. Fine has defended his statements as blunt responses to terrorism and antisemitism.
His 2026 primary challenge made him a target of antisemitism. Social media personality Dan Bilzerian entered the Republican race while promoting anti-Jewish conspiracy theories and attacking Fine with antisemitic slurs. Bilzerian also invoked Adolf Hitler during the campaign, drawing widespread condemnation.
Fine defeated him decisively in the August primary, a result that prevented an openly antisemitic candidate from capturing the Republican nomination in the heavily Republican district.
Fine’s profile therefore reflects controversy as much as his congressional role. His statements repeatedly force public responses, keeping him in national debates in America over Israel, antisemitism, Islamophobia, and speech.
Dan Goldman
Dan Goldman came to Congress in 2023, but his profile was established years earlier. A former federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York, Goldman served as lead counsel in the House investigation that led to US President Donald Trump’s first impeachment. That background gave the New York Democrat a prominent platform for a first-term lawmaker and made him a frequent voice on democracy, accountability, and the rule of law.
Goldman has also become one of the House’s most visible Jewish Democrats on Israel and antisemitism. After the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led massacres in Israel, he defended Israel’s right to protect itself while pressing for humanitarian safeguards and a path toward a two-state solution.
In June 2026, he joined Republican Rep. Mike Lawler to introduce the Jewish American Security Act, a bipartisan proposal to expand security funding for Jewish institutions, strengthen protections for students, and improve federal monitoring of antisemitic threats. The measure reflected Goldman’s effort to make Jewish security a bipartisan issue rather than a partisan weapon.
His pro-Israel positioning also became central to his political vulnerability. In June, Goldman lost the Democratic primary for New York’s 10th District to Brad Lander, a progressive ally of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a vocal critic of the US’s support for Israel.
Goldman’s defeat showed how rapidly the Democratic coalition in New York is changing, particularly regarding Israel. He remains in Congress through the end of his term, giving him months to continue shaping legislation and public debate.