Being a Jewish Democrat means living up to and practicing the values that Jewish families have taught for generations -- respect for others and for the communities we live in, a commitment to justice and equality, and a commitment to Tikkun Olam, taking action to repair the world. As a Democrat in the Senate, I work with colleagues every day on both sides of the aisle on legislation that lives up to these values.

Being a proud Jewish Democrat means helping the underprivileged by providing opportunities, ensuring civil rights, including voting rights, and individual rights for women, LGBTQ individuals, and religious minorities, spreading democracy and the rule of law. It means Tikkun Olam: repair and improve the world.

I am very proud to have been raised by a Jewish dad and Catholic mom, and brought up in both faith traditions. Being raised in a multi-religious household has made me a better elected official, and has influenced how I approach law-making: with acceptance and openness to all faiths. I thank the Jewish Democratic Council of America for highlighting my work and for supporting all Jewish families.

Being a proud Jewish Democrat means always keeping in mind the concept of Tikkun Olam—our obligation to repair the world. This value that has guided my time in public service. It is central in my decision-making process as an elected official and an engaged citizen. When I approach important challenges like addressing the climate crisis, ending hunger, or strengthening public education, the policy outcome should make the world a better place for the people we represent, the country, and the world.

As the son of Jewish refugees who fled Nazi Germany, my faith and my family’s story have shaped who I am today — and it’s why I’ve dedicated my life to public service. I believe we have a responsibility to take care of our most vulnerable, stand up against hate at every turn, and fight every day for justice and equality. I am proud to be a Jewish Democrat and grateful for the opportunity to do my part to live out the important Jewish value of Tikkun Olam.

I’m so proud to serve as the youngest Jewish Member of Congress. As people in power – and even some of my colleagues – use their platforms to spew antisemitic tropes, I know that my role in Congress has never been more important: to call out their discrimination, respond to fear with facts, and celebrate our culture. I will continue to carry forward the many lessons I’ve learned from San Diego’s Jewish community like the importance of giving back and our sacred task to repair the world.

I'm proud to be a product of the Jewish community and I'm proud to be able to serve the United States Senate with my Jewish background. It has really taught me Tikkun Olam (repair the world) and Tzedakah (take care of those who are less fortunate). Those Jewish values have always stuck with me and have helped me a great deal as a United States Senator.

My parents instilled in me a strong value to repair the world, and that same spirit of tikkun olam drives the Democratic Party. When we look out for the less fortunate, open the doors of knowledge as wide as possible, and protect our precious planet, all our limitations fade. My faith helps drive my quest for justice and equality, and when I see these core beliefs reflected so often among my fellow Democrats, it inspires and energizes me. This is why I am so very proud to be a Jewish Democrat.

As a Jew, I was raised with the understanding that we must work to repair the world, be kind to strangers, welcome immigrants, and treat people fairly. All of these values are Democratic values and I’m proud to fight for them every day in Congress.

As a Member of Congress, being a proud Jewish Democrat includes the pride I have every time I walk into my office and see the mezuzah on my door. It also includes knowing I am living my Jewish values in the work I do, whether it is Maimonides, precepts of tzedekah, or the constant pursuit of justice – tzedek, tzedek tirdof.

A fundamental part of what led me to serve is the Jewish ethic of tikkun olam, ‘repairing the world.’ It is through this lens that I approach many of the challenging conversations we are having in Congress today. As a representative and a pediatrician, I want to leave this country and world in a better place for our children, grandchildren and generations we will never know.

I was driven to work in government because I wanted to fight for those on the margins – those who are suffering and too often overlooked – and create a more just and equitable community for us all. Judaism teaches us both to pursue justice, Tzedek, Tzedek, Tirdof, and to repair the world, Tikkun Olam, and it is by focusing on both of these goals that we can make a real difference in Americans’ everyday lives. Being a proud Jewish Democrat means not just being guided by these principles as we work to protect our democracy, combat gun violence, and create an economy that works for everyone, but also to lead in a way that fights bigotry, antisemitism, and hatred at every turn. I am committed to ensuring that everyone, no matter their religion, race, or sexual orientation and gender identity, has equal rights here at home and abroad and that no one needs to live in fear because of who they are, who they love, or how they worship.

My grandfather Samuel Bellman made me a proud Jewish Democrat because that’s what he was and, from a tender age, I regarded him with awe. The first Jewish person ever elected to the Minnesota legislature, a bona fide New Deal FDR Democrat from the Democratic-Farm Labor Party, pillar of the community, brilliant lawyer often paid by clients in chickens or eggs, and a progressive Zionist who championed a strong Israel devoted to not only the survival and flourishing of the Jewish people but the defense of human rights for all, our Grandpa Sam clashed with antisemitism and racism his entire life and taught us that these poisonous forces are the gateway to destruction of liberal democracy. Meantime, our beloved grandmother Sally ran the home, baking mandel bread and coordinating Hadassah in their state with Mrs. Zimmerman, Bob Dylan’s mother. At Passover my grandparents and parents taught us that our Jewish ancestors had been slaves in Egypt forced into bitter labor and we must always therefore identify with the underdog and oppressed. This sentiment is what makes me a proud Jewish Democrat.

My values, and my approach to public service, have been shaped profoundly by my family’s story. When I was sworn-in to the Senate, I held in my jacket pocket a copy of the ship’s manifests documenting the arrival of my great-grandparents, Israel and Annie Ossoff, at Ellis Island. Israel and Annie were fleeing anti-Semitism in Eastern Europe and arrived in America with little more than the clothes on their back. I hold dear that vision of America as a home for those who elsewhere face persecution, founded upon our core Constitutional values and traditions of tolerance and pluralism. I was sworn-in with my hand resting on a Tanakh that had belonged to Rabbi Jacob Rothschild, who for decades led the Atlanta synagogue where I held my Bar Mitzvah, The Temple. The Temple was bombed by white supremacists in the late 1950s in retaliation for Rabbi Rothschild’s support for civil rights activism. Most of my family who did not flee Europe in the early 20th century were destroyed by Nazism. A few made it out, and I remember vividly tracing the number tattooed on my Uncle Nathan’s arm as a young boy. He had escaped from the camps. That part of my family’s story has made me acutely sensitive to the dangers of political extremism, fascism, and anti-Semitism.

I grew up in a tightly knit Jewish community on Long Island, New York where I was exposed early on and frequently to the Jewish concepts of tzedakah—addressing poverty and injustice—and Tikkun Olam—of leaving the world a better place than you found it. These principles have guided me my entire life.

This is a personal story to explain why, despite our challenges, I remain so optimistic about this great country. My grandfather, Melvin Glimcher, was the son of refugees from the Russian pogroms. He grew up in Chelsea. He was poor. In 1941, at the age of 17, he tried to join the Marine Corps. His mother dragged him out by the ear and upbraided the recruiting sergeant. He snuck back the next day and got his papers. After assessing his academic performance during basic training, though, the Marine Corps didn’t send him overseas. They sent him to Purdue to study biomedical engineering. At a time when the US was losing the war in the South Pacific, and needed every rifle it could get; at a time when Jews were being mass-murdered in Europe; the US Marine Corps decided that a poor, skinny Jewish kid was pretty smart, and they wanted to see what he might do. He seized that opportunity and became a world-famous biomedical engineer, inventing a better prosthetic limb and pioneering scientific understanding of bone formation. He raised my mom in Brookline. She too has become a scientist, breaking barriers as a woman that he broke as a Jew. There is such goodness and greatness in us as Americans, made better and greater by the Jewish community of this country, and I am confident in our future.

Growing up in a Jewish household with strong ties to the Jewish community, I learned to revere a passage from Micah — that instructs us to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God. My parents also instilled in me a strong desire to do Tikkun Olam, and find a way to help mend a fractured world. I took these lessons to heart, pursuing a career in law and justice, choosing to run for office, and defending our democracy during a troubled time in the history of our country. My work safeguarding democracy, dismantling systems built on racism and bias, and finding solutions to the climate crisis all stem from these values. And these values compel me to condemn all forms of antisemitism, hatred, and bigotry, wherever I see them. I am very proud of my Jewish heritage, our traditions and values, and the work our community does to build a more just and equitable world for the next generation.

My Jewish faith and values have instilled in me a dedication to public service and equal justice for all. As a proud American Jew, I am guided by my Jewish values to cherish and protect our democracy and fight prejudice and discrimination of any kind. I am honored and privileged to join Congressman Jerry Nadler as the only two Jewish members of the New York delegation and to bear that responsibility honorably.

From supporting and uplifting those who are less fortunate, to protecting democracy and standing up to antisemitism. Fighting for more Holocaust education, to protecting Israel’s right to exist – it is my strong belief that Democratic values and Jewish values are one and the same. As I work to serve my constituents of Broward and Palm Beach Counties, these values will guide me in my service.

To me, it means leading with compassion and empathy. As the granddaughter of a man killed in the Holocaust, I have always been committed to alleviating suffering for those on the margins and dedicated to healing divisions. As we see a global rise in authoritarianism, I am reminded of the very real impact hate and fear has had on my family and so many others. I am focused on protecting democracy because I know the dangerous consequences it can have when we turn our backs on maintaining a healthy democratic system. I am proud of my heritage and family history which help me bring a deep sense of social justice to my work every day.

Our faith calls us to act in service to others, particularly those most in need. As one of many proud Jewish Democrats in this new 118th Congress, I look forward to serving our country and my region as we put the interests of children and families first.