Meet Chelsea Clinton's colorful Jewish future in-laws
Her future relatives include convicted ex-Congressmen and an anti-Zionist professor.
By Nathan Guttman and The Forward Tags: Israel newsWASHINGTON - With the recent announcement of Chelsea Clinton's engagement to Marc Mezvinsky, extended family gatherings at the high-profile Clinton household look poised to become a lot more colorful. With her choice of a mate, Clinton, daughter of a former president and the current secretary of state, is marrying into a family that includes a former U.S. congressman convicted of fraud; another member of Congress who fell on her sword for a future in-law in a vote that ended her political career; no fewer than 10 brothers- and sisters-in-law, and a fervently anti-Zionist uncle.
It's a family with deep roots in the world of Jewish politics. Marc's father, Ed Mezvinsky, grew up in Ames, Iowa. The son of a Jewish grocer who owned a store in the middle of a Catholic neighborhood, he became involved in local politics as a consumer-rights advocate and, after a failed initial attempt, got elected to Congress in 1972. As a member of the House of Representatives' Watergate panel, Mezvinsky voted in favor of impeaching then-president Richard Nixon.
"He was not one of those who distanced themselves from Jewish issues," recalled Douglas Bloomfield, who was a congressional aide during the time Ed Mezvinsky served in the House. Mezvinsky took pride in his Jewish identity, was a supporter of legislation relating to Israel and was seen as "something unusual" as a Jew elected to Congress from Iowa, he said. But after two terms in the House, Mezvinsky's political career seemed to be over. He lost his reelection bid, and after moving to Pennsylvania he failed in races for the state's Senate seat, for attorney general and for lieutenant governor.
Mezvinsky's legal troubles began in 1980 but were not revealed until two decades later, when FBI agents raided his mansion in suburban Philadelphia. Soon after, he was charged with 69 counts of fraud. Mezvinsky argued that he was driven by a mental disorder and therefore was not responsible for his actions. But the court turned down this argument and sentenced the former congressman to 80 months in prison. He was released in 2008.
Marc's mother, Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky also had a short-lived political career, and owes her failure to both her husband, Ed, and her future in-law, then-President Bill Clinton. Elected to Congress in 1992, she was the deciding vote in the House that ensured the passage of Clinton's 1993 budget, which included a tax increase for the wealthy. Her willingness to vote for the bill was used against her in the following election cycle, leading to her defeat. She later tried running for Senate, but dropped out of the race when forced restitution payments related to her husband's fraud conviction forced the family into bankruptcy. The couple divorced in 2007. But before then, Marjorie and Ed raised 11 children, most of them adopted from overseas.
If the former president and current secretary of state do raise the issue of the Jewish state during a family gathering, they might get a mouthful from Marc Mezvinsky's uncle. Norton Mezvinsky, a professor who has been labeled as anti-Zionist, holds strong views questioning the right of Jews to a homeland in Israel.
Mezvinsky recently retired from Central Connecticut State University's history department, where he taught for four decades. In his academic work and in books he authored, Mezvinsky accused Israel of deliberately creating the Palestinian refugee problem. He supports a one-state solution for the regional conflict.
"He uses his Jewish background to attack Israel; he represents the left of left among intellectual scholars," said Asaf Romirowsky, adjunct scholar at Campus Watch, an organization that monitors academics dealing with the Middle East and Israel. But David Gerwin, a professor of social studies at Queens College who worked with Mezvinsky at CCSU, paints a more nuanced picture.
"He is driven, passionate and inspired, a force of nature," he said of Mezvinsky, with whom he shared an office on campus. While agreeing that Mezvinsky's views on Israel were "left of the left of the left," Gerwin said that on issues relating to immigration or affirmative action, his approach was "way to the right."
The Clintons and Mezvinskys have not yet announced their wedding arrangements, and despite intense blogosphere discussions, it is not clear whether the mixed-faith young couple will choose to have both Christian and Jewish clergy at their ceremony. Chelsea Clinton, however, was seen attending High Holy Day services with her fiance at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York, Conservative Judaism's flagship academic institution.
By arrangement with The Forward
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Bill and Chelsea Clinton with her fiance Marc Mezvinsky. |
| Photo by: (Reuters) |
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Alan my wife is an Episcipalian and I am a Jew. We have been married 27 years and went together 8 years before marriage. We get along just fine and my relatives love her.
s a matter of fact I tried to be a jew at certain point, but my boyfriend ( who was a Muslim) convinced me to convert to Islam instead). I still feel as a Jew sometimes ( since my name is Yaakov) but this is another story.
Would like to know what is his thoughts at that moment.?
from taking part in the Negociations of Israelis and Arabs
Wow, the Jewish community is very ready to see slurs against itself, yet the moment some goy loves a Jew enough to marry him or her, they're up in arms about what they view as the evils of intermarriage! As a goy I'd take offence against such blatant anti-goyism,if I could be bothered.
Bogus statistic(s). Geographical locations are not taken into consideration. Great numbers of mixed marriages here in New York City. All doing fine or at least no worse off than any non-mixed union. 50/50 are not great odds by-the-way. Don't blame race/religion/politics. Blame people who who put love at the bottom of their lists of life's important things.
Gosh, could they even be married in Israel, home to only Jews? W is right, how could AIPAC have missed this vetting?
So you converted to islam to "keep peace in the house"...what were you afraid of...loosing your head?
I sincerely wish Chelsea Clinton and her fiance best of luck on their engagement.
Who cares?
I would like to introduce you to my grandchildren. Be free to get in touch!
There is nothing intrinsically "leftist" about questioning the right of Jews to establish a theocracy/ethnocracy on a piece of land that was occupied by others. Since most Western democracies have separated Church from State and have outlawed ethnic segregation and discrimination, asking the same of Israel would seem to be a quite "centrist" or mainstream position. History will view Uncle Norton as a wise man ahead of his times.
willit be seen as an attempt to diluts the Jewish tribe. Or will the Jew marrying a goy be seen as a self hating Jew. Must be something that covers it---right???.
Their kids will probably be messed up, but it probably won't be because of intermarriage as much as the nutty grandparents they'll have...all four of them... If Chealsea and her hubby will be smart, they'll keep their kids far away from both their parents...or maybe they just won't have kids...
Intermarriage reduces the odds even further Let's hope they're still happy 5 years from now and that Bill doesn't teach his new son-in-law some of his own sexual oddities
At the end of the day they are just 2 people who want to get married. I know people from mixed marriages some of which have worked and some of which happens just like non mixed marriages. What I found interesting in all the cases of the mixed marriages that didn't work, it was usually based on family pressure rather than the actual relationship itself. Let people do what they want to do, live how they want to live and don't judge them on that basis
Didn't Willie demand Israel stop building settlements?
Alan, I see by your comment that you are as left (and naive) as they come. Mixed marriages do fail at a higher rate. Chelsea should convert, but she will not. She should convert and the entire member should be card carrying members of AIPAC. That would best serve her family, Jews and Israel.
AIPAC (or at least The Israel Lobby) is vetting appointees to the Obama Administration, at least according to Haaretz. How could they have missed this? An anti-Zionist Jewish academic will now have access to the highest levels of the US gov't. Where's Abe Foxman when we need him?
Together with Israel Shahak he wrote "Jewish fundamentalism in Israel", which was published in 1999. A most valuable (and prophetic) work giving a revealing insight in how Jewish religious fundamentalism is 'talibanizing' Israeli society and underpinning the equality between Jew and non-Jew. I think Chelsey Clinton ought to read the book and discuss the subject with Norton.
Alan are you a doctor? or perhaps you have done extensive research on interracial marriages or have written a dissertation on genetics. Wowwwww. Though it is only your opinion that mixed marriages are not good, it is absolutely wrong. I would suggest investing in a delorian time travel machine...from there you can go back in time and live "the good life". Regardless, every family has some type of conflict to battle, whether it be internal or external. As long as that doesn't interfere with public or foreign policy, I do not have problem. How about you start with congratulations-- that may seem a bit more courteous.
Unfortunately, this is all too common. There is a high rate of intermarriage in the USA.
I am a Jew happily merried to a VietNamise for 33 years. My children a circumsized and we travel to Israel twice a year
I only hope that the couple could live whitout any "pressure" to change their own religions... It happens so often here, that women are obliged to convert to the judaism -mainly to avoid all kind of practical problems (in their heart they are like before)and because of the pressure of the family.
it is well known that mixed marriages dont work and it causes many problems for the children
I also converted to my husband's leligion (Islam) to keep peace in the family.I hope Chalsea will convert too. I used to be both a jew and a Catholic and think both of those religions are beautiful, so I don't see any problems.Good Luck.