While Jamie Raskin represents Maryland in the House of Representatives, the well-known member of Congress has roots in Minnesota politics – his grandfather, Sam Bellman, was one of the first Jewish members of the Minnesota legislature in the 1930s.
“In 2021, Jamie Raskin led the [second] House Impeachment [of then-President Donald Trump], and I had figured out around this time and I got really excited about the connection,” said Robin Doroshow, the executive director of the Jewish Historical Society of the Upper Midwest. “I’m thinking, wow, we have our 40th anniversary coming up. I can draw a line from Jamie Raskin to Upper Midwest Jewish history. How can I make this happen? How can I turn this into something interesting that is in line with our mission?”
JHSUM’s 40th Anniversary event “Jews in Public Office: From Territorial Days to Today,” is taking place Sunday, Sept. 8, at the Ted Mann Hall on the University of Minnesota campus. Raskin will be joined in a conversation with State Sen. Sandra Pappas, and Secretary of State Steve Simon, to discuss the influence of Judaism on their careers in public office. The conversation will be moderated by Robin Washington, the editor at large of the Forward.
Doroshow said the purpose of the event isn’t partisanship, but to highlight the public service and the history of Jews in Upper Midwest politics. The event will feature the debut of a 35-minute video on the topic called “Those Who Serve,” about Jews who have served in executive, legislative, and judicial capacities at state and federal levels in the Upper Midwest.
The timing of the event with all of the craziness of the current election cycle and Minnesota’s place right in the middle of it was purely coincidental.
“I don’t think we could have anticipated just how crazy and wacky and unbelievably strange all of this is when we were planning this,” Doroshow said of the mid-summer announcement of President Joe Biden leaving the race, which set in motion Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz being the Democratic vice-presidential nominee. “We knew it would be close to the election. We just didn’t know what this election was going to look like. It’s crazy.”
Part of the event is an online silent auction fundraiser that runs through Sept. 15. One of the prize items available is the desk of Art Naftalin, who was the first Jewish mayor of Minneapolis – serving in the post from 1961-69.
Student tickets are available for the event. For more information, email [email protected].
