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Mr. Israel seems to be a guy who first views the USA from a militaristic perspective. He wouldn't be my first choice.

... Steve Israel took Gov. David Paterson on his surprise Codel to Iraq ... the pair whiled away their marathon trek with talk about the Senate seat.

... The governor will be talking to Steve about his interest in the Senate, and you could say this gives Steve Israel a leg up on Caroline ...

The Long Island rep, known as one of the best fundraisers in the New York delegation and a canny operative, has played it cool up to this point, content to be mentioned among the top four candidates, along with Kennedy, AG Andrew Cuomo and Upstate Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand.

Steven Israel (born May 30, 1958) is an American politician from the state of New York, currently representing the state's 2nd congressional district, in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Israel was born in Brooklyn, New York and graduated from Nassau Community College, and The George Washington University. He was elected to the town board in Huntington, New York in 1993.

He lives in Dix Hills with his wife, Marlene Budd, who had served on the Huntington Town council before being elected as a county Family Court judge last year. Israel has two daughters, ages 21 and 18 ...

After Rick Lazio left his House seat to run for the United States Senate in 2000, Israel was elected to the House of Representatives as a Democrat. Israel received 48% of the vote ...

Israel represents the New York's 2nd congressional district, located on Long Island, which includes the towns of Huntington, Babylon, Islip, and Smithtown in Suffolk County and part of the town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County ...

Newsday called Israel "rookie of the year" in his first term and later identified him as one of eight "rising stars" nationally.

In his first term, Israel passed more new measures in the House than any other freshman Democrat ...

In his second term, Israel was tapped for a leadership position as Assistant Whip. He is one of only two New York Members of Congress to serve on the House Armed Services Committee ...

In his third term, Israel was appointed to chair the House Democratic Caucus Task Force on Defense and Military, a group of 15 Members of Congress who will outreach to the defense community and advise the House Democratic Leadership on military policy. In 2006, Israel harshly criticized Jimmy Carter for his book Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid and at the same time criticized the Palestinian government.

In his four terms in Congress, Rep. Israel has secured more that $83 million in federal appropriations to strengthen and expand Long Island’s economy. He has also spent $100 million in defense contracts; $14 million in road improvements; $2.5 million in health and education grants; and $14.5 million in environmental protections. He has also secured over $2 million in back-pay benefits for LI's veterans.

In his fourth term in Congress, Israel was appointed to the prestigious Appropriations committee ...

Israel received a "C" on the Drum Major Institute's 2005 Congressional Scorecard on middle-class issues ...