99-Year-Old Jewish Former Congressman Tweets Every Day
Lester Wolff recieving the Congressional Gold Medal in 2014
There aren’t many 99-year-olds who tweet every day. But then again, Lester Wolff is unique in more ways than one. Wolff is the oldest living former member of Congress — and he shows no signs of slowing down.
Wolff, a New York City native, was first elected to Congress in 1964, and served for several years as chairman of the Advisory Committee in the House of Representatives. Wolff, a Democrat, represented New York’s 3rd Congressional District until 1972, before switching to the state’s 6th congressional district, where he worked until 1980.
Jewish causes were always at the forefront of Wolff’s agenda, getting involved in charities such as United Jewish Appeal and B’nai Brith. He was responsible for amendments to the Foreign Assistance Act of 1969, which helped restart peace talks between Israel and Arab countries, and met with Egypt’s President Anwar Sadat.
In 2014, Wolff was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian honor in the United States.
Currently, Wolff runs the website Ask Congress, which provides contact information for parliamentarians throughout the world, allowing people to network and express their concerns. He still attends services almost every Friday night at Temple Emanuel, and has six great-grandchildren.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30
