Nita Lowey (D-NY), a pioneering Jewish congresswoman and the first woman to chair the powerful House Appropriations Committee, was remembered on Sunday as “a force to be reckoned with on so many issues” and “a lifelong champion of the U.S.-Israel relationship.”

Lowey, 87, died on March 15 of breast cancer at her home in the suburban New York district she represented in Congress for 32 years, from 1989 to 2021.

Lowey was a leading advocate for the U.S.-Israel relationship and Jewish community interests, holding a pivotal role on the committee responsible for setting government funding levels of foreign aid. She was a staunch opponent of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

“She is one of the strongest champions we’ve ever seen in Congress in terms of support for Israel, in terms of foreign aid and support for Israel,” Stephanie Hausner, a former Lowey intern and campaign staffer who is now the chief operating officer of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, told Jewish Insider. 

“She felt strongly in convictions in support of Israel and would hold firm and encourage others to also see Israel as a place of diversity,” Hausner said. “When she decided not to run again in 2020, I think we as a Jewish community lost a giant, and her shoes — I don’t know that they’ll ever fully be filled.”

Hausner described Lowey as part of a now-fading generation of pro-Israel Jewish leaders on Capitol Hill, comparing her to  Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT), who died in 2024.

American Jewish Committee CEO Ted Deutch, who served with Lowey in Congress, called her a cherished friend and noted her role as a co-founder, with him, of the House Bipartisan Task Force to Combat Antisemitism.

“During my time in Congress and after, she was an incredible mentor, and I am so fortunate to have witnessed her at work on the House floor, at home, and around the world,” Deutch said.

Numerous other lawmakers also lauded Lowey as a friend and mentor.

Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) called Lowey “a force to be reckoned with on so many issues, she was a lifelong champion of the U.S.-Israel relationship.”

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) compared Lowey to “a modern-day Esther.”

Harriet Schleifer and William Daroff, the chair and CEO of the Conference of Presidents, said Lowey “was among the strongest advocates for the U.S.-Israel relationship in Congress, and her leadership, passion, and dedication will be deeply missed.”

Schleifer and Daroff highlighted Lowey’s frequent invocations of her commitment to tikkun olam and said that she “embodied the highest ideals of both the American Jewish community and the American nation.”

AIPAC said in a statement that Lowey was a “dear friend and stalwart ally of the pro-Israel community. Throughout her career in the U.S. Congress, Rep. Lowey was an always dependable and effective leader in advancing the U.S.-Israel relationship,” including fighting for resources to support Israel as chair of the Appropriations Committee.

Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY), a Republican who now represents part of Lowey’s former Westchester County-based district, also praised her service.

“I am deeply saddened by the loss of Congresswoman Nita Lowey,” Lawler said. “Her bipartisan spirit, commitment to our community, and dedication to the country inspired me, and my thoughts are with her family as we honor her legacy in New York’s 17th.”

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said that New York and the country “have lost a principled, passionate and powerful public servant with the passing of Congresswoman Nita Lowey” who “courageously served her constituents and stood up for New Yorkers while shattering multiple glass ceilings along the way.”

In her final years in Congress, Lowey led the push for the Middle East Partnership for Peace Act, a fund to support joint Israeli-Palestinian projects and person-to-person peacebuilding efforts. The bill, which passed before she left Congress, bears her name.

Hausner called the bill a hallmark of Lowey’s support for a two-state solution, and highlighted her efforts to bring a wide range of Jewish organizations together in support of the bill.

Rosen said that Lowey “created the MEPPA program to keep her hope for peace in the region alive.”

Lowey was the first woman to chair the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the House Democrats’ campaign arm. She was known both for her friendly attitude and her fierce dedication to her priorities, leading a Republican colleague to dub her “the perfumed ice pick.”

Lowey is remembered fondly on a personal level by those with whom she worked.

Hausner called Lowey “an amazing boss and mentor“ and said that she was “a powerhouse lawmaker… But she was also like a grandma and a friend to everyone.” She said that Lowey would keep in touch with her former staff and support them in their later endeavours. 

Hausner said that Lowey also gave out her brisket recipe — which Hausner still has. And she recalled the time that they both found themselves together on vacation in Puerto Rico and practiced water aerobics together every day, showing her a different side of the congresswoman.

Outside of Jewish community issues, Hausner remembered Lowey as a champion for women’s issues, leading a march with fellow lawmakers to hear Anita Hill testify against Clarence Thomas before the Senate Judiciary Committee; a supporter of public broadcasting; and as an advocate for food allergy labeling requirements.

Liz Leibowitz, who worked in Lowey’s office from 2017-2020 in foreign policy roles, described the New York Democrat as “just truly the kindest human and a good boss.”

Lowey, Leibowitz said, had “that fundamental belief of repairing the world. She would always talk about her mother, and how her mother would say, ‘When I see a problem, I just need to fix it.’ And that was the approach that [Lowey] took to really everything. And she felt that way about what she saw when she was overseas, and she was just so committed to trying to repair the world, whether it be women, reproductive health globally, girls’ education, development assistance, to pull people out of poverty around the world. It meant a lot to her, and it was fundamental to her understanding of her Judaism.”

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) also highlighted Lowey’s work supporting survivors of the Sept. 11 attacks and natural disasters, and supporting impoverished women and girls around the world.

Lowey is survived by her husband, Steve, three children and eight grandchildren.