Eliezer Steinberg

    

Eliezer Steinberg
Steinberg in 2020
First Secretary of the Congregationalist Party
Incumbent
Assumed office 1 January 2016
Preceded by	Nina Torres
Chairman of the Central Executive Committee of the Congregationalist States
Incumbent
Assumed office 1 January 2016
Preceded by	Clark S. Key
Member of the Congregationalist Continental Congress
Incumbent
Assumed office 31 December 1980
Preceded by	Hakeem Brown
Personal details
Born	(1942-03-19) 19 March 1942 Brooklyn, New York City, Congregationalist States, United Commonwealth
Nationality	Continental
Political party	Congregationalist
Spouse(s)	Dedra Trembley (m. 1964; div. 1979) Francine Steinberg (m. 2000)
Children	3 (including David Steinberg)
Alma mater	University of Chicago
Religion	Jewish atheism

Eliezer Albert Steinberg (born 19 March 1942) is a Congregationalist politician and political activist who has served as the TBD First Secretary of the Congregationalist Party since 2016 and as a member of the Congregationalist Continental Congress since 1980. As the First Secretary, Steinberg is also the head of state of the Congregationalist States, a continental republic of the United Commonwealth of Continental States.

Born and raised in Brooklyn, a borough of New York City, Steinberg attended the University of Chicago, graduating in 1966 with degrees in political science and labor relations. While in university, Steinberg was a member of the Students for a Democratic Society and participated in protests and sit-ins against racial segregation in the United Commonwealth. During the late 1960s and 1970s, Steinberg worked as a political activist, advocating for a decentralized central government, greater democratic features, and a permanent end to Callahanist practices. Returning to the Congregationalist States in 1971, Steinberg was an influential voice in the Congregationalist New Left movement. Steinberg's popularity led him to be elected to the Congregationalist Continental Congress, where he still serves today.

During the 1980s, Steinberg became heavily involved in the internal politics of the Congregationalist Party and was eventually elected to the Central Committee of the Congregationalist Party in 1991. As a member of the Central Committee, Steinberg was a frequent critic of committee chair David Jeffries and first secretary Robert Mulligan for their policies, which Steinberg deemed "authoritarian" and "anti-democratic". His vocal criticisms of the Congregationalist Party's leadership resulting in a number of censures during the late 1990s, the most notable in 1997 when the committee attempted to suspend Steinberg from the body. Following the Manhatten affair in 1999 and the resignations of Jeffries and Mulligan, Steinberg was elected as a Secretary of the Central Committee of the Congregationalist Party. As central committee secretary, Steinberg initiated programs targeting corruption alongside newly-elect first secretary Nina Torres.

In 2016, Steinberg was elected to serve as the First Secretary of the Congregationalist Party, and in turn was made the head of state of the Congregationalist States. As first secretary, Steinberg has continued to implement measures against corruption within the Congregationalist States, though has been criticized for injecting his own views into the party's platform. Steinberg, who outside of the Congregationalist States was relatively unknown nationally, gained nationwide attention in 2018 through his vocal criticisms of President Anthony Malito and his policies, especially regarding his handling of TBD and continued decline in relations with the Conference of American States. Following the impeacment of Malito, Steinberg was viewed by international observers as a possible successor, though that proved unlikely as he was not a member of the National Congress.

Internationally, Steinberg is viewed as a leader of the "New Left" within the United Commonwealth, supporting decentralization, democratic reform, and social justice. Since 2020, Steinberg has been a cautious supporter of Daniel Muir as paramount leader, praising achievements and criticizing policies he views to be integral or damaging to a "modern United Commonwealth".

Early life and education

Eliezer Albert Steinberg was born on 19 March 1942 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. His father, Robert David Steinberg, had served in the Continental Revolutionary Army in his teens and later served in the Great War. His mother, Dorothy Viktoria Steinberg, was a "revolutionary migrant" according to Steinberg, immigrating to the United Commonwealth from Germany to support the Continentalist effort in the Continental Revolutionary War. Both of his parents met while serving on the Superian front of the Great War. Steinberg has three older brothers, including Ben Steinberg.

While raised in the traditions of Judaism, Steinberg did not actively participate in the Jewish religion, instead identifying as a "cultural Jew". Steinberg attributes his lack of a religious upbringing to his parents, who wanted to raise their children in the Jewish traditions of their heritage, but distrusted organized religions.

Steinberg attended elementary and middle school in Brooklyn, before attending William Foster High School in Queens. In high school, Steinberg played for his school's basketball team, and was involved in speech and debate. Despite being involved in the Young Mountaineers and the Continentalist Youth League in his early childhood, Steinberg developed his interest in politics in high school, becoming an official member of both the Continentalist Party and the Congregationalist Party, the affiliate party of the Continentalist Party in the Congregationalist States.

After graduating high school in 1960, Steinberg attended the University of Chicago, where he studied in political science and labor relations. Steinberg briefly joined the Crimson Guard during his first year in university, but left the organization three months after joining after being disillusioned by the fanaticism towards authoritarianism expressed by his peers. According to Steinberg, his time in university shaped his contemporary political views, with him supporting forms of libertarian socialism and direct democracy. In 1964, Steinberg became a member of the Students for Direct Democracy and was a supporter of Rupert Gardner.

Political positions

Main article: Political positions of Eliezer Steinberg

Steinberg is a libertarian socialist and a notable figure within the Continental New Left. He is a proponent for de-centralization and direct democracy in the United Commonwealth, and has been a vocal opponent of Callahanism and, more recently, Malitoism. Since young adulthood, Steinberg has criticized the promotion militarism and ultranationalism in the Continentalist Party and Continental culture as a whole...

Personal life

Marriage, family, and beliefs

Steinberg has been married twice. In 1964, he married fellow University of Chicago alumni Dedra Trembley. They had three children, including writer and activist David Steinberg, and divorced in 1979, citing irreconcilable differences. In 2000, Steinberg married Francine Adams, who worked had previously worked as Steinberg's speech writer. They own a two bedroom apartment in New York City, though primarily reside in the Revolution Place, the official residence of the First Secretary of the Congregationalist Party.

Steinberg identifies as an atheist. According to Steinberg, he was raised in a Jewish environment by his parents, who were skeptical of organized religion, and continues to "occasionally observe" Jewish holidays, celebrations, and traditions.