Rep. Frank Hornstein, retiring this year after eleven terms representing Minneapolis, presented the 2023 transportation bill. (Photo by Andrew VonBank of House Information Services)
Earlier this year, upon seeing his first grandchild, Hornstein wept. “It’s this new life. This new generation,” he marveled. In his May retirement speech, he echoed this sentiment using the Hebrew phrase “la dor va dor,” meaning “from generation to generation,” a poignant reflection on the continuity of life against the backdrop of his family’s harrowing history. He will officially leave office early next year.
Hornstein’s joy at the birth of baby Lusia is interwoven with the tapestry of his family’s past. The Holocaust claimed the lives of all four of his grandparents and five uncles and aunts. His mother, also named Lusia, escaped what is now Ukraine using forged papers, forced to conceal her Jewish identity and hide “Anne Frank style.” A Nazi soldier once dismissed her, declaring, “I could smell a Jew a mile away,” according to Lusia’s account, recounted to Hornstein in an extensive oral history he compiled during his undergraduate years at Macalester College. She later joined the Polish resistance, fighting the Nazis in the Warsaw sewers. Hornstein’s father, Stephen, survived a Hungarian forced labor camp by a stroke of luck, escaping his minder at a Budapest train station while on an errand for the commandant. Stephen and Lusia met on a train in Germany after the war.
Twenty-five years later, young Frank Hornstein, listening to FM radio in Cincinnati, heard about the first Earth Day. He created an anti-littering sign, picked up trash, and walked home instead of taking the usual ride. This sparked a lifelong commitment to community organizing, advocating for peace and justice both domestically and in Israel, where he has cousins and has led legislative delegations to witness the West Bank occupation.
For Hornstein, the current situations in Israel and the United States are alarmingly precarious. Yet, his presence remains remarkably uplifting. His smile, radiant and infectious, belies his urgent calls for compassion and “tikkun olam”—repairing the world—through policy and personal relationships. Ironically, as he departs the Legislature, his type of leadership is more vital than ever.
The Minnesota House is projected to be deadlocked 67-67 next year, with both parties increasingly polarized and focused on social media rather than governance. Former GOP Rep. Pat Garofalo aptly summarized Hornstein’s impact: “If credibility and sincerity were currency, then Frank Hornstein would be the wealthiest man at the Capitol.” Rep. Mohamud Noor, DFL-Minneapolis, simply called him “a legend,” a significant endorsement given the current divisions within the DFL coalition following the Hamas attack on Israel and the subsequent counterattack. Hornstein played a crucial role in maintaining respectful dialogue between Jewish and Muslim colleagues.
Hornstein’s engagement with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict extends back to 1982 when he traveled to Israel with his wife, Marcia Zimmerman, while she attended rabbinical school. He participated in the Israeli peace movement, protesting the occupation. He’s returned approximately twenty times, forging connections with groups like Standing Together, which unites Israelis and Palestinians in their shared pursuit of peace and justice.
His continued activism amidst such a grim reality—a cousin displaced by the Hamas attacks, other cousins living under the constant threat of air raid sirens, and the unimaginable suffering of Palestinians—is truly remarkable. With Prime Minister Netanyahu’s entrenched position, Donald Trump’s impending presidency, and a rise in antisemitic and anti-Muslim attacks since October 7, 2023, the challenges seem overwhelming. Even his own synagogue, Temple Israel, where Zimmerman serves as senior rabbi, was recently vandalized with swastikas.
The question arises: Why persevere? Why continue when decades of work seem to be unraveling? Hornstein’s answer lies in the enduring power of his family’s history, a legacy of tragedy redeemed by the persistent pursuit of human connection and hope.
He quotes the Talmudic text “Pirkei Avot”: “It is not your responsibility to finish the work, but you are not free to desist from it either.” He finds further inspiration in Barack Obama’s 2009 inaugural address: “Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.”
Despite the bleak outlook, Hornstein has achieved significant victories, including his “transportation bill of my dreams,” featuring a gas tax increase to fund infrastructure improvements. (He doesn’t drive, believing it makes the roads safer for everyone.) He also finds joy in his family: a rabbi daughter, a teacher daughter, a comedian son, and now, a granddaughter, a living testament to his mother’s resilience.
He plans to continue his activism, focusing on transportation, climate issues, and combating hate crimes and hate speech, particularly targeting the vulnerability of immigrant and transgender communities. He draws strength from the Exodus passage: “You shall not wrong a stranger or oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.”
By J. Patrick Coolican, Minnesota Reformer, December 20, 2024
(Note: The concluding sections about the Minnesota Reformer and its publication information have been included at the end, as they are not part of the main article.)