Editing Michael Chertoff (section)

==Early life and education==
Michael Chertoff was born to Gershon Baruch Chertoff (1915–96), a [[rabbi]] and [[Talmud]]ic scholar who was the leader of Congregation B'nai Israel in [[Elizabeth, New Jersey]], and Livia Chertoff (née Eisen), a [[Polish Jew|Polish]]–born [[Israeli Americans|Israeli American]] who was the first flight attendant for [[El Al]].<ref>(December 21, 1998) [https://www.newspapers.com/image/319079963/?article=2279c72c-bb23-45a3-a850-d317553f855c&terms=Livia%20Chertoff "Livia Chertoff"], ''[[Central New Jersey Home News]]''. p.18. Retrieved September 12, 2024. {{subscription required}} "She was born in Poland and lived in Palestine before moving to the United States in 1952 ... She was the first airline hostess for El Al Airlines, having joined the company at its inception in the late 1940s."</ref><ref>Kitaeff, Jack [https://books.google.com/books?id=7lfJVNXzBDQC&dq=Livia+Chertoff&pg=PT95 Jews in Blue: The Jewish American Experience in Law Enforcement]</ref> His paternal grandparents are Paul Chertoff, a rabbi and professor of Talmud,<ref>Marek, Angie C.[https://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/050718/18chertoff_2.htm "A New Sheriff in Town"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130510114149/http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/050718/18chertoff_2.htm |date=May 10, 2013 }}, ''[[U.S. News & World Report]]'', July 10, 2005. Accessed May 16, 2008. "A rabbi's son, he was born in blue-collar Elizabeth, N.J. Worshipers from Elizabeth's former Congregation Bnai Israel remember Chertoff's father, Gershon Chertoff, as a man with a vast collection of books and a keen interest in current events. Michael's grandfather Paul Chertoff, also a rabbi, was a professor of the Talmud, the collected writings that constitute Jewish civil and religious law."</ref> and Esther Barish Chertoff.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1129&dat=19660112&id=eZ5RAAAAIBAJ&pg=7191,1640797 |title=Pittsburgh PostGazette Jan 12, 1966 |date=January 12, 1966 |access-date=August 28, 2013}}</ref>

Chertoff attended the [[Jewish Educational Center]] in Elizabeth as well as the [[Pingry School]]. He graduated from [[Harvard College]] with a [[Bachelor of Arts]] degree in 1975. During his sophomore year, he studied abroad at the [[London School of Economics and Political Science]]. He then attended [[Harvard Law School]], where he worked as a research assistant for [[John Hart Ely]] on his book ''Democracy and Distrust.'' Chertoff received a [[Juris Doctor]], ''[[magna cum laude]]'', in 1978.