May 18, 2004

Harvey Blitz’s Second Two-Year Term Approaches its Close:
Gov. Mcgreevey Passionately Defends Israel, Condemns Palestinian Terrorism, As Orthodox Union Honors its Outgoing President at Annual Dinner

At an emotional event in which they paid tribute to the organization’s outgoing President and other honorees, more than 500 members and friends of the Orthodox Union heard New Jersey Governor James E. McGreevey deliver a passionate defense of Israel, in which he condemned “the twisted, perverted logic of those who demonize Israel.”

McGreevey was the guest speaker at the OU’s 106th Anniversary National Dinner, held at the New York Marriott Marquis Hotel on Sunday, May 16.

The OU honored Harvey Blitz and his wife Judy, as the conclusion of Mr. Blitz’ two two-year terms in office approaches. His presidency will officially come to a close at the OU’s Biennial Convention, to be held Thanksgiving weekend in Jerusalem. Mr. and Mrs. Blitz were honored with the OU’s Keter Shem Tov (The Crown of a Good Name) Award.

In addition, the OU honored Rabbi Yoel Schonfeld for his 20 years with the OU’s Kosher Division, as well as for his service at the Young Israel of Kew Gardens Hills in Queens, NY, with the National Distinguished Rabbinic Leadership Award; and attorney and Jewish activist Jay P. Lefkowitz with the Distinguished Public Service Award.

Corporate awards were presented to Wakefern Food Corporation, parent company of 200 ShopRite supermarkets in five northeastern states; and Campbell Soup Company, whose Vegetarian Vegetable Soup was certified kosher by the OU last fall in what was unquestionably the year’s major development in the world of kosher food. Each table setting at the dinner included a can of the soup.

In his remarks, Gov. McGreevey said, “I have crossed the Hudson River to come to this dinner,” but noted that since both Campbell and Wakefern are based in New Jersey; that Dinner Chairman Emanuel J. Adler is from Teaneck, NJ; and that many of the dinner guests are from the heavily Orthodox communities of Bergen County, NJ, he felt right at home.

In a far more serious vein, the New Jersey Governor declared, “The people of New Jersey stand as one with the people of Israel,” in their fight against Palestinian terror. In the absence of what he termed “rational behavior” on the part of Palestinians, he cautioned, “we must understand the importance of not being politically correct, but in doing what is right.”

“My position as Governor of New Jersey is to support Israel clearly and unequivocally,” Mr. McGreevey declared. He announced that under his direction New Jersey had recently purchased $20 million in State of Israel Bonds for its pension funds, its first such investment. He also lauded the increasingly close ties between New Jersey and Israel in areas of tourism, commerce, and technology.

“However this is not a financial or economic issue. This is a moral issue,” the Governor stated. He lamented the deaths two weeks ago of Tali Hatuel, age 34 and eight months pregnant, and her four daughters, ages 2-11, at the hands of Palestinian terrorists.

“We should remember that the conflict is animated by profoundly undemocratic forces attempting to maintain their grip on the fate of Palestinians by stoking the flames of hatred,” Gov. McGreevey said. He chastised those who maintain that Israel is “an impediment to peace,” and instead hailed the Israeli democracy’s “profound sacrifices for peace,” even to the extent of going against its “geopolitical interests” in its search for a solution to the conflict.

“I believe fundamentally that good can triumph over evil, that faith can triumph over terror,” declared Gov. McGreevey. He quoted Alexis de Toqueville, the great French observer of American democracy who said, “Despotism may govern without faith, but liberty cannot.”

Referring to both the United States and Israel, Mr. McGreevey vowed, “We will never succumb, we will never surrender to terror and hatred. Israel will clearly not be defeated, and neither shall we.”

During the awards part of the program, Harvey Blitz reviewed his four years as President and with evident pride described the programmatic, administrative, financial and cultural changes that have made the OU far stronger today than when he assumed office.

Mr. Blitz extolled the outreach efforts of the Orthodox Union, particularly through its youth division, the National Conference of Synagogue Youth (NCSY), which not only conducts programming for Orthodox youth, but does so increasingly for non-observant Jewish young men and women as well. Such outreach is particularly important in view of Jewish demographic trends, Mr. Blitz emphasized.

“The importance of our outreach efforts is in not being insular and in trying to segregate ourselves from the rest of the world,” he declared. “The Jewish population survey statistics are so horrible that some would say that we should segregate ourselves” in order to protect the Orthodox community from these trends. Disagreeing emphatically, Mr. Blitz countered, “We should dedicate ourselves to teaching the rest of the Jewish community how important it is to keep our faith and to extending our resources – particularly our human resources – to keep the Jewish community strong.”

Major new initiatives, in fact, are being planned by NCSY to do just that.

Mr. Blitz paid loving tribute to his wife Judy, telling her, “Anything I’ve accomplished, belongs to you.”

“I’ve learned a tremendous amount from my wife. I’m a different person. I approach things differently because of Judy,” Mr. Blitz said. “Those who honor me tonight organizationally should honor my wife for being the person she is.”

New Jersey Governor James E. McGreevey declares his strong support for Israel and condemns Palestinian terrorism and “the twisted, perverted logic of those who demonize Israel.”

Gov. McGreevey is welcomed to the dinner by OU Executive Vice President Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb (l) and by President Harvey Blitz.

Dinner Chair Emanuel Adler and Rabbi Weinreb present the Keter Shem Tov Award to Harvey and Judy Blitz.

The Orthodox Union, now in its second century of service to the Jewish community of North America and beyond, is a world leader in community and synagogue services, adult education, youth work through NCSY, political action through the IPA, and advocacy for persons with disabilities through Yachad and Our Way. Its kosher supervision label, the , is the world’s most recognized kosher symbol and can be found on over 275,000 products manufactured in 68 countries around the globe.

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