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March 27, 2003
Union of
Orthodox Jewish Congregations
Mourns the Passing of
Daniel Patrick Moynihan;
“An Unparalleled Friend to
our Community”
Today, the Union of Orthodox Jewish
Congregations of America – the nation’s largest Orthodox Jewish umbrella
organization – joins the citizens of New York, the United States and the
world in mourning the passing of Daniel Patrick Moynihan.
Over the course of his storied career in the public policy arena, Senator
Moynihan was an unparalleled friend to our community’s values and
interests ranging from U.S. policy toward Israel to equitable federal
support for parochial education. Upon his retirement from the Senate, we
were privileged to honor Senator Moynihan at a dinner for the Union’s
Institute for Public Affairs (but one of scores of Orthodox Union events
in which Sen. Moynihan participated). On that occasion, we said:
In our collective communal memories, the name Daniel Patrick Moynihan will
always be synonymous with his successful sixteen-year effort to repeal the
odious U.N. General Assembly resolution equating Zionism with racism and
his ongoing struggle to have the United States acknowledge Jerusalem as
the capitol of Israel. Senator Moynihan has always been, as former Prime
Minister Menachem Begin so aptly declared, “a friend for all seasons, for
all reasons.”
The Orthodox Union’s friendship with Daniel Patrick Moynihan began in 1963
when he worked with our leadership while advising President Kennedy on
federal aid to education. Since then, and throughout his Senate tenure,
Mr. Moynihan, and his remarkable wife Elizabeth, was a valued ally to the
Orthodox Jewish community. As a token of esteem to this relationship, the
Union named the New York segment of its summer legislative internship
program in Senator Moynihan’s name.
Harvey Blitz, president of the Orthodox Union, stated today that “the
Orthodox Jewish community shares with all our fellow citizens the deep
sense of sorrow and loss from the passing of Daniel Patrick Moynihan. His
counsel, wisdom and humor will be sorely missed. May his family be
comforted and may his memory and legacy be a blessing for us all.”
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