{"id":60483,"date":"2018-08-29T12:31:48","date_gmt":"2018-08-29T17:31:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/?p=60483"},"modified":"2018-09-20T07:58:24","modified_gmt":"2018-09-20T12:58:24","slug":"the-john-mccain-i-knew","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/news\/the-john-mccain-i-knew\/","title":{"rendered":"The John McCain I Knew"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Dr. Mendy Ganchrow knew fellow Vietnam veteran Senator John McCain, and shared his memories of the courageous public servant and staunch supporter of Israel. Dr. Ganchrow, former Chief of Surgery Good Samaritan Hospital in Suffern, NY and Associate Clinical Professor of Surgery at NY Medical College, served as President (1994-2000) and Chairman of the Board (until 2002) of the Orthodox Union. In 1982 he organized the Hudson Valley Political Action Committee, which for a time was the largest local pro-Israel PAC in the US. In 1968, while serving as an army combat surgeon in Vietnam, he was awarded the Army Commendation Medal and served as an acting Jewish chaplain. He has been a board member of AIPAC, RIETS, JAFI, and the Jim Joseph Foundation.\u00a0 Dr. Ganchrow is the author of five books: Journey Through The Minefields \u2013 From Vietnam To Washington: An Orthodox Surgeon\u2019s Odyssey; Sasson Vesimcha: Divrei Torah On Sheva Brachot; Entering The Covenant: Divrei Torah On Brit Milah; and Coming Of Age: Divrei Torah On Bar\/Bat Mitzvah.\u00a0 His latest book THE FIVE DAY WAR\u00a0 will be\u00a0reviewed in the Fall issue of Jewish Action.<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

In the spring of 1982, I went to Washington for my annual 2 day “respite” from performing surgery to attend the\u00a0 AIPAC policy conference. It was there that I met a young lawyer from Illinois who was running\u00a0against the most ardent Arafat supporter in the House, Paul Findley. That gentleman, Dick Durbin, now a US Senator, convinced me to go back to Monsey to start a political action committee and raise funds to help send him and other pro-Israel candidates to Washington. Though at the time I was the President of the local yeshiva (ASHAR), I followed his advice and created Hudson Valley Political Action Committee (HUVPAC). It would become the largest local pro-Israel PAC at that time.<\/p>\n

Shortly thereafter, Tom Dine, then Executive Director of AIPAC, called me in to suggest I meet a young\u00a0Congressman named John McCain from Arizona. Dine predicted that he would become a Senator and possibly a candidate for President. McCain was a Vietnam War hero – a former prisoner of war from 1967-1973 – who was sure to be a future political star. To my knowledge, I was the only member of the AIPAC Board who was also a Vietnam veteran. I had served for one year as a combat surgeon and acting Jewish chaplain from 1968-9.\u00a0 When I first went to meet him in his offices, we connected on the issues and our affinity was strengthened after he learned I was also a Vietnam veteran. There is a unique camaraderie felt by veterans for their fellow vets.\u00a0 It was not long until Congressman McCain and Senator Larry Pressler of South Dakota\u00a0greeted me as their \u201cVietnam buddy.”<\/p>\n

\"\"
Senator John McCain, speaking at the OU Advocacy Center’s annual Mission to Washington, D.C.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This mutual respect and friendship was not simply based on\u00a0battlefield memories. Beyond that, we shared a sense of deep\u00a0patriotism, a love for America and a belief in American exceptionalism and its strong bond with the only democracy in the\u00a0Middle East.\u00a0 Israel was at the centrum of his\u00a0weltaanshung<\/em>\u00a0predicated on a strong America and human rights. In 1986, we were supporting Congressman McCain for the Senate seat and invited him to Monsey for our HUVPAC Chanukah party. The event was at the home of Lois and Avi (a”h) Blumenfeld. \u00a0McCain\u2019s appearance was a highlight of the many HUVPAC events we ran over our 21 years. This one stood out because of the history of our guest and deep knowledge of our most pressing issues and he left an impression on those in attendance. \u00a0Lois recently sent me a copy of the invitation from that event, recalling what a fine gentlemen he was and how her daughter Rochelle still remembers his warm personality.<\/p>\n

Each year, I brought PAC members to Washington\u00a0for a luncheon and private meetings with Senate members. John McCain always attended and welcomed our groups to his office. I frequently came to Washington alone and was always impressed with his openness and deep understanding of the issues from a strategic, military, economic and geo-political point of view.\u00a0 His strong friendship with Senators Joe Lieberman and Lindsey Graham, known as the \u201cThree Amigos,\u201d created a bond that permeated their unbreakable commitment to Israel. McCain visited Israel many times and was warmly welcomed there as the friend that he was. When I became active in the OU I followed the late Sandy Eisenstadt who was a mentor to me in political action. He started bringing OU\u00a0groups to Washington, which continued when I created the IPA, now the OU Advocacy Center. At that time we had expanded the Mission to Washington to include RCA, RZA AMIT and EMUNAH. McCain\u00a0never failed to make time for our OU\u00a0members, speaking at our luncheons and welcoming smaller groups to his office for a serious, issue-oriented give and take. McCain had no problem reaching across the aisle to obtain bipartisan support on issues.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Senator McCain and OU Advocacy Director Nathan Diament<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There is a saying\u00a0acharei mos kedoshim:\u00a0<\/em>after death, detractors sing your praise. In 2008 the NY Times had\u00a0negative terms for McCain, calling him “erratic” or “aggressive.”\u00a0 Today he is their hero. To me he always was a straight shooter.\u00a0 If he disagreed with you he said so clearly. I never heard him complain about\u00a0his Vietnam treatment. In fact, when offered an early release from POW camp because of his father\u2019s position as an Admiral, he refused until other POWs were released. He subsequently pushed for\u00a0warmer relations with\u00a0Vietnam.<\/p>\n

To those of us in the pro-Israel community, we have lost a great and true friend. May his family be comforted by the realization that John was a true patriot and hero. Those of us\u00a0who met him and interacted with him will surely miss his candor and leadership.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dr. Mendy Ganchrow knew fellow Vietnam veteran Senator John McCain, and shared his memories of the courageous public servant and staunch supporter of Israel. Dr. Ganchrow, former Chief of Surgery Good Samaritan Hospital in Suffern, NY and Associate Clinical Professor of Surgery at NY Medical College, served as President (1994-2000) and Chairman of the Board<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133684,"featured_media":60484,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[96,171],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-60483","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-obituary"],"yoast_head":"\nThe John McCain I Knew - OU Life<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Dr. Mendy Ganchrow, the former OU president and board chairman shares his memories of the late Senator John McCain with whom he served in Vietnam.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/news\/the-john-mccain-i-knew\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The John McCain I Knew - 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