Orthodox Union President Stephen J. Savitsky and Executive Vice President Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb today congratulated Howard Tzvi Friedman of Baltimore, the OU’s long-time lay leader who was sworn in yesterday as the new President of AIPAC.
“With great pride I welcome Tzvi Friedman to the role of president of a Jewish organization that has enormous impact on the life of our people,” Mr. Savitsky declared. “The president of a Jewish organization lives and breathes the goals of the group he serves. Tzvi’s dedication to AIPAC’s objectives will make him a forceful president and a major voice worldwide on behalf of Israel and its people.”
Rabbi Weinreb – who served a rabbi of Baltimore’s Shomrei Emunah synagogue in Baltimore for 13 years – declared:
“We at the Orthodox Union are particularly proud that Howard Tzvi Friedman is the new President of AIPAC. Tzvi has been associated with the OU for many years, particularly as a former National Conference of Synagogue Youth Commission Chairman and most recently as Senior Vice President and Chair of our Commission on Financial Resource Development. I personally have known him since his childhood in Baltimore and more recently as a member of my former synagogue there. As the first AIPAC President committed to an Orthodox life-style, he brings a traditional religious dimension to his leadership. I knew his late father well as a personal friend, and how proud he too would be of Tzvi’s commitment to Torah, to Israel and to the Jewish people.”
Mr. Savitsky and Rabbi Weinreb extended congratulations as well to AIPAC’s Board for selecting Mr. Friedman as President and continued, “Israel faces enormous challenges today from its unyielding enemies. The Jewish people face enormous challenges from the forces that over the years have weakened us demographically. Tzvi Friedman’s commitment to both AIPAC and the OU will enable him to apply his vast leadership skills on behalf of both organizations and on behalf of the well-being of the Jewish people.”