by Debra Rubin
NJJN Bureau Chief/Middlesex

March 17, 2009

Ed Koch, the former three-term mayor of New York, remains at age 84 an outspoken writer, media personality, and speaker, taking on subjects ranging from political causes to the fight against anti-Semitism.

On Wednesday, March 25, Koch will bring his wit and the wisdom of his long experience in the public arena to the annual Main Event fund-raising program for the Solomon Schechter Day School of Raritan Valley, held at the East Brunswick Jewish Center.

“I will be speaking about my involvement in Jewish matters and what the State of Israel means to me,” said Koch in a phone interview with NJJN from his Manhattan law office.

The evening will also include dessert, Israeli dancing, and a silent auction.

The former mayor strongly believes American Jewry must support Israel. “Israel is the core of Jewish life.” And although, he said, “I would never make aliya — I’m an American, and I love my country — I know every night a Jewish community somewhere is in need of sanctuary or support.

“Had Israel existed during the Holocaust it would have taken every Jew willing to leave in 1939 when Hitler would have allowed German Jews to leave en masse. The problem was no country would take them.”

The author of 16 books on everything from life in the political fray, to remaining relevant in later years, to works for children, he will touch on the theme of his most recent work — The Koch Papers: My Fight Against Anti-Semitism — and on what it means to be an American Jew.

“Today in the United States we are living in a golden era,” said Koch. “I can’t ever think of a time or place in the world where Jews have been so well received and comfortable and left to rise to their abilities as in the United States. We are very lucky and as Jews we feel appreciative. There are no better American citizens.”

Despite being at an age when many have opted for retirement, Koch remains busy. In addition to his work as a partner in the law firm of Bryan Cave LLP, he hosts a weekly evening call-in radio program and is a commentator on Bloomberg AM (WBBR). He appears weekly on NY1 television with former NY Sen. Alfonse D’Amato and former NYC public advocate Mark Green. Koch also writes a weekly commentary and has weekly movie reviews published in The Villager.

Jersey roots

In 2004 Koch was appointed by former Secretary of State Colin L. Powell to chair the U.S. delegation to the Conference on Anti-Semitism in Berlin sponsored by the Organization for Security and Cooperation. The following year, President George W. Bush appointed him to a five-year term on the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council.

He lectures so extensively around the country, that when he got on the phone, the former mayor apologized for not remembering for which appearance he was being interviewed, adding, “It’s hard to keep them straight; I speak at so many places.”

While he himself is out of politics, Koch said, he happily campaigned for Barack Obama in Florida, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey.

Koch, who served as the Democratic mayor of New York from 1978 to 1989, is perhaps best remembered for restoring fiscal responsibility and saving the city from bankruptcy, and for the question he famously and frequently asked any constituent at every opportunity: “How’m I doing?”

Koch credits many of the stands he has taken in his long public and political career to the principles he learned from Judaism. He believes the most important thing Jewish families can do for their children is imbue them “with a sense of what it means to be Jewish while they participate in every aspect of life.”

“I went to Hebrew school and of course it had a very positive impact on me,” said Koch. “There are codes of morality in every religion that require giving special attention to the poor, and I think we did that when I was mayor. We had programs for dealing with the homeless, for those in need of food or who couldn’t pay for medical care.”

The former mayor is also proud of his Jersey roots, but corrected what he said is a common misconception about his birthplace.

“I was not born in Newark,” said Koch, although he did graduate from South Side High School in the city.

“I was born in the Bronx and moved to Newark at age seven during the Depression because my father lost his job,” he said. “We lived in Newark from 1931 to ’41 and then we moved back to Brooklyn. I’m very proud of having lived in Newark.”

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