Newspaper Page Text
Senate colleagues lionize
Javits as political legend
by Joseph Polakoff
ISPs Washington correspondent
WASHINGTON—Jacob Ja
vits, a Republican champion of
liberal causes throughout his illus
trious Senate career, was laid to
rest Monday. He was a moving
force behind the civil rights move
ment and countless other causes
that ultimately, established him as
a national political legend for stu
dents of Jewish life and the Ameri
can Dream.
At the funeral service at the Cen
tral Synagogue in midtown Man
hattan, Senate colleagues of both
parties eulogized him. Other nota
ble Americans sat with 1,500 oth
ers who mourned the loss of the
unique personality who rose out of
New York’s East Side to become a
liberal Republican and serve
longer than any other New Yorker
in the U.S. Senate — 24 years.
About 200 persons stood outside
police lines during the service.
Conservatives and liberals, ty
coons of the business world and
labor unionists joined in the trib
ute to Javits, who died at 81 in
West Palm Beach, Fla. of a degen
erative nerve ailment commonly
known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease,
after the famed first baseman of
the New York Yankees who suf
fered from it.
Eulogists at the Reform syn
agogue of Moorish design in
cluded Sens. Edward Kennedy
(D-Mass.), Daniel Patrick Moyni-
han (D-N.Y.), Charles Mathias
(D-Md.), Alan Simpson (R-
Wyo.), New York Gov. Mario
Cuomo and Javits’ son Joshua and
daughter Carla. Joshua and Carla,
their sister Joy and their mother
Marian Javits sat in the front pew
with other family members.
Violinist Pinchas Zuckerman
and an ensemble from the New
York Philharmonic led by Zubin
Mehta played selections from
Bach and Haydn. Among those at
the synagogue were former Presi
dent Nixon, Attorney General
Edwin Meese, former Secretary of
State Henry Kissinger, Sen. Al
phonse D’Amato (R-N.Y.), who
Jacob Javits
defeated Javits in the Republican
primary that ended his senatorial
career; John Cardinal O’Connor,
former Rep. Bella Abzug, Sen.
Nancy Kassebaum (R-Kan.), Bill
Bradley (D-N.J.), Lowell Weicker
R-Conn.), Gary Hart (D-Col.),
and David Rockefeller, the bank
er; Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, pub
lisher of the New York Times; Vic
tor Gotbaum, the labor leader;
Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Kurt
Vonnegut.
Joshua Javits read a passage
from a Hebrew memorial prayer
that his father had asked him to
read. The prayer told of how the
living are like Moses who behold
the Promised Land but cannot
enter. Carla Javits recalled her
father saying: “1 feel a curtain
going down. I'm not afraid. My
eyes are wide open. I only wish I
had another 20 years.”
Cantor Richard Botton chant
ed, “El Mole Rachamim,” when
the doors of the Ark were opened
to expose the Torahs within it.
David Seligson, the congregation’s
rabbi emeritus, recited the 23rd
Psalm.
Kennedy said, “Few of us have
done as much to make America
equal to its dream” than Javits,
while Simpson said the illness that
had crippled him (Javits) “could
have imprisoned a lesser man,” but
in Javits “the spirit soared.”
A legislative assistant to Javits
for 13 years from 1964 to 1977,
Patricia Connell Shakow wrote in
the Washington Post that on his
80th birthday when a reunion of
staffers was held, Javits rose pain
fully from his wheelchair to speak
to them.
“You are my legacy to the next
century,” he said. “And after I'm
gone I want you to do three things
for man. Love your country. Don’t
be afraid to stick your neck out.
Take a chance on the young, as I
once took a chance on you.”
For all his prominence and
power as a senator, a congressman
and a former attorney general of
New York State, Javits never for
got his heritage. In countless bat
tles in the Senate and outside, Jav
its aided the needy and defended
Israel. On one occasion at a private
breakfast with this reporter during
a particularly difficult time for
Israel regarding the sale of arms to
a hostile Arab neighbor, Javits
noted that another Jewish senator
was supporting President Carter's
position to bring about the sale.
"He doesn’t have the same
upbringing that you and I had,” he
said about the senator who must
remain unnamed. "Maybe he’ll
realize the fundamentals as the
debate goes on. If there is doubt,
we must help Israel. Israel can lose
only once.”
JAGUAR
* “Over 35 Years Experience 99
I offer all
my new Jaguar customers...
• Free loaner while your new Troncalli Jaguar is serviced
• 4 years free oil changes (limit 12)
• Saturday Service • 24-hour emergency road service
• Over 35 years experience at Atlanta’s oldest Jaguar dealer
Nobody but nobody ever underleases or undersells me!
%l VI I VVI III
1625 Church St., Decatur, GA 30033
Irving Silver
Salesman of the Year
1985
Fleet Manager
Sales & Leasing
Personal sales of
over s 50,000,000
Days: 292*3853
Night: 391-9387
See what parents
have to say about
Yeshiva High School
—“M/e are very pleased with Yeshiva High School for its high
standards of secular and religious education and its cooperative
spirit between students and teachers.”
Rabbi Leonard Lifshen
Spiritual Leader, Congregation Beth Shalom
Faith Lifshen
Staff Worker, AJCC
— “The administration of Yeshiva High School shows that it is
greatly concerned for the welfare of its students. Rabbi Cohen is
attentive to the needs of the youngsters placed under his supervi
sion. The educational programs at Yeshiva prepare the students
well for college. ”
Mr. Arthur Steinberg
Lawyer
— ‘‘Yeshiva’s graduates are well prepared to meet the many
challenges of higher education. Both the secular and Judaic facul
ties are caring, committed and exceptionally competent. ”
Bernice Rubin Bleich
Attorney
— “Both our son and daughter have spent five of the most intellec
tually rewarding years at Yeshiva High School and this back
ground has provided them with a marvelous preparation for
college and for Judaism. ”
Dr. Robert Rush
Chemist
Rochelle Rush
Teacher
— “ Yeshiva High School allows my son to receive close individual
attention in his secular and traditional studies and there is a sense
of warmth of community in spirituality that pervades the school. ”
Doily Becker
Real Estate Broker
—“The exceptional educational program at Yeshiva has given my
children not only a solid general studies education, but a clear
moral prospective on life as well. Moreover, the contact that they
have with students of so many diverse backgrounds has given
them a wide intellectual and social experience. ”
Ursula Blumenthal
Yeshiva High School of Atlanta is Georgia’s only lull-day
Jewish high school, offering a full range of Judaic and
secular courses.
* Programs for high school students regardless of previous
background in Judaic studies.
* Small classes with individual attention, personal student-
faculty rapport.
* A dynamic student body involved in a wide variety of
extra-curricular activities.
* SAT Preparation classes. Computer 1 iteracy courses.
Advanced Placement opportunities in both Judaic and
general studies.
* Fully accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges
and Schools.
* Recognized as an “exemplary school” by the U.S.
Department of Education.
For enrollment information, write or call:
VE/HIVfl
1745 Peachtree Road, N.E. Atlanta, GA 30309
(404) 873-1492
PAGE 9 THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE March 14, 1986